Chocolate Cake

Avery Mia. That’s the name of new niece born this past St. Patrick’s Day. The hospital did not serve any green beer which bummed me out. But no green beer can ever equate to the incredible happiness when we finally saw the precious little face of Avery. She is such a beautiful baby… with her fat cheeks and full lips and luscious brown hair.

I went shopping over the weekend for Avery. I got her the chicest black turtleneck onesie with a subtle bow on the sleeves. I got her a casual tunic with pretty embroidered ballerinas paired with brown ruched leggings. Then I got her a fabulous blue dress adorned with mod floral design at the bottom. Avery will be channeling her inner Carrie Bradshaw when she wears this with all that tulle fluffing underneath. Shopping for my nephews is fun, but shopping for my niece is bliss!

To celebrate her arrival, I made a classic Chocolate Cake. No frilly decorations, no whimsical filling or flavoring. Just a satisfying Devil’s Food Cake paired with Chocolate Frosting. The cake recipe I used is the chocolate cake recipe I learned from my days at Le Cordon Bleu. I like the crumb that this recipe makes because it has cake flour instead of all-purpose flour (the main reason I like this recipe a lot over others) and it’s got great chocolate flavor. I included the cake recipe below.

Then I used Ina Garten’s Chocolate Frosting as featured in her book, Barefoot Contessa At Home. I absolutely dig this frosting! It’s simple and yet it’s one of the most flavorful chocolate frostings I’ve tasted. It has instant coffee which really enhances the flavor of the chocolate. Ina’s At Home cookbook is a must have. I tell you to get it and keep it in your cookbook collection. For a recipe of Ina’s frosting, you can visit her Chocolate Frosting recipe on Food Network here or simply order a copy of her book here.

Devil’s Food Cake

This cake makes one 10-inch cake. With Ina’s Chocolate Frosting, use two 8-inch round cake pans to ensure you have enough frosting, just be sure to not overfill the pans with the batter.

Ingredients:

4.5 oz. eggs, room temperature

12 oz. granulated sugar

3 oz. cocoa powder

3/4 oz. baking soda

1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

10.5 oz. cake flour

7 oz. vegetable oil

7 oz. buttermilk, room temperature

8 oz. fresh brewed coffee

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Spray your round cake pans with non-stick spray and line with parchment paper and then spray again including the sides of the pan.

2. Whip the eggs and sugar using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until very full. Meanwhile, sift all the dry ingredients together and set aside. Then combine all the wet ingredients in a large bowl or pyrex cup and set aside.

3. Alternately add the dry and wet ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined. Do not overmix. Divide batter into your prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

4. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the pan and let it cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.

Notes:

1. Before assembling the cake, trim domed tops using a serrated knife.

2. If you used two 8-inch cake pans, you can just stack the trimmed cakes on top of each other to make a 2 layer cake.

3. If you used a 10-inch cake, you can evenly split the trimmed cake in half to make two layers. Just make sure to whip some extra frosting so you have enough filling and enough to coat the cake.