This is a hard cake to peg. I thought about opening with "attention all chocolate lovers" as it is, after all, a chocolate cake paired with chocolate fudge frosting. Then I thought better of it because I don't want the misconception that this recipe is a sickeningly sweet extravaganza; there is such thing as taking things too far and creating a confection that's overpowering.
What I enjoyed about this recipe is that it is very modest. My father-in-law suspiciously asked if this was a healthy-dessert recipe because the cake was not super sugary. This is more of a dark chocolate flavor than anything else- I would rate it as a bar that's between 60-70% cocoa. It's the way chocolate, in my opinion, should taste like.
What I enjoyed about this recipe is that it is very modest. My father-in-law suspiciously asked if this was a healthy-dessert recipe because the cake was not super sugary. This is more of a dark chocolate flavor than anything else- I would rate it as a bar that's between 60-70% cocoa. It's the way chocolate, in my opinion, should taste like.
The frosting is where the touch of decadence comes into play. It's thicker than a buttercream but nowhere near as thick as a ganache. It reminded me of What Katie Ate's version of a Chocolate Fudge Cake frosting. I do prefer this recipe though because I felt the Chocolate Fudge Cake was a little more dense. The beauty of this frosting is how easy it is to use. Seriously, slather it all over the cake and then make designs with your off-set spatula.
Note, in the original version by Call Me Cupcake, the recipe breaks down to four layers of six inch rounds. By the time I got to the third layer, I knew there was no way that adding the fourth layer was in the cards. It was aesthetically too tall for my taste and felt like too much cake. My affinity for smaller cakes is because they're just that- smaller and more practical. The husband agreed and we took it upon ourselves to keep the final layer to ourselves... oh darn!
Overall, this cake is smashing. It's extremely moist in texture, deep in flavor, and not excessively sweet. This is currently the husband's number one chocolate cake- he really enjoyed the frosting and was astonished by the cake's texture.
A special note: So. If you don't have a European scale to measure your ingredients, don't bother with Call Me Cupcake's measurements. I was going crazy trying to figure out how to accurately convert deciliters (volume) to grams. Fortunately, in the comments section, another blogger was able to share the conversion. Thank you so much Turtle Crafty Girl for this excellent translation.
This cake is the exact same as the Barefoot Contessa's version, just with a touch more dark cocoa.
This cake is the exact same as the Barefoot Contessa's version, just with a touch more dark cocoa.
For this Chocolate Cake Deluxe recipe, check out the every so ephemeral blog, "Call Me Cupcake."
