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Brooklyn Blackout Cake

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(Adapted from this recipe.)

This is a rich, very dark chocolate cake, with a chocolate pudding filling and a chocolate fudge frosting. It’s not terribly sweet (there’s no buttercream, no multiple cups of confectioner’s sugar in the frosting, etc.), nor is there an exceptional amount of fat. The focus is squarely on the chocolate.

A cake ring is mandatory to assemble the cake effectively. (I make them out of poster board and wax paper, but “real” cake rings are easily available.)

Contents

Make the frosting first, two days in advance; transfer it to a jar and let it cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator. A day in advance, bake the cake, and cook the pudding while the cake is in the oven; let cake and pudding cool on racks. Fill and frost the cake as per instructions below. It will be ready the next day.

Frosting

This is a chocolate fudge frosting, not too sweet, with a great texture.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Melt 3⁄4 cup butter and 12 oz. semisweet chocolate together in a large bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (or in a double boiler), stirring until smooth.
  2. Whisk in 1⁄2 cup hot water, 1 tbsp corn syrup, and 1 tbsp vanilla extract until combined.
  3. Pour frosting into jar and seal. Let cool to room temperature, then chill in refrigerator.

Cake

This is a dark cake with a strong chocolate flavor.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 8-inch round cake pan; line the bottoms with parchment paper discs. Dust sides of pans with cocoa powder (shake off excess).
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together 13⁄4 cup all purpose flour, 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup light brown sugar, 3⁄4 cup cocoa powder, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1 tsp salt until well combined.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 cup buttermilk, 1⁄2 cup vegetable oil, 2 eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla extract thoroughly.
  4. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing continuously to combine. Then slowly incorporate the 1 cup hot brewed coffee, stirring until the batter is smooth and thin with no flour pockets.
  5. Divide cake evenly between the two prepared 8-inch pans and bake for 40 minutes. Test doneness with a toothpick; it should come out clean without wet batter.
  6. Turn the cake layers out onto a rack to cool completely before frosting.
  7. Slice domed tops off both cake layers and set aside (to make crumbs for decorating the cake). (Slice just the dome top off one layer, but the entire dome off the other layer.)

Pudding

This is a thick chocolate pudding with a strong, clear chocolate flavor.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Whisk together 3 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp instant coffee powder, 3 tbsp cornstarch, 1⁄3 cup sugar, and 1⁄4 tsp salt in small saucepan, breaking up any clumps.
  2. Add the water, a tablespoon at a time, mixing thoroughly, to make a thick paste with no clumps.
  3. Slowly add the rest of the water, whisking smooth after each addition.
  4. Set heat to low, cook pudding, stirring gently but constantly, until thickened (this should happen when pudding reads ~190 °F on an instant-read thermometer).
  5. Stir in the 3 oz. bittersweet chocolate and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
  6. Transfer pudding to bowl and place plastic wrap directly on pudding surface (to prevent a skin from forming).
  7. Set pudding on rack to cool.

Assembly

  1. Take prepared frosting out of the refrigerator.
  2. Allow both cake and pudding to come to room temperature.
  3. Slice the thicker of the two cake layers in half.
  4. Place the other, un-divided, cake layer on cake stand on platform (cake stand, cardboard cake round, etc.), cut side up.
  5. Secure cake ring around cake bottom layer.
  6. Spoon half the pudding onto the bottom layer.
  7. Place the top half of the second cake layer atop the pudding, upside-down. Push down gently to distribute pudding.
  8. Spoon the rest of the pudding on the second layer.
  9. Place the other half of the second cake layer atop the pudding, cut side down. Push down gently to distribute pudding.
  10. Spread a small amount of frosting atop the cake, to act as moisture seal.
  11. Put cake in refrigerator to chill for ~4 hours.
  12. Take cake out of refrigerator and carefully remove cake ring (spreading any pudding that remains on the cake ring back onto the side of the cake).
  13. Apply a light layer of frosting to sides of cake, as crumb coat.
  14. Spread three-quarters of remaining frosting on top and sides of cake.
  15. Place reserved cake layer tops in food processor; pulse several times to make crumbs.
  16. Apply crumbs to cake top and sides. (Make sure cake is fully coated, leaving no bare frosting visible.)
  17. Decorate cake top with rosettes or other patterns of the remaining frosting.