Chocolate Cake
Cake Ingredients
- 260g cake flour
- 450g granulated sugar
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
- 1.25 tsp Morton kosher salt (2 tsp if Diamond)
- 80g unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 177g brewed coffee, hot
- 240g sour cream, room temp
- 1Tbsp vanilla extract
- 5 large eggs + 2 egg yolks, room temp
- 180g neutral oil
Frosting Ingredients
- 453g (16oz/2 packs) full-fat cream cheese, room temp
- 226g (8oz/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
- ¾ tsp salt (generous pinch)
- 453g (16oz) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Recipe
Batter
Arrange an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and another in the lower
third. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly coat the bottom and sides of 3 (8in) cake
pans with butter, then line the bottoms with parchment rounds. Reline with
butter (useful to use butter wrappers).
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine cake flour, granulated sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix on low speed until combined.
Bloom cocoa: in a medium bowl, whisk to combine the cocoa powder and hot coffee. Add the sour cream and vanilla, then whisk until smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk the 5 eggs and 2 yolks until smooth.
Mix the batter: to the stand mixer, add the oil and half of the cocoa mixture. Mix on low speed until the flour is completely coated in liquid ingredients. Scrape down the sides, then mix on medium until smooth and pasty, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides, then add the eggs and remaining cocoa mixture. Beat on medium speed, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl once or twice, until the batter is very silky and has the consistency of thin pancake batter, about 1 minute.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans, dividing evenly (~550g of batter per pan). Transfer pans to the oven, putting two on the upper rack and one on the lower rack, staggering so they don’t block each other. Bake, rotating the pans after 20-25 minutes. Bake until the tops are domed, springy to the touch, and a toothpick comes out clean- roughly 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Buttercream
To make the buttercream, start with pudding base. Place the chocolate in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
In a small saucepan, combine the milk and 50g of the sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar, then remove from the heat and set aside.
In a medium bowl, add the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and remaining 50g sugar and whisk until combined. Add the yolks to the bowl and whisk slowly to combine. It will seem very thick at first, but will loosen up. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is pale, thick, and smooth.
Whisking the yolk mixture constantly, slowly stream in about half of the warm milk mixture, then whisk the contents of the bowl back into the saucepan. Set the saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, whisking constantly and scraping against the sides until thick and bubbling, 1-3 minutes.
Immediately scrape the pudding over the chocolate in the stand mixer. Let the mixture sit so the heat from the pudding melts the chocolate.
Mix on low speed until the chocolate is completely melted and the pudding is smooth and glossy. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the outside of the bowl is cool, 10-15 minutes.
With the mixer running, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, waiting for each each addition to be incorporated. Thoroughly scrape the sides and mix until even. Z
Assembly
Unmold and level cakes. Add a small amount of buttercream on serving platter to adhere base layer. Lay parchment strips around the edges for easy cleaning. Place the first layer cut side down (bottom up). This helps keeps minimal exposed crumb touching the frosting. Add roughly 1 cup of frosting to first layer. Using an offset spatula, spread to the edge. Place the second layer cut side down, and repeat. Place the third layer cut side down. Add enough frosting for a crumb coat, saving the remaining bulk for the final frost. Refrigerate until firm. Final frost!