Picky? Me? Wahahahaha! I'm sure that shocks you.
Or not.
Consequently I've spent a lot of time looking for good recipes that work the way I want them to. When I find them, they are keepers. I also do a lot of tweaking and adjusting to make them better if I can. I'm getting quite a collection of decent recipes. Maybe a book in my spare time?
BWAhahahaha!
That was a joke...
I've tried a number of different chocolate cake recipes. In my humble opinion, a good chocolate cake needs to be....very chocolately and moist with a tender crumb. Many recipes I've used have been lacking in either chocolateyness or moistness. With all the critical customers asking to sample my cakes, I can't have a dry flavorless cake, can I?
I have finally found the perfect chocolate cake recipe. What makes it truly perfect is that it is ridiculously easy to make. There is no separating of eggs (well, there was but since I'm too lazy to separate eggs, I adjusted the recipe) or careful beating times to develop structure or folding of egg whites. Just simple measuring and mixing. The result is a moist chocolately cake that rises nicely and works well whether the cake is six inches in diameter or fourteen. So important for wedding cakes!
Today I made 120 cupcakes with this recipe and was very pleased that they all baked up with a nice rounded top. I'm so happy with it that I want to share it with you!
Delicious chocolatey flavor comes from good chocolate. I buy my quality cocoa powder in eleven pound buckets. I was crushed today to find out that my favorite cocoa will no longer be available from my supplier.
Apparently the company won't be making it available in the U.S. anymore. What? I know that I am not the only baker devastated by this news.I scratched together just enough of this precious cocoa to make multiple batches of cake batter for ten dozen cupcakes.
Here is the recipe for one two layer cake made in nine inch round pans.
In a mixing bowl measure out the dry ingredients:2 cups of sugar
2 cups of all purpose flour
3/4 cup of dutch process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
2 cups of all purpose flour
3/4 cup of dutch process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
Then stir them together with a whisk.In another small bowl measure the liquid ingredients and mix together:
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 whole eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 whole eggs
Then add to the dry ingredients.
Mix on low until the dry ingredients are moistened, scrape down the sides of the bowl and then mix on high for one minute.
Next add 1 cup of boiling water to the batter. Carefully mix it in slowly or it will splash out all over the place. Trust me on this.
This will make the batter very thin! But that's the way it's supposed to be.
Pour the batter into two buttered cake pans (nine inches by three inches) or a 9 x 13" buttered pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test and the center springs back when lightly touched.
I made cupcakes. I filled the cups about 3/4 full and they rose with nice little domes.
These will be filled with a vanilla cream and the tops will be dipped in rich chocolate ganache.I'm pretty confident they will be popular.