Try this The Perfect Chocolate Cake recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 3/4 cup good unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee (i use decaf)
- 7 1/2 cups powdered sugar (or one 2lb bag)
- 1 cup good quality cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup whole milk or heavy cream
- 2 cups unsalted butter (4 sticks) at room temp.
- Carbohydrate 180.932483550457 g
- Cholesterol 989.166666672526 mg
- Fat 454.99854177484 g
- Fiber 5.90625011183382 g
- Protein 36.3186416990971 g
- Saturated Fat 241.36071584224 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (1399g)
- Sodium 120895.824924522 mg
- Sugar 175.026233438623 g
- Trans Fat 27.6275775022348 g
- Calories 4943 calories
Step-by-step
- Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl and mix until combined.
- In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry.
- With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 350, until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
- Place room temperature butter and vanilla into a stand mixer and beat at medium-high for about three minutes.
- You want it to appear lighter and fluffier.
- While butter is in mixer add powdered sugar, cocoa, and salt to a bowl and mix with a whisk. (sift)
- With mixer off, add in one cup of the powdered sugar and cocoa mixture.
- Turn mixer on to low and then slowly add in remaining powdered sugar mixture, one cup at a time.
- With mixer still on low, add in milk.
- Turn mixer to medium high and blend for at least two minutes.
- Frosting will appear very light, but it will darken as it sets.
Overmixing batter remains the single fastest way to destroy a tender crumb. Gluten development spikes the moment flour meets liquid under aggressive mechanical action, turning a plush cake dense and rubbery. Prevent this by incorporating wet ingredients into dry on the lowest mixer speed, stopping the moment streaks disappear. Hot liquids like the specified coffee activate chemical leavening agents rapidly while blooming cocoa solids, dissolving trapped bitter compounds and yielding a darker, smoother chocolate profile.
The Role of Temperature and Aeration
Room temperature butter at seventy degrees Fahrenheit beats efficiently with air, creating the tiny cellular pockets required for a fluffy buttercream. Adding dairy gradually prevents the emulsion from breaking, keeping the fat suspended evenly throughout the sugar matrix. Beat the finished frosting for a full two minutes on medium-high speed to incorporate air, noting that the color will naturally darken as dissolved cocoa pigments oxidize over time.Accompaniments
Pairing rich cocoa desserts with cold, unsweetened whole milk cuts through heavy butterfat coating on the palate.
