As I write this, my angel food cake is upside down, cooling in the kitchen.

Upside down. You heard me right.

Making angel food cake is one of the great acts of culinary faith. After separating a dozen eggs, beating them to soft peaks, and baking your cake in a quake-free kitchen, flipping it over so that it can cool upside down is absolutely the last thing you’ll want to do. Trust me.

But, it’s one of the things that will guarantee you a tall, light & fluffy cake. Don’t worry, I’ll show you how to do it.

Angel food cake is built out of egg whites, sugar, and a minuscule amount of flour. Since the egg whites provide most of the body and structure for the cake, the name of the game is to not de-poof your whites once they’re beaten.

A modern twist on classic Grandmother Cake

This recipe comes from America’s Test Kitchen. I hate to say it, but I think it actually beats my 1950′s Betty Crocker version. No joke.

Wait, I have to grind up sugar?

Yep! Hear me out.

For this recipe, America’s Test Kitchen tested a bunch of different kinds of sugar. In the end, they grind up regular white, granulated sugar to lighten it so that it doesn’t weigh the egg whites down.

Here’s my sugar before grinding, just as it came out of the package.

And here’s my sugar after grinding.

Fussy? Absolutely. Worth it? I was skeptical, but after tasting the final cake, I actually think it’s worth it to take the extra step.

That said, next time, I might try bar sugar, also known as superfine sugar. (This is the sugar that you use in cocktails, because it basically dissolves instantly.) The recipe didn’t mention it, and I’m curious. My box of bar sugar says it would be great in meringues, souffles, and mousses. I’m thinking angel food cake would work, too, and it would cut out one kind of fussy step. More on that when I try it.

Tips for making angel food cake

• Don’t grease your pan. (Really, don’t. You need the cake to stick to the pan so that it doesn’t fall out when you cool it upside down).
• Use cake flour. Trust me. It’s lighter than regular flour.
• Don’t get a speck of yolk in your egg whites. Yolks are all fat, and fat keeps egg whites from whipping up properly.
• No jumping in the kitchen when it’s in the oven. Think of this as a slightly more stable souffle.
• Cool it upside down for 3 hours to minimize sinkage and maximize poof.
• Angel food cake doesn’t like humidity. So, if it’s sticky & hot where you are, make the cake the day you’re going to serve it.

What is cake flour?

Cake flour is milled more than standard flour, which means that it’s much finer and lighter. (Sounds just like what we’re doing with the sugar, right? For angel food cake, smaller particles of just about everything are better.)

The protein content is also lower than all-purpose flour. The more protein in a flour, the more gluten your baked goods will develop. Gluten basically equals chewiness, which is great for a crusty loaf of bread, but not so great for a cake. Cake flour makes cakes with a really light, fine crumb.

Most big grocery stores in the U.S. carry cake flour in the baking aisle. If you can’t find it locally, you can definitely order it online. I usually grab Swan’s Down at my regular market, or King Arthur Flour’s unbleached cake flour when I order online.

Use a tube pan with a removable bottom

I always use a regular, 10-inch tube pan with a removable bottom to bake my angel food cakes. (This is my pan.)

You can also use a special “angel food cake pan,” (like this one) which is basically a tube pan with three tabs on the rim to hold up the pan when you cool the cake.

To the ovens!

Angel Food Cake

Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen Magazine

1 cup + 2 Tbls. cake flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups white sugar
12 large egg whites
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Serves 10-12

Bring your eggs up to room temperature

Set your eggs out on the counter about a half an hour before you want to bake. You want to bring them to room temperature, because room temp egg whites beat up fluffier than cold egg whites.

Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees.

Grind up the sugar

This is fussy, I know. But I do think it definitely makes a difference. If you don’t have a food processor, I’m pretty confident that a blender will work just as well.

Put the sugar in the bowl of your food processor.

Cap it and turn it on high for a few minutes. Warning: You’re going to get a little sugar cloud. Toss a damp towel over the top to keep it contained.

When the sugar is ground up, take about half of it and set it aside in a bowl. (You’re going to add the sugar to the batter in two parts.)

Add the cake flour to the sugar that’s left in the food processor.

Give that a whirl on high for a minute. This is just to combine it well and make a really uniform mixture.

Set that aside while you deal with the eggs.

Separate the eggs

Separate your eggs, whites in one bowl, yolks in another. It’s absolutely critical (words you’ll hardly ever hear from me, I know) that you don’t get any yolk in the egg whites. Even a little yolk will keep the whites from whipping up to soft peaks.

I just use my hand to separate the eggs. (Crack the egg in your hand over a bowl. Cradle the yolk so it doesn’t break. Let the white pour through your fingers into the bowl. Repeat.) If you’d rather not do it by hand, you can always use an egg separator.

Save the yolks for another purpose. They’ll keep in the fridge for about a day. A great way to use up extra egg yolks is to make ice cream.

Beat the egg whites to soft peaks

Put your egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a large bowl if you’re beating by hand or with a handheld mixer). Toss in the cream of tartar. It might clump up a little. That’s just fine. Your mixer will bash those little clumps apart.

What does cream of tartar do? Basically, it’s an acid, and a little bit of acid will help your whites beat up fluffier. It will also help stabilize them.

Beat the whites on high until they get white and frothy. This will take a minute or so.

Like this:

When the whites are frothy, slowly add the reserved, ground up sugar with the mixer running. (NOT the sugar & flour.)

Beat the mixture for another 5 minutes or so, until the egg whites form soft peaks.

When they’re ready, your egg whites will look like this…

…and form a soft peak (i.e. a peak that flops over when you pull the beater out of the bowl).

Finish the batter

Add the vanilla extract and beat to incorporate.

Take the remaining flour & sugar mixture. Sift half of it into your beaten egg whites to remove any clumps. (Clumps = weight, which means droopage for your finished cake.)

Gently fold the sifted flour into the egg whites.

Repeat with the rest of the flour mixture.

Your finished batter will look about like this:

Bake the angel food cake

Transfer the batter to your tube cake pan. DON’T grease the pan beforehand. You want it to stick to the sides, so that it doesn’t fall out when you cool it upside down.

Smooth the batter down gently with a spatula so it’s about even.

Bake on the lower-middle rack at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

The cake is done when it’s golden brown on top and when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

The top of your cake will crack a little. That’s just fine.

Invert the cake & cool completely

Let the cake cool for about 5 minutes on the counter. Then get ready to flip the cake. You’ll need a smaller, sturdy stand with a flat bottom. A clay flower pot is ideal…it’s flat, heat absorbant, etc. You could also use a bowl.

Remember, you didn’t grease the pan, so the cake is sticking to the sides…which is what keeps it from falling out.

Deep breath. Ready?

Grab the cake pan with potholdered paws, and…flip it over quickly and calmly so that the center part of the pan is resting squarely in the middle of the bottom of the flower pot.

Make sure that it’s steady on the flower pot (i.e. so that when the kids/dog/your rowdy friends gallop through your kitchen, it won’t tip and fall) and…that’s it! Let the cake stay like this until it’s completely cool. Gravity will do its work and help keep your cake nice and tall.

Unmold, slice & serve

When your cake is cool, flip it back over. Run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen it and remove it from the pan.

Serving ideas

What do you like with your cake? Here are some ideas (I’m partial to the lemon icing):

• Fresh berries
• Whipped cream spiked with Kahlua
• A dusting of powdered sugar
• A drizzle of quick lemon icing (mix fresh lemon juice into sifted powdered sugar until it’s thin enough to drizzle)
• Chocolate ice cream & a dollop of hot fudge

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

As much as I hate to admit it, The Angry Chef and I are turning into those people who communicate with friends largely via text message.

Our good friend the Baron Von Hammer came to visit us recently, right around his birthday. That being a rather auspicious occasion, I wanted to make him something special. So naturally (and kind of embarrassingly) I sent him a text to ask him about it.

Our exchange went something like this:

Me: What is your favorite dessert, please?

The Baron: Chocolate! Or cheesecake.

Me: How would you feel about a chocolate cheesecake?

The Baron: I would love it!

When he landed in Salem, The Baron announced his arrival in kind:

The Baron: I am here! At Gulu Gulu, enjoying some fine Czech beer.

Now, Gulu has a great beer list, so we could hardly blame him. So, we harnessed up the beasts and mosied off to collect him. After poking around our favorite comic book store and kitchen shop, we headed home to catch up properly—and, of course, to feast.

Get to the cheesecake!

Yep, yep. Sorry!

SO! This cheesecake is based on a recipe by Emeril Lagasse. I made a few modifications (screwed around with the amount of sour cream and added some chocolate liquor and cocoa powder to deepen the chocolate flavor), and it came out great.

It was rich, dense, tangy—and packed with chocolate-y goodness.

Cheesecake is delicious…even when the top cracks

At this point in my life, I think I’m just one of those people who’s destined to bake cheesecakes with cracks.

I’ve tried all the tricks. Bake it with a pan of water in the oven. Let it cool in the oven with the door cracked. To no avail. My beautiful cheesecake that starts out looking like this:

Ends up looking like this by the time it’s completely cool:

Luckily, this is strictly an aesthetic problem, and doesn’t at all interfere with the out-of-this-world deliciousity that is this cheesecake. If this happens to you, just toss on some kind of yummy garnish and keep moving.

Try a handful of fresh mint leaves, sliced strawberries, whipped cream, or chocolate ganache (if you wanted to be really wicked).

Chocolate Cheesecake

Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

1 1/2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs (or chocolate wafer cookie crumbs)
1 cup plus 3 Tbls. sugar
3 Tbls. butter, melted + more to grease the pan
16 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsp. creme de cacao or chocolate liquor
2 Tbls. flour
1 Tbls. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 eggs
8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled slightly

Yields one 9-inch cheesecake. Serves one, or more (about 12-16) if you feel like sharing.

Make the cookie crumb crust

Grab your chocolate graham crackers. If you can’t find them, you can totally also use chocolate wafer cookies.

Toss them in a large zip-top bag (or your food processor) and smash them to bits. I usually use a rolling pin for this, but a mallet or even a wine bottle (etc.) would also work.

You want to wind up with a fairly fine crumb, like this.

Take your butter and whack it into a few pieces. Melt it in the microwave or in a small pot on the stove over low heat.

(Mmmm, melted butter…)

Measure out your cookie crumbs and add them to the melted butter.

Toss in 3 Tablespoons of sugar.

Mix it all together until the butter and sugar are evenly distributed and all the crumbs are moist. You’re aiming for the consistency of wet sand.

Grab your springform pan.

That’s one of these jobbies, with the buckle on the side.

Grease the bottom and sides with butter.

Toss in the cookie crumb mixture.

Spread it around and press it down so that it covers the entire bottom of the pan in a fairly even layer.

Be sure to pack it down well, to help keep it from crumbling when you cut it.

Set the pan aside for a few. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. (If you’re using a dark pan like mine, bake your cheesecake at 325 degrees. If you’re using a regular silver pan, raise the heat to 350 degrees.)

Make the chocolate cheesecake filling

Melt the chocolate and set it aside. (You can do this in the microwave on high, stirring every 20 seconds or so—or in a bowl over a pot of simmering water on the stove.)

Toss the cream cheese and the sour cream into the bowl of your mixer.

Add the creme de cacao and the remaining 1 cup of sugar to the bowl. Beat it together until smooth.

Toss in the cocoa powder and the flour.

Beat to incorporate.

Add the melted chocolate. Beat to incorporate.

(Resist the urge to jump in and swim around in the bowl with your mouth open.)

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing in between each to incorporate.

You’ll wind up with a medium-thick batter that makes nice, goopy ribbons off the beater:

Bake the chocolate cheesecake

Pour the batter into your prepared pan.

Smooth down the surface with a spatula or the back of a wooden spoon.

Pop it into your preheated oven and bake at 325 degrees (350 if you’re using a silver, not a dark, pan) for 60 – 70 minutes. (And if you have any magic tricks for avoiding cracks in the surface, by all means, use them. )

When it’s done, it will look cooked on the edges and *almost* set in the center.

Cool and serve

When it’s done, remove it from the oven gently.

Let it cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then run a small, sharp knife around the inside edge to loosen it up.

Let it cool completely in the pan before removing the outer rim. As your cheesecake cools, it will sink a little, and may crack on the top (see my comments earlier in this post).

Pop the cheesecake into the fridge for at least 4 hours (or overnight) before serving.

Slice, serve, and inhale. Enjoy!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Random fact #71 about The Hungry Mouse: I actually own a cake pan shaped like the state of Texas. True story. It’s cast aluminum, and it was my first purchase on eBay, like 8,000 years ago. I think I paid maybe nine bucks for it.

This, however, is not that cake. This is way, way better.

They say everything’s bigger in Texas. When it comes to cake, they were right. At least, so says this Yankee Mouse.

This recipe makes an impressive amount of cake. Like, almost too much cake. (Almost.)

What is Texas Sheet Cake?

Texas Sheet Cake is a thin chocolate cake topped with chocolate frosting and toasted, chopped pecans.

It’s also a really fast cake to make. You can throw it together from start to finish in just over a half an hour, give or take. Once it’s finished, you need to let it sit for about an hour to set up and settle in.

Much like my Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake, you don’t need a mixer or any fancy equipement. Just a couple of bowls and a pot.

This is a great cake to bring to a party. Or a picnic. Or a barbecue. (Fourth of July festivities, anyone?) It travels well. Just wrap the sheet pan in plastic wrap, grab a knife and a spatula, and you’re good to go.

I found this recipe in a recent issue of Cook’s Country. The good folks over at Cook’s Illustrated say that it serves 24.

I guess that depends entirely on how much you feel like sharing.

I love the crew over at Cook’s Illustrated, because they’ll spend a lot of time monkeying around with a recipe, testing a zillion different versions until they find the one they like best. They also tell you about how they arrived at the final recipe.

For example, for this recipe, they wanted to boost the chocolate flavor of the cake, because their initial attempts just weren’t fudgey enough. So they increased the amount of cocoa powder—and added melted semisweet chocolate.

An unconventional method

This cake defies one of the 10 Commandments of Baking: Thou shalt not frost until the cake is cool.

Almost all frosted cake recipes call for waiting until the cake has cooled completely before applying the frosting. If you don’t, the heat from the cake will break down your frosting, leaving you with a runny, drippy mess.

Not this recipe. Listen up.

So, you bake this cake for about 20 minutes, yank it out of the oven, then completely douse it in warm chocolate frosting. While it’s hot. (Yep, you heard me right.)

The frosting sinks into the cake as it cools, creating this unbelievably moist, fudgey layer on top. It’s a lot like a very cakey brownie.

Let’s look at that a little closer, shall we?

Oh, after you put on the frosting, you immediately sprinkle the whole thing with chopped, toasted pecans. The pecans nestle into the frosting.

Everybody loved this cake when we brought it over to a party. (The same party that got those S’mores Bars.) I hope you enjoy it!

Texas Sheet Cake

Adapted from Cook’s Country

Cake
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
4 Tbls. butter
3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Icing
8 Tbls. butter (that’s 1 stick)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbls. light corn syrup
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 Tbls.  vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, toasted & chopped

Pan prep & preheating

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 11 x 18 sheet pan, line with parchment paper, and set aside.

Make the cake batter

Put the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Whisk together until uniform. Set aside for a sec.

Put the eggs (two eggs plus two egg yolks) in a small bowl.

Toss in the vanilla and sour cream.

Beat until smooth. Then set that aside along with the dry ingredients.

Put the chocolate chips, butter, and olive oil in a medium-sized pot on the stove.

Add the water and the cocoa powder.

Cook over medium heat for maybe 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the whole mess melts and is uniform.

Pour the molten chocolate/butter mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture.

Whisk to combine.

It’ll take a minute to get it uniform, and look kind of gross. That’s just fine. Keep going.

(See what I mean? Icky.) You should wind up with a thick, mealy paste.

Add the egg mixture to the bowl.

(Still icky.) And stir until uniform.

Now, it should look like smooth and lovely chocolate cake batter.

The batter will be on the thick side.

Pour the batter out onto your prepared sheet pan.

Spread it around with a rubber spatula or the back of a wooden spoon until it’s evenly distributed.

Pop the pan into your preheated 350-degree oven. Bake 18-20 minutes.

Toast the pecans

Toss your pecans into a nonstick pan (not greased, just throw them right in). Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until lightly brown and very fragrant.

The smell of the toasting pecans brought both beasts into the kitchen. (What can I say? They’re kitchen dogs, through and through.) I wasn’t about to let either of them nibble on hot, toasted nuts, so they had to settle for a few of their favorite apple cookies. Rough life, I know.

When the nuts are toasted, pull them out of the pan. Transfer to a cutting board. Let them cool for a few, then chop them up.

Set aside for now.

Make the icing about 10 minutes before the cake comes out of the oven

That way, it’ll be nice and warm when you pour it on the hot cake. (Hot cake + warm icing = melt-in-your-mouth-fudgey-Texas-Sheet-Cake-goodness.)

Cut the butter up into chunks and put it in a medium-sized pot. Pour in the cream.

Add the light corn syrup to the pot. I like Karo syrup, which you can find in most American grocery stores. If you live outside the U.S., or can’t get your paws on it, try Lyle’s golden syrup or something like it.

Toss in the cocoa powder.

Cook over medium heat for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is melted, smooth, and uniform.

Take the pot off the heat. Stir in the vanilla…

…and the confectioner’s sugar (often called powdered sugar in the U.S.).

Whisk it until all the lumps of sugar are gone.

Frost the cake when it’s hot!

After 18-20 minutes, yank your cake out of the oven. It should be slightly firm to the touch and a little crackly around the edges.

Pour the pot of warm frosting right onto the cake. Do not pass go. Do not let that cake cool.

Spread the icing around with a rubber spatula or the back of a wooden spoon so that it covers the entire cake.

Sprinkle the cake fairly evenly with chopped, toasted pecans.

Let cool for 45 minutes – an hour to let the icing sink into the cake.

When it’s ready, slice into wedges and share with your favorite people.

Enjoy!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The other day, we talked about how to make your own ricotta at home. It’s so simple and so good. (And will only take you about 20 minutes. Maybe not even.)

Homemade ricotta is delicious on its own, drizzled with good olive oil and a little sea salt—or dolloped on fresh pasta, or spread in silky layers in lasagna.

It also makes a fabulous addition to this traditional Italian cake, the Torta di Ricotta (a.k.a. Ricotta Cake). I found this recipe on Culinary Types by T.W. Barritt. He adapted it from The Silver Spoon, that bible-thick tome of traditional Italian recipes.

I made a few changes (light brown sugar to dark, increased the lemon zest, etc.), and was so, so happy with the results.

This cake was a cinch to throw together. It’d be perfect for Sunday brunch—or whenever you have unexpected guests drop by.

This cake is like a coffee cake, but better. It’s rich, but still manages to have a light crumb. It gets a subtle, molasses-tinged sweetness from dark brown sugar, and a burst of brightness from a generous amount of fresh lemon zest. (Orange zest would be great, too.)

A sprinkling of dark brown sugar on the top right before you pop it into the oven gives the cake a slightly crackle-y, sugar-glazed crust.

It’s delicious served with piping hot espresso.

What kind of cake pan should you use?

I made this in my 9 1/2-inch springform pan.

Mr. Barritt used a fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. If you don’t have a cake pan with a bottom that comes out, lightly grease your pan and line the bottom with parchment paper for easier cake removal.

If you make it in a smaller pan (say, if you only have an 8-inch cake pan at home), increase the cooking time a little to account for a thicker cake.

To the ovens!

Torta di Ricotta

Adapted from Culinary Types & The Silver Spoon

Butter for the pan
2 1/4 cups flour
4 eggs
1/2 cup dark brown sugar; extra for sprinkling
1 3/4 cups ricotta
zest from 1 lemon
5 Tbls. olive oil
3/4 cup milk
1 Tbls. baking powder

Yields 1 (9 1/2-inch) cake

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease your pan with butter. Set it aside.

Make the ricotta cake batter

Put the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Beat well.

Toss in the brown sugar.

Whisk together until frothy.

Toss in the ricotta and the lemon zest. (Admittedly, this is kind of icky looking. Trust me: Just keep going.)

Add the olive oil and milk.

Whisk together to combine well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

Stir until the batter just comes together.

It will be thick. (Like, really thick.)

Bake the ricotta cake

Spoon the batter into your prepared pan.

Spread the batter out and smooth the surface down with a spatula or wooden spoon.

Sprinkle the top generously with more dark brown sugar.

Pop the pan into your preheated oven. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes, until the top is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool it in the pan for about 10 minutes.

Unmold it and finish cooling on a rack.

Keeps well, tightly wrapped on the counter, for about 3 days.

Enjoy!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

This is the part of the story, dear reader, where one of my favorite chocolate cakes gets all dressed up and goes to the ball.

This dessert is a riff on my Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake. This version is hopped up on a little espresso, and baked in a springform pan to produce a single, round cake.

I split the cake into two layers, filled it with whipped cream spiked with cocoa powder and some more espresso. I frosted it with a tangy sour cream ganache, then blanketed the top with a hefty sprinkle of chocolate shavings.

Sour cream ganache

A traditional chocolate ganache is made with two ingredients: melted chocolate and heavy cream. I crossed my fingers and substituted sour cream for the heavy cream—and it worked beautifully!

Seriously? It was all that I could do to keep from eating the frosting by the spoonful. (Thank you, Breakstone’s…I never would have thought that sour cream would be so delicious in a chocolate frosting…)

Be still my heart (I think I’m in love)

Now, when it comes to my dessert, I have a confession to make: For someone who decidedly doesn’t have a sweet tooth (no really, I don’t), I ate a lot of this Mocha Layer Cake.

(Like, a lot.)

One of the reasons that I love this cake is that it looks impressive, but it’s ridiculously easy to make—even for folks who don’t have a lot of experience baking. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool completely before you can fill and frost it.

The cake itself is one of those old-fashioned, one-bowl wonders.

Drop the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stir it just until the batter comes together, and pop it into the oven. A drizzle of espresso in the batter really enhances the chocolate flavor. The mocha whipped cream filling is light and airy—which is a great contrast to the fudgy chocolate ganache frosting.

This is also my last entry in the Breakstone’s Triple Churned Challenge. If you like what you see, please consider voting for my menu! (When you vote, you’ll be entered to win $300!)

My last recipe for the Breakstone’s Triple Churned Challenge

So, we’ve been challenged!

That’s right! The good folks from Breakstone’s threw down the gauntlet, and we picked it right up (mice love found things, after all). Here’s the scoop on The Breakstone’s Triple Churned Challenge.

Vote today and be entered to win $300

Breakstone’s challenged me and three other gals to create an appetizer, entree, and dessert using their Triple Churned Sour Cream.

This contest is sponsored by Breakstone’s and the winner will be chosen by reader vote. Readers can vote for their favorite recipes here once a day. The grand prize is $3,000 (how cool is that?)!

And every time you vote, you’ll be entered to win a $300. The more you vote, the greater your chances to win. (Thanks, Breakstone’s!)

If you missed it, here’s my entry in the appetizer category: Panko & Chili Crusted Oven Fried Chicken Fingers.

And my entry in the entree category: Spicy White Pizza with Bacon, Shrimp & Asparagus.

Mocha Layer Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Ganache

Mocha Cake
1 Tbls. instant espresso powder
1 Tbls. water
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup olive oil or canola oil
2 Tbls. white vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups water
spray oil to grease the pan

Mocha Filling
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1  1/2 cups heavy cream
1 Tbls. instant espresso powder
1 Tbls. water

Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
2 cups Breakstone’s sour cream

Yields 1 (9 1/2-inch) cake

Line your springform pan with a parchment paper round

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

I make this cake in a springform pan, which is one of these babies (it has a removable bottom and a clip that opens the outer ring so you can slide it off easily).

Skip this part if you know how to do this. If not, here’s how to line your springform pan in a jiffy.

Cut a piece of parchment paper that’s about as wide as your cake pan. Fold it in quarters.

Trim the edge so the folded paper looks like a slice of pizza and fits well in your pan, with the point in the center.

Open it up and see how it fits (if it’s a little too big, that’s just fine…).

When your round fits, lightly grease the bottom of your pan and stick the round down. Check to be sure that the bottom and sides are secure so your batter doesn’t leak out. Set it aside while you whip up the batter.

Make the cake batter

Grab your instant espresso. I like Ferrara brand, and keep my jar in the fridge to keep it fresh.

Toss the espresso crystals in a small bowl.

Add the water. Stir to dissolve. Set aside for a minute.

Put the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

Mix them together with a whisk or fork until uniform.

Pour in olive oil. (See? This cake is even good for your heart!)

Add the water and the vinegar.

Toss in the vanilla and the espresso.

Whisk it together, breaking up any lumps as you go, until the batter just comes together.

You don’t want to overbeat the batter. (Stirring too much encourages the gluten in the flour to develop, which can lead to a tough—not tender—cake.) Your batter will be thick.

Pour it into your prepared pan.

Bake the cake

Pop the pan into your preheated 350-degree oven and bake for 60-65 minutes. Keep an eye on it after about 45 minutes or so. If you see that the edges are starting to brown/burn a little, slip a piece of foil loosely over the cake as it finishes baking.

Yank it out of the oven when it’s done (the top will be firm and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean).

If the top of your cake cracks, that’s just fine. (After all, you’re just going to slather it in frosting.)

Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for about 10 minutes. Then remove the ring and finish cooling it on a rack.

As hard as it can be, wait until the cake is totally cool before you cut it to ice and frost it. If the cake is warm, the filling and frosting will melt and you’ll be very sad.

Make the ganache

Do this before you make the filling, because it has to cool a little before you can spread it. Put the chocolate chips in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Zap them in the microwave for about a minute on high, stopping every 20 seconds or so to stir. You want to melt the chocolate completely…

Like this. (If you don’t have a microwave, you can totally melt them in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.)

(Nom nom nom…)

Add the Breakstone’s sour cream to the melted chocolate.

Mix the two together.

Resist the urge to sit down with the bowl and a spoon.

Stir until the mixture is uniform.

Set it aside to cool.

Cut the cake into two layers

Wait to do this until your cake is completely cool. (Cutting warm cake and not immediately devouring it can make the cake gummy.)

I use a cake cutter to do this. (If you make a lot of cakes, this is the best 12 bucks you’ll ever spend. It makes splitting your cake ridiculously easy.) If you don’t have one, use a serrated bread knife and just do your best to keep it level. (Although, anyone who would complain about uneven cake layers should be boiled in oil…)

You can adjust the thickness of your layers by moving the wire up and down.

Cut the cake into two even layers.

Carefully separate them. (Again, if you crack one, don’t freak out. Cake layers are delicate, and sometimes they do break. This whole business is going to get covered in whipped cream and frosting. You’ll be able to piece it together just fine.) Leave them be for a minute while you make the whipped cream.

Make the mocha filling

Dissolve the espresso in water in a small bowl.

Put the powdered sugar and cocoa powder in the bowl of your mixer.

Mix them together quickly to combine.

Drizzle the cream in with your mixer running on low.

Add the espresso.

Raise the mixer speed to high and beat until the whipped cream forms stiff peaks. (The mixture will stand up in a point on your beater.)

It should look about like this.

Fill and frost the cake

Grab the bottom layer of your cake. Set it on your serving platter. (Trust me, do this now. You’re not going to want to move this sucker once it’s frosted.)

Add the whipped cream in the center.

Spread it to the edges with a spatula.

Set the other piece of cake on top like a hat.

Gently (gently!) press down on it with flat palms (to distribute the force).

By now, your frosting should be cool to about room temperature. It’ll be thick and glossy. Spread it over the top and sides of the cake.

Cover with chocolate shavings.

(To make these, set a piece of wax paper on the counter. Take a carrot peeler to a big block of chocolate and grate ribbons onto the wax paper. Watch your fingers.)

Pop the cake in the fridge, uncovered, to chill for like an hour. It’ll set up, and generally get happy.

Slice. Serve. Inhale. Repeat.

‘Nuff said.

I was going to delete this picture, until The Angry Chef told me it looks like the Millennium Falcon. (This cake has made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs. It’s outrun Imperial starships!)(Sorry.)

If you liked this cake, please vote for me!

You can vote daily, and be entered to win $300.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.