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Thursday, May 3, 2012

chocolate cake with instant fudge frosting.


I made this chocolate cake recipe before in my chocolate cherry cupcakes. I remembered that it tasted so darn good that I wanted to eat a huge slab of it. So this time, I baked it into one layer and smothered it with a healthy dose of instant fudge frosting, just to make sure that this was really the ultimate chocolate cake. Well, it is, at least for now.


I underbaked it on purpose, maybe a tad much on hindsight, and the texture of the cake was chewy, fudgy and dense. It's not brownie-like, not even cakey-brownie-like. It's a whole different texture. You have to try it for yourself to know. I don't regret cutting back a few minutes on the baking time one bit, but if you prefer a lighter crumb but with enough chocolaty oomph, try this one by Ina Garten.


No cake is complete without frosting, and I needed a new reliable chocolate one ever since I outgrown the mild cocoa frosting I used to love. I turned to this instant chocolate frosting recipe which uses unsweetened chocolate in hopes that the bitterness would provide the intense chocolaty-ness I was looking for.


I thought it was just okay. It's definitely more chocolaty than the cocoa frosting recipe but it's still not as intense as I would like. It was also a little grainy from the icing sugar, which is a problem I've always had with all previous batches of chocolate frostings. Perhaps more time in the mixer would solve that problem? More milk? (Although I fear that extra liquid would result in a watery frosting.)

If you have a chocolate frosting recipe that is bittersweet and intense, I would love to check it out so please leave a link!


Chocolate Cake
follow the recipe here

For a 6 inch 1 layer cake, use 1.5 times the quantity in the link or visit the source (Smitten Kitchen) and divide it by 4 for easier calculation.

Instant Fudge Frosting
makes 5 cups
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
4 1/2 cups icing sugar (no need to sift)
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tbsp half-and-half or whole milk (I used low-fat)
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse to incorporate, then process until the frosting is smooth.

I used just one cup to top the 6 inch cake. It is enough to cover the top generously.

12 comments :

  1. You know what? I always under-bake my brownies for the fudgy chewy texture, why didn't I ever think of doing that to a chocolate cake?! Awesome idea, thank you!
    Also, I will share a link with you even though it is not exactly what you asked for. It is actually completely different. But I just found it and loved the idea, and now all I can think about is using your cake recipe and that frosting together :D here it goes:
    http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/2012/04/19/dark-chocolate-cake-with-chile-chocolate-buttercream-2-years-a-giveaway/

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    1. Thank you for sharing the link! I'll definitely check it out:)

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  2. is it just me or is that a big slice of gooey goodness?!

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  3. Looks absolutely fantastic! I reckon I would polish the lot off in 5 minutes flat.

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  4. Sorry, but it's not clear to me what size cake we're wanting to eat! You point to a recipe that is 1/6 of another recipe, and I don't know what size cake pan you've used in your shots, or whether it is the 1/6 cupcake version or the whole recipe that you allude to!! Help!!

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    1. The cake pan I used for this one layer cake is a 6 inch, and the quantity used is 1/4 of the original recipe in Smitten Kitchen's website or 1.5 times the amount I posted in my cupcake link. For the 6 cupcakes I made, I used 1/6 of the original recipe. I hope this clears it up:)

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  5. I really like the chocolate frosting on Deb's Best Birtday Cake. It uses light corn syrup instead of icing sugar and it's very chocolatey and not overly sweet at all.
    Here's the link: http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/07/best-birthday-cake/ - hope you like it.

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  6. Hey, this looks super yummy :)
    Last week I made a chocolate and beetroot cake with a really rich chocolate frosting. Unfortunately I don't have a link or even a recipe for the frosting because I tend to improvise when it comes to frosting.
    However I can tell you that I made a chocolate ganache, then I made a basic but stiff buttercream and I slowly beat the cooled ganache into the buttercream using an electric whisk.
    I had to add both a bit of sugar and cream to help with the consistency but it turned out very nice :)
    Hope this helps, also I LOVE the tip about under-baking the cake :) never thought of it before!
    Abbie

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    1. I admire your ability to improvise:) I'm the sort who just simply NEEDS to have a recipe.

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  7. hi amanda! good day! i really wanna try this recipe but can you help me with the measurement for 8 inch cake pan.. and what about the temperature and baking time.. i hope you can help me, i wanna make this for my mom's birthday. thank you so much!!

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    1. Hello! For the cake, follow the recipe here (http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2007/07/you-are-owed-chocolate-cake/) but halve the quantity. If you're baking the batter in two 8 inch pans, bake at 300F for about 40 minutes first. If it doesn't look done, increase the baking time. To make just one layer, try baking for 1 hour and increase baking time as necessary.

      Follow the recipe shown here for the frosting if you're making a two layer 8 inch cake. For a one-layer cake, halve the quantity.

      I hope this helps:)

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