Moist chocolate cake with a firm, rich chocolate fudge frosting, the perfect chocolate cake is filled with fresh whipping cream and garnished with chocolate curls.
¾cuplight creamcan use half & half, cream, or milk
1cupbutter2 squares
4cupspowdered sugar
Filling
1cupheavy creamchilled
¼cuppowdered sugar
1teaspoonvanilla
Garnish
1large Hershey barmilk chocolate; no nuts
Instructions
Cake
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut parchment paper to fit 3 round cake pans (8 or 9 inch). Lightly grease pans, then lay down parchment rounds.
Combine cocoa with boiling water in medium bowl, mixing with wire whisk until smooth; cool completely. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, soda, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together with an electric mixer. Mix about 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
With a hand mixer on low, beat in small amounts of flour, alternating with the liquid cocoa mixture. Do not over mix.
Divide evenly in 3 pans. Smooth top. Bake 25 - 30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed.
Cool in pan 10 minutes, then carefully loosen sides with spatula and invert cake rounds on cooling racks. Let cool completely.
Frosting
Combine chocolate chips, cream and butter in a medium saucepan or double boiler, and stir over medium-low heat until smooth. Remove from heat.
Blend in 2 ½ cups of powdered sugar with whisk or electric mixer. (To speed up the process, you can set your bowl over ice as you whisk or beat it.) Beat until it holds its shape.
Filling
Whip cream with sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate.
To Assemble Cake
If cakes are domed in the center, cut off the top so the are level. On serving platter, place one layer, top side down. Pipe a thick line of frosting around the edge of the cake. This will serve as a dam to hold the whipping cream. Spread half the cream inside the frosting circle.
Place second layer, top side down then pipe a thick line of frosting around the edge of the cake. This will serve as a dam to hold the whipping cream. Spread remainder of cream inside the frosting circle.
Place third layer, top side up.
To Frost
With spatula, frost sides first; use remainder of frosting on top. (see notes)
Cover top with chocolate curls in various sizes and shapes (use a vegetable peeler on large Hershey bar.)
Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. To cut, use a thin-edged sharp knife and slice with a sawing motion.
Notes
Cakes:I have the most success when I freeze the cake rounds before frosting. Once cakes are cool, line the 3 cake pans with plastic wrap. Insert cakes and cover with excess plastic wrap and foil. Freeze until hard. You can do this several days or even weeks in advance. This keeps the frosting from picking up cake crumbs as you ice the cake.Substitute a cake mix: To substitute a cake mix. I like Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Fudge with this change: ½ cup sour cream; ¾ cup water, ½ cup vegetable oil, 3 eggs. I also like Duncan Hines Devil's Food (a little darker chocolate) with this change: ½ cup sour cream, 1 cup water, ⅓ cup vegetable oil, 3 eggs.Frosting:If you want an extra rich cake, spread a thin layer of frosting over each round before spreading the layer of whipped cream.
To make the frosting in our super fast "secret" (food processor) way:
Put your chocolate chips in the food processor with the chopping blade. Chop until chocolate is a fine powder.
Melt your butter in a glass measuring cup, or other bowl/cup with a spout. Make sure the butter is all melted and SIZZLING hot! Turn on food processor with chocolate powder; quickly pour all the HOT butter through the feed tube. Let it run about a minute until chocolate is smooth.
Add powdered sugar a little at a time. When it starts to get stiff, add the cream.
You need to work quickly, as frosting will set up fairly fast, so start icing the cake asap.