Chocolate Layer Cake
Submitted by boatslayer
Chocolate layer cake stacks three buttermilk chocolate layers with a warm date-and-nut custard filling, then coats the whole thing in fudge frosting. An old-fashioned three-layer showstopper.
YIELD
1 cakePREP
25 minCOOK
45 minREADY
1 hrsChocolate layer cake of this stripe is a proper three-layer project, and the filling is where it pulls ahead of every other chocolate cake on the block. Instead of plain frosting between the layers, you get a warm custard made with milk-plumped dates and chopped nuts, cooled and spread thick. That filling is why people remember this cake.
The layers themselves are buttermilk-chocolate cake, made with melted chocolate folded into a creamed butter-and-sugar base. Buttermilk is a must here. The acid reacts with baking powder to give a tender, fine crumb and cuts through the richness of the cake flour.
Alternating the dry and wet additions, starting and ending with flour, is an old-school technique that prevents gluten from overdeveloping. Overbeat at this stage and the cake turns tough.
The filling needs a proper chill before spreading. Warm custard slides off the cake layers and puddles at the base. Ninety minutes in the fridge is the minimum.
The fudge frosting goes on last, swirled over the top and sides. Refrigerate to set, but bring to room temperature before serving. Cold cake tastes like cardboard no matter how good the recipe.
Chef Tips
- Soften the butter to the press-a-finger-in-and-leave-a-dent stage before creaming. Cold butter won’t whip into the airy base this cake needs.
- Use room-temperature eggs and buttermilk. Cold ingredients can break the emulsion and give you a curdled batter that bakes unevenly.
- Chop the dates small, about pea-sized. Whole dates turn the filling gummy in pockets.
- Don’t skip the 10-minute pan rest after baking. Turn out too early and the layers break; too late and they sweat and stick.
Variations
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water (or in the microwave).
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together.
In a large mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is fluffy.
Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
Blend in the melted chocolate and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour.
Do not overbeat.
Pour the batter into three 8 inch buttered cake layer pans.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake has shrunk away a bit from the sides of the pans and the tops spring back when touched with your finger.
Allow to stand in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.
While the cakes are cooling, prepare the filling and frosting.
To make the filling, heat the milk and dates in the top of a double boiler over hot water until the milk is scalded.
Beat the egg, then add the sugar, flour, and salt; beat again.
Add ½ cup of the hot milk mixture to the egg mixture, then stir back into the pan and cook for 3 minutes, until thick, stirring with a rubber spatula.
Let cool. Add the nuts, and vanilla.
Refrigerate for 1½ hours before filling the cake.
To make the frosting, combine all the ingredients in a large mixer bowl.
Beat on high speed for 1 minute, or until the frosting is light and creamy.
To assemble, place 1 cake layer on a large plate and cover to within ¼ inch of the edge with half the chilled filling.
Top with another cake layer and the remaining filling mixture.
Finish with the last cake layer.
Frost the sides and top of the cake with the fudge frosting forming swirls on the top with a knife.
Refrigerate, but bring to room temperature before serving.
Comments
