Thursday, June 25, 2020

Chocolate Espresso Cake

Chocolate Espresso Cake


This Chocolate Espresso Cake is actually Ina Garten's recipe, Beatty's Chocolate Cake (link below) from her Barefoot Contessa At Home cookbook (pgs. 164-167). Allen loves this cake and requested it for his birthday yesterday. I have made it several times and decorated it with a woodland theme to look like a tree stump. For the top of the cake, I added adorable animal sugar decorations from Fancy Flours, and topped with CK Products Metallic Gold Edible Glitter Flakes. The recipe is perfection and if you know me at all, Ina Garten's recipes are my favorite. I love the texture and rich chocolate-coffee flavor of this cake. It is moist with a tender crumb. The coffee in the frosting is prominent and brings out the chocolate in a most decadent way. If you love chocolate and coffee, you need to make this cake. As if there wasn't enough coffee in the cake, I served it with coffee ice cream. 

Chocolate Espresso Cake 

Cake Ingredients
2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter to grease cake pans

1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour, plus extra to coat cake pans

2 teaspoons Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

3/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 teaspoon Coarse Salt

Chocolate Espresso Cake

Chocolate Espresso Cake with woodland theme

2 cups Granulated Sugar

1 cup Buttermilk

1/2 cup Vegetable Oil

2 Extra Large Eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1 cup Freshly Brewed Coffee (I use Bustelo Espresso)

Chocolate Espresso Cake

So yummy!

Chocolate Coffee Frosting Ingredients
1 1/4 cups Confectioners'/Powdered Sugar

1 tablespoon Instant Coffee Powder

6 ounces Semisweet Chocolate, chopped

1 Extra Large, Egg Yolk, room temperature

1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Chocolate Espresso Cake with woodland theme

Adorbs animal sugar decorations!

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F.

Line 2, 8" or 9" cake pans with parchment paper and use baking spray (such as Wilton) or butter and flour; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt; set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract; set aside.

Brew hot coffee and measure 1 cup; set aside.

Allen about to blow out his candles and make a wish

Yay, happy birthday hubster! 
Using a hand held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on low, add the flour mixture and combine; about 1 minute.

Add the wet ingredients and mix on medium speed; about 2 minutes.

Scrape sides of bowl with a spatula and mix again for 5-10 seconds.

Add hot coffee and mix until combined.

Mixing the dry ingredients
Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 5-10 seconds.

Pour batter into cake pans, 2/3 full.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. My cake baked in 30 minutes. Oven temperatures vary so check the cake at the 30 minute mark and adjust baking time accordingly.

Remove from oven and cool in pans for 30 minutes, and then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cake is cooling make the chocolate coffee frosting.

Batter ready to bake

Baked cake
Chop the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl over a medium size pan with simmering water.

Stir chocolate just until melted, turn off heat, and set aside to cool completely.

On medium speed using a hand held or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth; about 3 minutes.

Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and mix; about 3 minutes.

Ready to frost the cake

Turn off mixer, add the powdered sugar, cover mixer with large kitchen towel, and beat on low speed until incorporated; about 2 minutes.

Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 5-10 seconds.

Dissolve coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of hot water.

On low speed, add the melted/cooled chocolate and hot coffee, and mix until incorporated.

Great to use on cakes and cookies!
Place the first cake layer top side down on cake stand or plate, and cover with the chocolate coffee frosting.

Add the second cake layer top side up and frost the cake, and decorate as desired.

Place the cake in fridge to set.

Remove 1/2 hour before serving.

Store covered cake up to 5 days in the fridge.

Adapted from Ina Garten, Beatty's Chocolate Cake recipe:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/beattys-chocolate-cake-recipe-1947521

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

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