Happy (almost) Halloween! I've talked about my issues with cake before...and I seem to hold a very unpopular opinion: cake is overrated. Now, this doesn't mean that I am completely anti-cake. I love making cakes and using them for creative expression and having others enjoy the cake. So, I present to you my Spooky Blackout Cake that is pure decadence for my chocolate lovers. The cake is balanced- it's sweet but not too sweet. The addition of espresso powder allows for the chocolate to shine.
Now, before you look at this recipe and think that it's a spell from a mysterious cookbook, trust me when I say that it's just a regular ol' chocolate cake (with a few spooky enhancements).
Tips to make the Spookiest Blackout Cake possible:
Measuring flour - the key to any fluffy and tender baked good is accurately measuring your flour. Typically when you just scoop out the flour straight from the container, you end up measuring way too much flour. This is because when you scoop the flour straight from the container, you are packing it down too much, meaning that your measuring cup is filled with dense flour. Measuring too much flour can ruin almost any baked good, so I recommend using a kitchen food scale when possible since this will provide the most accurate results. However, if you do not have a food scale the most accurate way you can measure your flour is by spooning the flour into your measuring cup until it is full. Then with the flat side of a butter knife, swipe the excess overflowing flour off. This method is called spooning and leveling your flour.
Egg-free recipe - this cake recipe is egg free. To ensure that this cake is moist and tall without eggs, we use yogurt, baking soda, baking powder, and vinegar.
Ingredient Temperature - it is important to use room temperature ingredients in this cake. This helps ensure that your ingredients combine easily and well to form a homogenous batter.
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours plus chilling time
YIELD: 8 servings
INGREDIENTS:
Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour (360 grams)
3/4 cup black or dutch processed cocoa powder (25 grams)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (300 grams)
3/4 cups brown sugar (150 grams)
1 cup yogurt (200 grams)
1 cup olive oil
1 3/4 cups whole milk (420 grams)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons espresso/instant coffee powder
1 teaspoon salt
Frosting
1 1/2 cup (3 sticks) super soft butter
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder (add more to taste)
1/4 cup room temperature heavy cream
Vanilla extract
1 teaspoon espresso/instant coffee powder
METHOD:
Preheat your oven to 350° F and line three-6 inch or two-9 inch cake pans with parchment.
In a bowl, combine the room temperature milk and vinegar. Set it aside to curdle and measure out the rest of your ingredients.
In your stand mixer bowl or a separate bowl, add in the flour, cocoa powder, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, instant coffee, and salt. Mix until all of the dry ingredients are fully combined.
Evenly divide the batter into your pans and bake for 20-30 minutes.Once it is finished baking, let it cool for at least 30 minutes before removing it from the pan. Then, let the layers cool completely.
Once completely cooled, wrap each layer in saran wrap and refrigerate overnight. While the cake refrigerates overnight, combine all of your ingredients for the strawberry filling and refrigerate overnight too.
The next day, make the frosting by beating your softened butter on high for 5 minutes. Beating it for a long period of time ensures that it is fluffy and smooth.
Add in all the cocoa powder and heavy cream and beat. Then add the powdered sugar half a cup at a time and beat until smooth. You can add more/less depending on how sweet you want it. After all of the sugar is added, continue to beat for another 2 minutes until everything is smooth. Add in vanilla extract and coffee powder.
Remove the cake layers from the fridge just before frosting. Trim the layers if needed to make them leveled. Then, transfer the frosting to a piping bag and frost the layers and outside of the cake. Add some spooky decorations, and enjoy!
made this? DM us a picture or tag us @agktchn!