My frosting turned out chunky (fortunately the rainbow sprinkles hide it!). It came out delicious, rich, and chocolatey in a way that satisfied that chocolate craving even without the frosting (too lazy and couldnt wait for butter to thaw). Incidentally, I did walk into every cupcake store and bakery during my first pregnancy. The Delicious taste of chocolate ahaha. If square, 300 to 325%. 9 by 13 it is!!! I need cake in my face, or everyone in this office will have to pay! Making this for Mothers Day, and an 88 is too much cake for two people on the pandemic meal plan. I halved the frosting but I really liked it. Everyday Cakes - smitten kitchen Ive loved every single Smitten Kitchen recipe Ive tried, and these are no exception. Love your site your writing, approach and photography are all just superb, and I appreciate your sense of humour and real-life tips. :) My. I did use butter and sour cream in the recipe, so I guess it is primal, not paleo. You want to make sure this gets really blended/whipped, so youll probably want to scrape down the bowl and blade a lot. I wisely made 1/2 batch of frosting which was for me the perfect amount. That said ive found most buttercream frostings to be too sweet so I dialed the sugar back to 2/3 of whats suggested here and it was perfect. Deb made this cake last night in a woohoo Ive made it to the third trimester fury. Sally Yes, it should be great two days later. Its not too sweet and the texture is incredible! As soon as my daughter took a bite she said Mom, can we make this cake again? The only change we made was using regular non-Dutch cocoa because that is what we had on hand not sure how it changed the flavor because I have only had it this way, which was excellent. and not sure how difficult/easy it is to do. ANd they way you swirled the chocolate is perfect! Just made this cake & your perfect birthday cake for a friends 1-year old party. My daughter wants cupcakes this year, how long do you recommend baking for as cupcakes? It wont have the same texture defrosted. I used a bit less coconut oil (maybe a big 1/3 cup) and it was perfect. I have a fan-oven so cooked it for 17 minutes, which was just right. Thank you Smitten Kitchen for previously suggesting the usefulness of a 6 inch round pan. every mouthful is perfect. So happy about the sprinkles. How can I cut down on the sugar in a cake recipe without throwing off the volume and texture? Just made this cake tonight and as I have a milk allergy I replaced the buttermilk with 1/2 cup strong coffee and 1/4 cup red wine!! But the choice of recipes plus the use of WEIGHTS for ingredients overpowered me. Id like to make it as four tiered round layer cake for my daughters first birthday but unsure how to adapt the quantities in recipe. It was yummy but I would like to try to follow recipe next time. This icing, which we used for our sons birthday cake, is my favorite. As soon as I hit home shores in Australia. Can I sub 2% milk for the cream/whole milk in the frosting? In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, graham-cracker crumbs, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Her answer was an unequivocal, Yes! Thanks again. Are you saying this is not normal? Thanks for a perfect chocolate cake recipe! Il try a simple ganache next time i bake it for myself. YUM. good luck and thanks for the beautiful cake! -frosted with a ginger spiced dairy free buttercream, The result was amazing-ness! Today I used 20g of black cocoa in addition to 21g of Dutch cocoa, and I must say it makes for a very pretty chocolate cake. Amazing. If it makes a difference, I am coloring the frosting to make Pigeon and Hungry Caterpillar cupcakes. 3.5 Years Ago: Naked Tomato Sauce. Details. I had to make one change to the frosting. To the second batch I added guittards 66% chocolate baking chips. Less so on the first day. (Also a ridiculous amount of red dye and a little fondant because we used a 9 circular pan and made Elmo.). I love that this recipe is for a small-ish cake. I might even sub some w.w.pastry flour to please the husband. wow, that cake looks amazing! Oh my gosh, this is happening tonight. And as the cake was baking in the oven, I discovered I did not have any unsweetened chocolate. It took about 32 minutes baking time. I subbed joghurt for the buttermilk and reduced sugar to 100 g (sorry my German taste buds cant handle the original sweetness ) and used white spelt flour instead of wheat flour. What is you favorite kind to eat? Also, someone posted back in February (timely response, I know) that their batter was runny. Hi, I just wanted to know if I could substitute the dark brown sugar (I only have light brown muscavado sugar, demarara sugar, or granulated sugar). with chocolate buttercream, but lets be real. Hi Deb! Either that, I would have to eat cake less often and at 21 weeks, that is unthinkable. Delicious! Start with 25 mins, then check every couple of mins, depending on the done-ness of your cake. Does anyone have suggestions for making this cake dairy-free, other than wine? Wow theses foods look so amazing!! 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) powdered sugar (sifted if lumpy) Batter was quite runny; no worries. Looks delicious! And then I had to tell my mother that it is better than The Family Recipe for chocolate cake. I made this cake and topped it with strawberries since I didnt have sprinkles on hand. I followed the instructions exactly and the cake turned out beautifully. Its 10pm otherwise Id get it started right now. This cake is now my cake. But seriously, that post about the carvel ice cream cake weeks ago is still haunting me. So easy to make, this is my forever birthday cake. Quick question: my cocoa is not lumpy at all. Could also be scaled and stacked as a birthday cake. Kim Whooooops! Yum. JP hit the nail on the head. Then it turned out my square pan was missing (we moved recently). Cant wait to give my kids a treat!!! Seriously, thank you, I think I may have already written a comment on this recipe, but I have to write one againthis cake is magic! I dont have an oven thermometer, but is there anything else other than my oven being too hot that could have caused it to go so wrong? The sweet frosting with this rich second batch hit the right spot. I heeded the note about acidity required to wake up the baking soda, and so also added a splash of white vinegar. This is a truly great cake!! I Tried Four Popular Blondie Recipes and Found the Best One | Kitchn Used 1/2 cup strong coffe and a 1/4 cup wine instead of the buttermilk. Thats the tradeoff for me, at least. Hi Deb! Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes in cake pan on cooling rack, then flip out onto rack or serving plate to completely finish cooling before frosting. I could swap out the butter for margarine, but wasnt sure what would work to replace the buttermilk. Well, this looks just perfect. I want to triple this to make a 9 inch 2 layer cake and a dozen cupcakes for a birthday party, but Id like to split up the work. I love the sweeping shapes in the frosting. Ive often had more success with the oil-water chocolate cakes than with the butter-based ones (in general I mean; I havent tried your butter-based chocolate cakes). Thank you! Everyone told me I used the wrong pan and I got a chemistry lesson and another one on finding the right pan (which I still dont understand). Now, I need to make this cake recipe Thanks. ps, is there a sub for the unsweetened chocolate? I would buy anything those swirls were trying to sell me. They keep at room temperature, so no need to put back in the fridge unless your car will be very hot. 3 tbs cocoa and one tbs butter for one ounce of unsweetened chocolate). Also, I used a lightly sweetened cream cheese frosting and it was amazing together. Small cakes? Simple, rich, delicious, perfect. I only had one medium egg and yogurt instead of buttermilk. Smitten Kitchen's Red Wine Chocolate Cake (Recipe Review) | Kitchn For the frosting can you throw all the ingredients into a bowl and use an immersion blender? Thank you, this one will become a regular go-to recipe for sure!! If I wanted to use this frosting for a 9 inch double layer round cake, would you just double it or do 2 1/2 times? Its especially lovely with 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon as well. Joining the gym after New Years so this is the week for this cake again. Many of the older cakes and almost all in the last couple years are one-bowl or at least each component is. Making my husband eat it instead of me. My son is attending college on the opposite coast from mine. Shouldnt matter, right? it actually reminds me of carvel frosting a little and i mean that in the best possible way. The salt in the frosting is the perfect touch. This will be my go to chocolate cake recipe! I just searched your site for the answer! This is my go-to for most of my recipes now, since my friend turned me onto here! Am I always Overbaking by a few minutes? Hey Deb, should it make any difference if I substitute black (extra dutched) cocoa in the cake? Speed up by placing outside for 10 mins LOLZ I want that cake with peanut butter cream cheese buttercream frostingright now! If I double the recipe and make it a 9 by 13 pan,do I need to increase cooking time? Thank youit looks so good though! So rich, moist and CHOCOLATEY! Haha, Deb, I love your enthusiasm and urgency for cake in this post. Smitten Kitchen Keepers - PALS Plus NJ OverDrive Library - OverDrive It may not be important, but Im still wondering: have you adjusted the baking powder since posting this recipe here? Easy to make, took about 25 mins in a 9 inch tin, is chocolatey but not too rich or heavy the way a cake made with melted chocolate is, and just really soft and comforting. Never thought of using wine in cakes before:-) and wine and coffee and chocolate together :-) It was yummy. I am enjoying cupcakes for breakfast this week! So easy and so quick (was supervising 10yos homework as well). That said, measuring cup sets vary a little; theyre an imperfect measurement. I found your blog through Bloglovin and drew immediately from the Chocolate Cake. Especially how there was so little to clean up, and how all the ingredients came nicely together :) My friends all enjoyed it immensely too and they all said the icing went really well with the cake. I made this and it was so delicious! Thanks! INSTRUCTIONS. And I was vegetarian. I baked it in a 8 square glass pan for 25 minutes. I just wanted to chime in and say this recipe is perfect for 1/2 birthday celebrations. (My co-workers very kindly said that unless the cake leapt up off the plate and attacked them, they were going to love it but I was worried about the texture.) (I dont like super sweet cakes, so I often leave the sides unfrosted.). Like pregnancy? Ive made it now about 1/2 dozen times and the recipe has held up well over time. Will it not work with the baking soda? Made it with a plainer dark baking chocolate tonight (OK OK it was Cadburys!!) Going to try out this recipe for my daughters birthday! Stat! I made this cake for my boyfriends birthday. anne I think stout would work just fine. Ive put it in an 8 inch round, cut in half and created a half layer cake. For a cake like this, thats flexible, you can use either what you get in volume (from your 1/2 cup) or weight (145 grams) and youll be fine. If only I had enough patience to wait to make a cake until today. I added on at least another 5 minutes, and maybe more, for the baking time. Im making a double layer cake for my daughters birthday with 8 inch rounds. I reduced the total sugar to 270g (so 135g in the original size), made it GLUTEN FREE by using brown rice flour, and also used rice milk soured with lime juice in place of the buttermilk. Delete the baking power and increase baking soda to 3/4 teaspoon. How much should I decrease the sugar if I use the semisweet chocolate I have? Can you file it under I at least? Amazing! (P.S. Deb, I love your recipes and we just made this cake delicious!! Had Hersheys cocoa on hand and the cake did not disappoint. I was convinced by your cake spiel that I, a novice baker, too could make a cake but have been let down twice. Its very forgiving as well, we are moving (hence stressed-out me really needed cake immediately!) However, I did substitute a glaze of orange marmalade instead of the buttercream frosting, since I was fresh out of butter, so maybe that sugar balanced it out. If round, you can probably 1.5x it. This resulted in thick, tall slices of cake with still a substantial but not ridiculous amount of insanely rich frosting. The ratio of cake to frosting is the icing on the cake (SEE WHAT I DID THERE??) Its wonderful. Would I leave the recipes as is if doing cupcakes and adjust baking time? :) xx. The cake looked so good. I made this yesterday, for Chocolate Cake Day, but had no buttermilk handy, and was loathe to go out in the cold to buy some. Another site question: youve said that site updates are in the works. We will definitely make the button easier to find when we next redesign. Is your oven temperature accurate? i cannot wait to make this cake! Its the favorite of my family and friends though, so Im trying to create a chocolate cake recipe that both they and I will enjoy. I tried to make this cake, but the batter curdled when I added the thinned yogurt and checking the cooking time. ), Adrienne 913 isnt the wrong pan for doubling an 88, in fact, its about as close as youll get to doubled from a standard pan. I thought that I might use this for a birthday cake. This was exactly what I was craving! I had a rather sad brownie experience last night and I am so appreciative of how consistent your blog and the results one gets from it are. Btw, I added a little cinnamon, New Mexico red chile powder, and a drive-by amount of chipotle to the brownies for a Mexican flavor. German Chocolate Cake Recipe - Food Network Kitchen And I really really love the frosting. I always love your recipes. I like the ease of this cake; every now and again I too just crave something like this mid-week, but dont feel like making a whole thing out of it. You could just heap it like a bakery does. liz I have no idea! Any tips for a frosting I could make with a whisk or does that just not work for frosting? Im so, oh, so sad. Im in week 11 and only the thought that morning sickness is about to end keeps me going! Just wanted to check in here and say how delicious this cake is! Is this the nature of this recipe, due to the added solid chocolate, or did I perhaps mis-weigh my powdered sugar? Thank you! What did I do wrong? Try shortening the bake time and then decide. If youre used to canned or standard back-of-the-box powdered sugar and butter frostings, it should be less sweet, due to the very bitter unsweetened chocolate thats used. Love your Im pregnant recipes! Plush, soft, the icing was fluffy. Im sorry if all this compare and contrast reminds you of high-school essays (eek!) My absolute hands down favorite chocolate cake recipe is your chocolate stout cake. It made 24 minis plus one regular cupcake. Because I need an excuse to make chocolate cake. (I still have a slice left and am having it tonight, in defiance of the only eat food that was cooked less than 24 hours ago rule.). I made this today, in response to a request for chocolate cake from hubby. Frosting issues It sounds like some food processors are indeed warming the frosting up a little, and making it grainy. Its perfect. I add the frosting inside the cupcake and on top. Two years ago: French Onion Tart This looks amazing! Lynda. I cant see the notes regarding the buttermilk options. Yes I always make it as cupcakes. You can eat a square without feeling any guilt. I liked that it was not too sweet so the sweet buttercream was a nice compliment. Everyone commenting on the sweetness of the frosting is scaring me off! I used two whole eggs for not wasting an egg white, but it turned out fine. I am making your fudgy chocolate cake and golden vanilla cakes from your 2nd cookbook this week and I am so curious as to why, in your book recipes, you sprinkle the leavening agents on the batter instead of putting them in with the flour/cocoa or flour cornstarch mixture as you do in this recipe? You see, we recently moved to a new house and i do not have everything in stock yet. Pamela I mention concerns about Dutched cocoa under the recipe. I want chocolate cake! Congratulations and prayers for much joy, many full nights of sleep, and lots of laughter and cuddles! I froze it and it thawed out great. I had to test the recipe and it is incredible! I put little chocolate rainbow sprinkles on it which were very charming and made me happier than I expected they would. Im thrilled on both counts. I didnt even notice. The batter is a touch saltier but I like that in a layer against such a sweet frosting. And OH MY. I found it in March, around when quarantine started and for a couple of months, I made it every Saturday to celebrate another week of quarantine. I made the cake the other day for my sons birthday. thanks again, all! Did you use Dutched cocoa? SOI wondered if this method for making frosting could work for a vanilla frosting using the food processor rather than stand mixer and if so, what youd do about quantities without the liquid that comes from melted chocolate here. I guess it just shows what a vast repertoire of recipes you have and how easily searchable they are (kudos to the OCD indexing) Or how obsessed I am with your cakes and breads (ahem) :D. Aisha Its a totally fair question. You can also bake it as a lovely loaf. So pretty but so simple too. Im terrified of failing the first test and having to take the dreaded 24 hr one). I made the spice cake with banana and found it tasteless, is that normal? Second. I was so tired and grumpy, the kids were fighting, and hubby was exercising his birthday right to take the day off. I really hope I can replicate that crazy looking icing. Every recipe I have made has turned out delicious and has brought a smile to his face. Fewer bakeries this time, but more baking in the kitchen. rebecca You can use cake flour, so long as it doesnt already have leavener it it, however, its not necessary to make this cake tender. Im not sure whats been happening with my cakes but would love ANY advice or ideas! Beautiful Deb! Susan Im not, although I may not have declared it behind me until 17-18 weeks. 1 large egg The volume of a 6 round is half a 9 round; yay pi. Neutral on the pH scale is 7, not 5. They are incredible! That and maybe set it in a bowl on your warming stove!! I choose to make this because I should have everything in the house for this cake. Thanks! Keep it in the fridge. Looks yummy. And not too huge so we didnt get sick of it. But I wonder if thats more due to my mixing by hand than to inherent flaws in the recipes. This post could not have been more timely! Hmm, in the spirit of, I have to make this cake right nowIve just discovered I dont have unsweetened chocolate for the frosting. But, what a lovely thing to have a perfect recipe to get to play with. I made it on Saturday with my 5 year old and it was a huge success among adults and kids alike. handfulofshadows I dont think theyll be automated because I dont think theres a way to do it the way I want them to look. Scoop batter into prepared pan and smooth flat. About six weeks ago, around 9 p.m. on a day I had consumed mostly air and maybe a slice of toast because I couldnt for the life of me imagine how food had ever tasted good, without any warning, I wanted a slice of chocolate cake with swirls of chocolate frosting and probably some sprinkles and the sprinkles, so help them, better be rainbow. (easier to mix oil batters by hand than to cream butter and sugar properly). This is a delicious, fast chocolate cake! Thank you. OH GOD, WHY! The frosting turned out great! Aw, I hope he feels better soon and that you are all safe. ). . Same for apple cinnamon cake good luck with pregnancy! Thanks for the update! Joy Yes, it gets more moist as the days go on. Add the cooled chocolate and whisk until smooth. They baked for about 20 minutes. Forgot to add I only put in 130 grams of sugar because of marmalade. Really love this recipe!!! Ingredients Makes 12-16 servings Cake: 1 cup (8 ounces or 230 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract 2/3. Sometimes when I really need chocolate cake I cant find this recipe! I doubled the cake recipe and it made a perfect amount of cake in a buttered, bake and serve 9 x 13 glass pan. best birthday cake; best chocolate pudding; best cocoa brownies; best hot fudge sauce; better chocolate babka; bittersweet chocolate and pear cake; . Do you think it would work as 2 6 rounds?? When I click Print Recipe I am directed to another website, which requires me to do I dont know what. I baked this beauty of a cake this evening for a welcome home dinner tomorrow, and didnt really think through my process made the frosting while the cake was baking, but think it might be best to wrap the cooled cake and make some fresh to frost with tomorrow. Not as moist as I thought it would be or very chocolatey. 1 tablespoons cream or whole milk Then yesterday I made it again with mini 6 cake rounds. So delicious. I made a berry compote to go with it which paired super well. 1/16th of the scrolling is comments. Thanks for such a beautiful site Deb. 1/2 cup butter is 8 oz not 4 ozs! That cannot be easy. I can already tell by how great the batter is that this cake is going to make the awful week worth it. Ive made this a few times and its turned out the best with whole milk yogurt (not Greek yogurt) and a half to on teaspoon of instant coffee/espresso. How is Jacob so grown up? The chocolate cake by which all other chocolate cakes are judged. My cake dint rise too much i cooked in toaster oven.. Was that it?? Its as 8 spring form pan by the way. I Tried Four Popular Red Velvet Cake Recipes and Found the Best One (Although Ill need to squeeze in a hamentashen session at some point as well.) I had to add another 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. Forgot to add, this actually made enough frosting for a decent thickness on the top of 913 cake. I actually had to be super careful plating it to frost.