A moist chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting and a glossy chocolate glaze to finish makes for a yummy cake with a pretty presentation, declared by some to be the best cake ever!
Cook Time:35 minutes
Total Time:35 minutes
Yield:1 cake 1x
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
butter, for greasing pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup good-quality cocoa powder (I used dutch-processed)
10 tablespoons butter, softened (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons)
3 1/3 cups powdered sugar
2 pinches salt
3/4 teaspoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Satiny Chocolate Glaze
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter, cubed
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2-1 teaspoon hot water
Instructions
To make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 F and prep your cake pans: Butter two 8-inch by 2-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, and grease and flour parchment.*
Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
In the seperate bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs well. Add the buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Beat to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix in on lowest speed until just incorporated. Slowly mix in coffee.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or just until a toothpick stuck into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes in pan before removing. Let cool completely before frosting.
To assemble the cake, place one layer of cake on a plate or cake stand and generously frost the top. Place the other layer of cake on top and frost along the top and sides to desired finish.
Pour chocolate glaze on top of cake, delicately using the back of a spatula to spread it around the entire top of the cake without pushing into the frosting. Allow glaze to drizzle down sides.
To make the Cream Cheese Frosting:
In the (clean) bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened cream cheese and butter on high until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, milk, salt and vanilla and beat (slowly at first to incorporate the powdered sugar, and then faster) until light and smooth.
Satiny Chocolate Glaze
Melt chocolate chips, butter, and corn syrup in a double boiler over hot water, stirring constantly until chocolate chips are melted. (If you don't have a double boiler, you can achieve this same effect by placing the ingredients in a heat-safe bowl and setting the bowl over a saucepan filled with water.
Remove from heat and stir more, if necessary, until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add 1/2-1 teaspoon hot water as needed to make a very thin glaze that will easily puddle over the cake.
Notes
*I used 9-inch cake pans, and it worked just fine.