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Claire's Dark Chocolate Cake

Source of Recipe

From "Basic to Brilliant, Y'all" by Virginia Willis


Recipe Introduction

"My dear friend Claire is a very talented cook and pastry chef. Our friendship took root in the hours commuting to Connecticut where she was my supervisor when we worked for Martha Stewart. She is strong-minded, direct, to the point, and was a fierce boss at times, but quickly became one of the people in my life I love most. Looking for shells on the beach with Claire and her precious daughter, Ruby, is one of my favorite activities. Whenever I visit her in South Florida, I plead with her to make me this cake. Claire and I have an 'escape route.' We've always said that if life becomes too absurd, we'll just move to France, open a BBQ joint, and call it Ruby-Doo BBQ. I'll tend the pit, and she'll make this dark chocolate cake to serve with milk and fried pies. Personally, I think the idea of a French BBQ joint is wonderfully absurd enough to work, and that, in a nutshell, is our business plan. This amount of batter will also make a 13 x 18-inch sheet cake."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature, for the pans
â—¦ 1 ½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for the pans
â—¦ 3 cups all-purpose flour
â—¦ 3 cups sugar
â—¦ 1 tablespoon baking soda
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
â—¦ ½ teaspoon ground ginger
â—¦ 3 large eggs
â—¦ 1 ½ cups warm water
â—¦ 1 ½ cups buttermilk
â—¦ ¾ cup canola oil
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
â—¦ Chocolate Ganache Frosting (recipe follows)


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter a 13 x 18-inch sheet cake pan or three 8-inch round or square cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper, butter the parchment, and dust with cocoa.

Combine the cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ginger in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Give it a turn or two with the paddle mix and combine. Then, with the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until smooth, stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Divide the batter among the prepared pan(s).

Bake, rotating the pans once, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 minutes for the baking sheet, 35 to 45 minutes for 8-inch layers. Remove to racks to cool, about 20 minutes. For cake rounds, once partially cooled, invert and lift off the pans, turn right side up on the rack, and let cool completely.

To make a layer cake, when you are ready to frost, place the first layer on a cake stand. Using a long serrated knife, trim the top off the cake layer to make a flat surface. Set the layer aside. Repeat with the second layer. Using a small offset spatula, evenly cover the top of the first layer with 1 cup of the frosting. Spread the frosting so that it extends beyond the edges of the layer. Place the second cake layer, cut side down, on top of the frosting; press to make it level. Cover with 1 cup of the frosting. Top with the third cake layer. With the small offset spatula, spread the entire cake with about 1 ½ cups of the frosting, creating a 'crumb coat,' a thin layer that seals in the crumbs. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Then, using a clean offset spatula, generously coat the chilled cake with the remaining frosting. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

Makes 3 (8-inch) round layers



Chocolate Ganache Frosting:

â—¦ 12 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
â—¦ 12 ounces best-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
â—¦ 3 cups heavy cream
â—¦ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Combine the chocolates in a large bowl. Heat the cream in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until simmering and small bubbles appear at the edge of the saucepan. Add the vanilla and salt. Stir to combine. Pour over the chocolate and let sit for 3 minutes. Using a spatula, stir until completely smooth. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill, stirring every 20 minutes, until cool enough to spread, about 2 hours.

Makes 6 cups