I love to cook and I love to eat good food.  Alas, the fact that I work 9-5 means that I can't do either as much as I would like, and like many I am often stuck at my desk during my lunch "hour".  My solution is to try to bring my lunch to work as much as I can.  This is my collection of recipes, all made quickly the night before (either as lunch or as dinner with leftovers that can be taken in).  Happy eating.

Monday 17 August 2009

Chocolate cake with mocha buttercream



Sunday, bloody Sunday.

Unless you have a great day out planned, or you really, REALLY love your job and can't wait to go into work on Monday morning, Sundays have the potential to be one really long afternoon of dread.

In my case, a very long and stressful previous week, coupled with my partner in crime being called into work (yes, I know -- working on a weekend beats my sitting-at-home dread hands down) and therefore plans going down the drain, added up to one very unhappy me.

Luckily, I belong to the Marie Antoinette school of self-medicating: eating (and baking) cake. Whenever I have a funk to get out of, I like to get out my mixing bowls, baking pans, chocolates creams coconuts chips you name it. Better than a stiff drink, though (with apologies to Sex & the City) I do worry sometimes about ending up in the Betty Crocker clinic. Probably unfounded as no one has staged an intervention yet, but mid-bowl licking, with batter all over my hands and face, I probably look a step away from a support group.

Anyway, today's blues called for the hard stuff: chocolate and coffee. I needed a rich chocolate base for a frenzy of mocha frosting. That meant cocoa, and lots of it. The cake stays moist without being overly fudgy -- distinctively cake, and with a good crumb -- and also without suffering, as many chocolate cakes, from drying out too much. The frosting is a classic buttercream, but with coffee cutting the sweetness and the chocolate rounding out the flavor.

I decorated the cake with little chocolate buttons, but as it was only made for me the finished product didn't last long. And yes, I had two pieces: so apart from a little bit of a stomachache, I felt much better.


Chocolate Cake (Recipe from June 2009 Bon Appetit)

Butter and flour for dusting
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup boiling water
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mocha buttercream frosting
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
2 tsp. instant espresso powder or instant coffee granules
3 Tbs. milk
1 C. (8 oz.) butter, softened
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
4 C. powdered/icing sugar

For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 8-inch round cake pans with 2-inch-high sides with parchment paper, then butter and dust pan and paper with flour, tapping out any excess. Sift 2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Sift cocoa into another medium bowl. Pour 1 cup boiling water over cocoa; whisk to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add butter to egg mixture and beat until blended. Beat in cocoa mixture. Add buttermilk and vanilla; beat to blend. Add dry ingredients and beat on low just to blend. Transfer batter to prepared pans; smooth top.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Cool cakes completely in pan on rack. This cake can stand to be slightly underbaked.

For buttercream:
Either melt chocolate in a double boiler or in microwave (put chocolate in small, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on high for 45 seconds; stir. If pieces retain some of their original shape, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until melted. Cool to room temperature). The former is traditional, the latter is much easier.

Beat butter, vanilla extract and salt in large mixer bowl for 3 minutes. Beat in melted chocolate until blended, scraping occasionally. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Dissolve instant coffee in milk, then beat into buttercream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired spreading consistency is achieved. Add more milk if necessary.

Assembly:
Invert one layer onto cake dish. Spread thick layer of buttercream over top of the layer, then set second layer, right side up, on top of filling. Smooth buttercream over top and sides. Decorate as the muse takes you, or leave plain for a classic look.


Serves 12 happy people, or 3-4 depressed people

25 comments:

The Duo Dishes said...

ha! Serves 3-4 is right. Oh so right. :) Dang you Sunday for your weekend trickery. But the cake will help.

Sachi's Kitchen said...

This looks ridiculously, sinfully delicious. I like the feeds 3-4, much more realistic :)

Heather S-G said...

OH EM GEE !!! That is fabulous! Look at how moist and sinful...I can hear it calling me all the way from here...mmmmmm.

Christo Gonzales said...

oh my oh my - you gave me the biggest chocolate cake craving in the world!

Palidor said...

LOL, you're funny! But you're so right about baking therapy. Something about it is so soothing, and then you have something tasty to eat at the end. FABULOUS looking cake. :)

Reeni said...

I love this with the mocha buttercream! Sinfully delicious!!

Chef Fresco said...

Man I hate Sundays so much too! But your cake would make any Sunday okay! Yumm!

theUngourmet said...

Looks like the perfect cure for just about anything that ails ya!

Sunshine said...

I baked a cake on Sunday too! Must have been feeling the same way you were, eh?

Sarah Glova said...

haha love the "feeds how many" note at the end. look at you, being productive with your dread and disappointment! I think the cake looks beeeeautiful and tasty (and I also think I could eat at least half of it in one sitting haha).

Justin said...

if you only at 2 pieces, i think you exhibited admirable restraint

Erica said...

Wow! That cake looks so rich and so good :) Just fantastic.

Kim (@ Paper Apron) said...

The Betty Crocker Clinic! That's funny. I think I will join you there. This looks too good to resist.

You need to invite us all over to help you with your chocolate "problem".

Zoe said...

Ahhh I looove chocolate!!! This looks amazing!

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

What a dream cake. Mocha must be the finishing touch to make it a super chocolate cake.

Jamie said...

I am making this! Fabulous cake and don't I love a rich, moist chocolate cake with mocha frosting! Beautiful! And I also bake things like this when I'm in a funk!

Cucinista said...

Thanks all for your comments and commiseration. I have been eating chocolate cake all week, and nope -- I don't get tired of it. Chicken soup for the soul? More like sugar and butter for the soul.

Justin and Sarah: the willpower was amazing. I didn't know I had it in me.

Mari @ Once Upon a Plate said...

That is one beautiful cake... the moca buttercream sounds fabulous. You must know it is torture to be sitting on this side of the computer monitor. :)

Velva said...

This is proof that chocolate is a girls' best friend!

Great blog post!

lisa (dandysugar) said...

Yep, I used to get the Sunday Blues bad...This cake would be the perfect remedy! Looks incredible!!

tennisgirl said...

i love chocolate
cool blog
keep up the good work
take care

The Food Hunter said...

Yum! I just made this too. It was delicious.

Ashley said...

This looks great! And I love your serving size ;)

Kim -@ The Paper Apron said...

This is still just killing me. WOW, what an incredibly luscious cake.

Caitlin said...

This cake looks so delicious. I would love it for breakfast with a big cup of coffee : )

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