Devil is in the Detail…

By Emmy0804 @EmmaJORourke

…the CHOCOLATE detail! Oh yeah!

September/October/November is Birthday Season. No chocolate cake is safe; especially in my house.

The latest chocolate cake sacrificed to the Birthday Gods was this fabulous little number:

The Husband and I have been off gallivanting at the farm so this was a quick, after-work special whipped up to celebrate my boss hitting the big six-0.  I don’t care how old you are confetti sprinkles and a chocolate birthday cake is always a winning combo.  This cake didn’t live to see one day, but in our defence the sprinkles made us do it…

devil’s food cake

ingredients

  • 180g butter, softened
  • 385g caster sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 225g self-raising flour
  • 75g plain flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 70g cocoa powder
  • 125ml (1/2 cup) water
  • 3 teaspoons instant coffee granules (or if you prefer, like I do, omit the coffee granules and replace the water with a 1/2 cup of a strong espresso coffee)
  • 125ml (1/2 cup) milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon red food colouring

method

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C (or 160 degrees C if your oven is fan-forced).
  2. Beat the softened butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy then add each egg, one at a time, until all mixed together.
  3. If you are using the coffee granules, mix the granules with the water to dissolve. If you are a coffee fiend and have an espresso machine make a short espresso (1/2 cup of espresso).
  4. Sift all flour, soda and cocoa.
  5. Combine the sifted dry ingredients with the beaten butter/sugar, coffee, milk and red colouring. Stir until combined.
  6. Separate the mixture evenly between two 20cm (approx 8 inch), greased tins.
  7. Bake for approximately 40 minutes (each oven is different, so don’t be afraid to check after 30 minutes to see how they are faring).
  8. Remove from oven, leave in the pans for five minutes then turn out onto a wire cooling rack.

Icing

This recipe is an adaptation from Sweetapolita’s Nutella Cloud Frosting. Because of the warm weather we have been having I made the icing firmer by omitting milk, adding a bit more chocolate and only two tablespoons of nutella. As the cake was sweet enough I did not want an over-powering nutella flavour either, so I feel two tablespoons was more than enough when paired with the devil’s food cake.

ingredients

  • 227g unsalted butter, cut into cubes and softened
  • 190g icing sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 140g dark chocolate, melted
  • 2 tablespoons nutella
  • pinch rock salt

method

  1. Beat butter and  caster sugar in mixer with a paddle attachment until creamy, light and fluffy. Add vanilla.
  2. Melt the chocolate using your preferred method (personally I use a double boiler saucepan rather than the microwave).
  3. Once the chocolate has melted and cooled slightly add gently (medium power) to the butter/caster sugar whilst continuously beating. Stopping to scrape down the sides.
  4. Add the nutella and salt. Beat until to combined.

icing method

I am the first one to say my technique isn’t perfect…but you have to LOVE the practice! This technique I have seen used (and perfected) by Miette bakery.

  1. Once both of the cakes have cooled place the cake with the most uneven top on flat surface and use a sharp bread knife to remove the top of the cake so it is a flat surface. I used a turn-table, but if you don’t have one place the cake on a slip of kitchen paper on the bench.
  2. Place the newly topped cake on a board or plate. Put a good dollop of icing in the centre and with an off-set spatula smooth out the icing.
  3. Pop the second cake on top of the first, setting it as evenly as possible.
  4. Place the remaining icing in a piping bag with a large star tip (I used a loyal size 11 star tip). Starting at the middle of the cake, pipe the icing in a circle, working from the inside out.
  5. When the top is covered get the off-set spatula, and starting from the middle, smooth the top of the cake, but to get the piped edge effect don’t smooth out the very edge of the icing.