Go Back
Print
chocolate cake

Penultimate Chocolate Cake

Deep, rich, moist, big. A proper chocolate cake.
Course cake
Keyword cake, chocolate cake, chocolate, dessert, layer cake
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients

Cake

Dry stuff

  • 620 grams sugar
  • 420 grams cake flour
  • 130 grams Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 10 grams salt
  • 15 grams baking soda
  • 11 grams glycerol monostearate mine came from Amazon, optional, but makes a difference (it acts as an emulsifier)


Wet stuff:

  • 340 grams buttermilk
  • 340 grams canola oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 25 grams vanilla extract

and (but don't mix with other wet ingredients yet)

  • 340 grams boiling water

Syrup:

  • 200 grams sugar
  • 100 grams water
  • 50 grams vodka or any other alcohol you prefer (or, if you must, water)

Instructions

Prepare the pans

  1. Grease and flour the pans, or spray with Baker's Joy or the equivalent.
  2. Cut parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pans.
  3. Grease and flour, or spray, the parchment paper in the bottom of the pans.

Cake

Dry stuff

  1. Whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl
  2. Sift those whisked-together dry ingredients into another bowl.

Wet stuff

  1. Combine all the wet ingredients, except the water, in the mixer bowl.
  2. Mix the wet ingredients on low speed until they reach a consistent, uniform color.

Mix it all together

  1. With mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a handful (big spoon) at a time.
  2. Mix just until the ingredients are combined and the batter is a uniform color.
  3. Boil the water.
  4. With mixer on low, slowly pour the boiling water (so you don't cook the batter) into the mixer bowl. The final batter will be thin.

Fill the pans

  1. Weigh the batter, divide by three, then pour equal amounts into the prepared pans. Or, if your spatial intelligence is better than mine, eyeball it.

Bake the layers

Most ovens will probably be too small to bake all three layers at once.

  1. Place pans on center rack of preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes. ChefSteps says the cakes are done when they reach an internal temperature of 205°. I use a thermometer, but a toothpick that comes out clean is a reliable test.

While the cakes are baking, make the syrup

  1. Bring the sugar and water to a boil.
  2. After it's boiled, let it sit on the counter until the cake layers are ready.
  3. When the syrup is room temperature, stir in the alcohol (if you add when the syrup is hot, the alcohol will cook out, and we certainly don't want that).

When the cakes are done

  1. Remove from oven and slam on the counter to get rid of air bubbles in the cake. Don't be afraid.
  2. Allow cakes to cool completely before removing from pan.
  3. Working one layer at a time, flip the layer onto a plate or cardboard cake round.
  4. Remove the parchment paper stuck to the layer.
  5. Brush the layer with the syrup.
  6. Frost the layer with whatever frosting you want.
  7. Start over with the next layer, until all three layers are stacked on top of each other.
  8. Finish frosting the cake.