Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake with Glossy Chocolate Icing

I have mixed feelings about this cake.  It is indeed delicious.  It's a dark chocolate cake and it's moist and dense without being too sweet.  I was excited about making this icing. I have always wanted to find a chocolate icing recipe that resulted in a silky smooth glossy icing. This one sounded like a hit.  It was really tasty but my icing never fully thickened up.  I have no idea where I went wrong.   I followed the recipe exactly but the final consistency was a thick ganche like texture - even after sitting in the fridge all night.  I used it anyway and as you can see from the photos, it really didn't stay put very well. The sides of the cake kind of sagged. 

The photos show little tiny bumps in the icing but for some reason, they were not evident in your mouth.  I guess that was the cocoa powder.  Maybe I should have sifted it first.  But anyway, this cake is delicious and easy to make.  There are surprisingly no eggs in the recipe.  I thought that was kind of strange but it worked.  If you like a sweeter milk chocolate cake, then you won't care for the darkness of this cake. (I personally like a sweeter cake myself) The icing really makes it dark.  It's a good basic chocolate cake recipe and if you are able to make the icing work, then this recipe would be an awesome one!

Chocolate Cake

Cuisine at Home


Whisk Together:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 t. baking soda

1 t. table salt



Combine; Add:

2 cups hot water

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 T. white vinegar

1 T. instant coffee granules

1 T. vanilla extract



Preheat oven to 350. Spray two 8" round cake pans with nonstick spray.



Whisk dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Combine water, oil, vinegar, instant coffee, and vanilla in a large measuring cup. Add to the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined. Divide batter among pans, then bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Cool cakes for 15 minutes on a rack, then invert them onto the rack.


Glossy Chocolate Frosting


Makes: 4 Cups



Melt:

1 stick (8 T.) unsalted butter



Stir in:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

Pinch salt



Combine; Gradually Add:

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup sour cream

1 t. instant coffee granules



Off Heat, Add:

2 t. vanilla extract



Melt butter in a large saucepan.

Stir in sugar, cocoa, and salt.

Combine cream, sour cream, and instant coffee in a large measuring cup, mixing until smooth. Gradually add cream mixture to chocolate until blended. Cook until sugar dissolves, and mixture is smooth and hot to the touch. Do not boil.

Off heat, add vanilla. Cool icing at room temperature until spreadable, about 3 hours. Frost cake.