I think I’ve mastered the art of writing a blog post from phone. This Rich Chocolate Coffee Cake that I had made for my Mama’s birthday had been waiting in my draft since June. And since my laptop died an unceremonious death in July, it hasn’t yet seen the light of day. But enough now. I have too many chocolate-based cakes crowding my draft that are leaving me confused. And I must publish them one by one to one to save you from the possible monotony of 5 back to back chocolate cakes in the near future!
Since this was a gift cake and I had already left for office by the time my uncle (or Aalo as I call him) cut it, I didn’t get to enjoy a big fat slice immediately. But my Mami did send a piece of it with my Mum later at night along with a few other pieces of cakes that his students had brought for him. As she handed over the box to my Mum, she said, “I couldn’t differentiate the cakes, so I’m sending a piece from each one.” She couldn’t tell apart my cake from a couple of store-bought ones?!? Gasp!
Recipe mostly adapted from Love from the Oven
Ingredients
For the cake:
Caster Sugar: 1.75 cups
Flour: 1. 75 cups
Baking powder: 2.5 tsp
Baking soda: 1.5 tsp
Salt: 1/2 tsp
Cocoa: 3/4th cup
Eggs: 2
Buttermilk: 1 cup (if you don’t have buttermilk take 1 cup milk, add 1.5 tsp of vinegar and let it stand for 5-7 minutes. That will be your buttermilk substitute.)
Vegetable oil: 1/2 cup
Vanilla bean paste/essence: 2 tsp
Strong coffee, boiling: 1 cup
For the frosting:
Butter: softened: 6 tbsp
Caster sugar: 2 cups
Cocoa: 1/2 cup
Milk: 2 tbsp
Strong coffee, room temperature: 1/2 cup
Vanilla bean paste/essence: 1 tsp
Salt: a pinch
Method:
1. For the cake: Heat oven to 180 degree C. Line two round spring form cake pans with parchment paper and butter the sides. Set aside.
2. In large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and soda and stir together with sugar, cocoa, and salt. You can also tip everything in the bowl of a blender and give a brief whiz.
3. Add the eggs – one at a time – and then buttermilk, oil and vanilla one by one. Keep blending after each addition. Now take the mixture out into a big bowl and gently add the boiling coffee, stirring continuously. Mix until well combined.
4. Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted at the centre comes out clean. In some cases it might take a tad longer than 35 minutes, so check well before you take your cake out of the oven and bake for 2-3 minutes more if required.
5. Cool on wire racks for 20 minutes or so before unmoulding. Let cool completely before you frost your cakes.
For the frosting:
6. In a bowl, beat the butter well. Mix caster sugar and cocoa in one bowl and milk and coffee in another. As you beat the butter, add the two mixtures into the butter alternately till blended well. Make sure it is of spreadable consistency. if not, add a little bit more milk. Stir in the vanilla and salt and blend well.
For assembly:
7. Take the lesser attractive cake as the base cake, lather a decent amount of frosting on it and spread well. Sandwich it with the second cake. With the remaining frosting, cover the surface of the cake on top and work your way through the sides. Use a rubber/silicon spatula for this. Makes your life much easier. The cake should be frosted both at the top and the sides. You can keep your frosting a bit rugged and messy, at least that’s how I like it.
8. Cut into neat triangles and serve.
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