Bon Appetit Desserts (25 page)

With its cheesecake topping, this deep, dark cake is a riff on black-bottom cupcakes—chocolate cupcakes with a cheesecake-style filling. The cake can be prepared a day ahead and chilled. It will taste best if it sits at room temperature for a couple of hours before serving.
12 to 16 servings

2 cups (packed) dark brown sugar

1¾ cups unbleached all purpose flour

¾ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup strong coffee, room temperature

½ cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

4 ounces Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature

2 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg

1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour

½ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

1¼ cups canned evaporated milk

2 12-ounce packages semisweet chocolate chips

10 ounces Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature

CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1½-inch-high sides. Line pan bottoms with parchment paper. Whisk sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in large bowl to blend. Add buttermilk, coffee, oil, and eggs and whisk until smooth. Divide batter between prepared pans.

CHEESECAKE TOPPING:
Beat cream cheese and sugar in medium bowl to blend. Beat in egg, then flour. Spoon topping over batter in 1 pan (topping will not cover batter completely). Sprinkle chocolate chips over topping.

Place cakes in oven. Bake plain cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Bake topping-covered cake until center springs back when lightly touched, about 35 minutes. Cool cakes completely in pans on racks, then freeze cakes 3 hours.

ICING:
Bring evaporated milk to boil in heavy medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to low. Add chocolate chips and stir until melted and smooth. Cool completely.

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in chocolate mixture.

Cut around pan sides to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto work surface. Peel off parchment. Using serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally in half. Set 1 plain cake layer on platter. Spread ⅔ cup icing over. Top with second plain cake layer. Spread ⅔ cup icing over. Top with third plain cake layer. Spread ⅔ cup icing over. Top with cake layer with cheesecake topping. Spread top and sides of cake with 1⅔ cups icing. Spoon remaining icing into pastry bag fitted with star tip. Pipe icing in rosettes atop cake. Refrigerate until cake is slightly chilled and icing sets, at least 30 minutes.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and keep refrigerated. Let cake stand at room temperature 2 hours before serving.

Devil’s Food Cake with Chocolate-Orange Buttercream Frosting

The subtle hint of lavender is a nice accent in this cake. Dried lavender blossoms are available in the spice section of some supermarkets, at natural foods stores, and at some specialty foods stores and farmers’ markets, but the blossoms can be omitted, if you prefer.
12 servings

4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped

1½ cups unbleached all purpose flour

½ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup whole milk

½ cup plain whole-milk yogurt

1½ cups (packed) golden brown sugar

¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 teaspoons dried lavender blossoms, finely ground in spice mill (optional)

4 large eggs

8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped

½ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder

7 tablespoons (or more) water

4 cups powdered sugar, divided

1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon finely grated orange peel

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur

Chocolate curls

CAKE:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1½ -inch-high sides. Line pan bottoms with parchment paper. Stir chocolate in medium metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water. Cool to barely lukewarm.

Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, coarse salt, and baking soda into medium bowl. Whisk milk and yogurt in small bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, and lavender (if using) in large bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in melted chocolate. Beat in dry ingredients alternately with milk mixture in 3 additions each. Divide batter between prepared pans.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 15 minutes. Cut around pan sides to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto racks; remove parchment and cool completely.

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
Stir chocolate in medium metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water. Cool until barely lukewarm but still pourable. Combine cocoa and 7 tablespoons water in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until smooth and thick but still pourable, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if necessary to thin. Cool.

Beat ⅓ cup powdered sugar, butter, and orange peel in large bowl to blend. Add melted chocolate, vanilla, and coarse salt; beat until smooth. Beat in cocoa mixture. Gradually add remaining 3 ⅔ cups powdered sugar and beat until frosting is smooth. Mix in Grand Marnier.

Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread 1½ cups frosting over. Top with second cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake, swirling decoratively. Mound chocolate curls in center of cake.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let cake stand at room temperature 2 hours before serving.

Chocolate Stout Cake

Stout (a kind of dark beer) has creamy chocolate and coffee notes that lend a mildly sweet flavor to this three-layer cake. Be sure the stout and butter mixture is simmering when the cocoa is added. Whisking the cocoa powder into this simmering mixture actually creates an even more intense chocolate flavor.
12 servings

2 cups stout (such as Guinness)

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, diced

1½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)

4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon baking soda

1½ teaspoons salt

4 large eggs

1⅓ cups sour cream

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped

CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter three 8-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line pan bottoms with parchment paper; butter paper. Bring stout and butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat, whisking to melt butter. Add cocoa and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool to lukewarm.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat 10 to 15 seconds at low speed. Using rubber spatula, gently fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among prepared pans.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. Cut around pan sides to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto rack, peel off parchment, and cool completely.

ICING:
Bring cream to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Refrigerate until icing thickens to spreadable consistency, stirring frequently, about 2 hours.

Place 1 cake layer on plate. Spread ⅔ cup icing over. Top with second cake layer. Spread ⅔ cup icing over. Top with third cake layer. Spread remaining icing over top and sides of cake.

A cake is truly more than the sum of its delicious parts—but a beautiful frosting is key to making a fantastic first impression. Here are some ways to create professional-looking frosted cakes.

1
PREP:
If the cooled cake layers are domed, use a serrated knife to carefully trim the tops and make them level. Set one cake layer on a cardboard round that is slightly smaller in diameter than the cake so that it’s concealed, or set the cake layer on a flat cake plate. A dab of frosting on the cardboard or plate helps anchor the cake.

2
FILL AND LAYER:
Spread the filling over the cake layer, keeping it half an inch from the edge of the cake [1]; then top with the second cake layer (this allows some wiggle room for the filling to ooze) [2]. It’s best to place the bottom layer cut side up and the top layer cut side down; the cut surfaces absorb some of the filling, while the smooth, flat surface forms a nice shape for the finished cake. Sometimes the top layer slides around, which makes frosting the cake difficult. To solve this, cover the layered cake with plastic and chill it until the filling becomes firm and the top layer is securely set in place.