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Beatty's Chocolate Cake

Source of Recipe

From "Barefoot Contessa at Home" by Ina Garten


Recipe Introduction

"Michael Grimm from Bridgehampton Florist made this wonderful chocolate cake for me. His grandfather used to have a milk route in Pennsylvania Dutch country and his grandmother baked this chocolate cake for him to deliver to customers with their milk. It's so chocolatey and the secret is a cup of hot coffee in the batter. The pans I use are deep, with 2-inch sides. If you don't have deep pans, use 9-inch pans to ensure the batter does not overflow. The cake won't be as high but it will be just as delicious."

List of Ingredients

◦ Butter for greasing the pans
◦ 1 � cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pans
◦ 2 cups sugar
◦ � cup good cocoa powder
◦ 2 teaspoons baking soda
◦ 1 teaspoon baking powder
◦ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
◦ 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
◦ � cup vegetable oil
◦ 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
◦ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
◦ 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
◦ Chocolate Frosting (recipe follows)


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8 x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With the mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place one layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Serves 8






❧ Chocolate Frosting:

"You can use any good semisweet chocolate, but don't use chocolate chips because they contain stabilizers."

◦ 6 ounces good semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
◦ � pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
◦ 1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
◦ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
◦ 1 � cups sifted confectioners' sugar
◦ 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.