Baking 101: Easy Chocolate Cake

Happy valentines everyone! What is the most popular gift for V-day? Of course chocolates! Forget about the diet...why? because chocolate makes you feel good. It also associated with passion, romance and love. Surprise your lovey dovey with a lovely dinner and end with this decadent dessert.


The cake is moist and very chocolatey. I suggest that you eat this at room temperature so you'll have a taste of the bursting chocolatey goodness of this cake. The frosting also tends to harden when refrigerated. If you'll check the ingredients, it has cream in it, which is very high in fat. If you refrigerated them, pop it quickly in a microwave oven to soften the frosting a bit, about 20-30 seconds or lesser.


Ingredients


for the Cake
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsps coffee granules, dissolved in 1 cup of very hot water
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract


Frosting
1 cup cream, I used Nestle cream in can
1 stick unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
450 g semisweet chocolate, chopped


Procedure:


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Farenheit.


1. Sift together sugar, flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Pour the hot coffee over the chopped chocolate. Stir until chocolate has melted completely. Set aside.
3. In another mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, sour cream and vanilla. Add the melted chocolate. Mix until well blended.
4. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture by thirds. mix until well blended.
5. Pour batter into 2 lined 9" round baking pans.
6. Bake for 45 minutes or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Remove from the oven, allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before turning out of the pans. Cool completely before frosting the cake.


Frosting
1. Heat cream, butter, sugar, salt in a saucepan until the butter is melted. Add chopped chocolates and melt over low heat. Stir constantly until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat.


2. Cool the frosting while stirring constantly. For faster cooling, put the bowl inside the freezer for two minutes, then take them off and stir. Repeat the process until the frosting is cool and of spreading consistency.


To assemble
1. Trim the dome part of the cakes to have an even surface. Place 1 cake in a cake stand.
2. Pour frosting on top of the first cake. Spread the frosting until the top of the cake is covered.
3. Put the remaining cake, upside down on top of the first cake. Spread the remaining frosting all over the cake.


Enjoy!