So so so so delicious. I am considering 88 two layers. It is now known as The Cake in our house. I just dont have the room (or the energy!) thank you! We love so many of your recipes in our housewe literally make your Favorite Brownies at least a few times a month (my husband somehow remains just as excited every time). Hello, Deb. Sometimes Im like Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when it comes to chocolate. thanks! Make these for someone you love today! ps: your banana bread recipe CHANGED MY LIFE. Not fancy or perfect, but just right for the occasion. Thank you for an awesome cooking blog! Enquiring minds want to know. :). Melt in the microwave on 75 . Thank you!! Today my work email was hacked and my computer was down for several hours so I baked this cake, because obviously it was a day that NEEDED CAKE. It made 24 minis plus one regular cupcake. I tried to make this cake, but the batter curdled when I added the thinned yogurt I found it in March, around when quarantine started and for a couple of months, I made it every Saturday to celebrate another week of quarantine. Because I need an excuse to make chocolate cake. It was a little grainy/granular, and I had a really hard time getting it nice and smooth/whipped. SWEET LORD! Im not sure whats been happening with my cakes but would love ANY advice or ideas! wow, that cake looks amazing! In short, this is EXACTLY the cake I need when the chocolate cake craving hits :-). Making the coconut cake from your second book, which, like this, has one egg + one yolk. The whole house wants chocolate cake tonight! Everyone commented how fudgey it was. In Smitten Kitchen Every Day, my second cookbook, I turn this cake into a whole party cake section with a mix of base cake flavors (chocolate, vanilla, or spice with pumpkin or apples) and frostings (chocolate, vanilla, cream cheese) that can be kept small and simple like this or built into anything from cupcakes to layer cakes. deb, i made this frosting again last week (underneath i confess i made the hersheys chocolate cake recipe as boyperson wanted a more box-mix-like cake), and we ended up not being able to eat the cake right away so we stuck it in the fridge. If youre looking for some detailed troubleshooting tips on dry cake, this is a site I go to often for baking tips, and has some guidance: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/prevent-dry-dense-cake/. Nomnomnom! I made 1.5 x the amount of batter in the cake recipe to make two relatively thinner 9 round layers and doubled the frosting recipe and I had plenty to ice the cake. ITs been in the oven now for a good 25 minutes. An exceedingly cute mini-cake! Thanks so much! I doubled this recipe using the weights instead of volume measurements and it turned out great. Lynda. I went to 6 stores in my neighborhood and couldnt find sprinkles. (One bag frozen berries, thawed, cooked in a small saucepan until they make a thick sauce, with a little bit of vanilla and grand marnier, just because). Thank you! If youre used to canned or standard back-of-the-box powdered sugar and butter frostings, it should be less sweet, due to the very bitter unsweetened chocolate thats used. Turned out great! document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); That is SURPRISINGLY little fat in the cake. Yes yes yes. Holy stinkin cow this cake is GOOD! I only had one medium egg and yogurt instead of buttermilk. Way thicker than any buttercream Ive ever made before. My 13 yo son baked this for our Sunday dinner dessert. I didnt have unsweetened chocolate, so used bittersweet and cut the sugar to about 3/4 c. Delicious frosting. I made the cakes in two 6in pans and it took a lot longer than what was written for one 8in square. A question about the eggs. Great recipe. I just made this on Friday after hearing about it on Call Your Girlfriend. I love bittersweet chocolate, but nothing much sweeter than that. Regrets: I have many. Do you recommend baking the cakes one at a time, or can I put two 9x13s in the oven together? Im nervous about its moist crumbliness, though, and would prefer frosting to ganache. You could just heap it like a bakery does. and not sure how difficult/easy it is to do. Im using a Williams-Sonoma Gold Touch 88 here. It was yummy but I would like to try to follow recipe next time. Also, such an epic amount. Can you help? Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Smitten Kitchen Every Day: Triumphant and Unfussy New Favorites - Brand New at the best online prices at eBay! I am going to try and bake this cake. P.P.S I have the rainbow confetti sprinkles on order as I write because, well, rainbow confetti sprinkles.! Any suggestions for cooking times for cupcakes? Looks amazing! I will use this again because it was so creamy and smooth and didnt have that powdered sugar chalkiness or ultra sweet after taste. This post could not be timed more perfectly. For the last 4-5 years Ive been making one of your celebration cakes for my birthday cakes my two fav being the crepe hazelnut and the chocolate peanutbutter cheesecake. Hi, I used microwave chocolate mug cake when I had this craving, 5 min crave to product time. Anna. Congrats! Thank you. Very best wishes from the UK, Jo :-) Deb, Obviously, I had to test a spoonful or two. (Or, Id have done it already. Ive made this recipe so many times- just wanted to share that it makes perfect cupcakes too! This was SUPER YUMMY. So that doesnt count, right? Thanks for the clarification. Sally Usually in the fridge for a day does the trick. Made this twice! The cake was incredible. Love your Im pregnant recipes! Seven years ago: Escarole and Orzo Soup with Meatballs my friend this cake is gorgeous! Fingers crossed! apparently they dont use baking soda here but then what? Yummy! It will be great on the second day. This was exactly what I was craving! My daughters licked the frosting bowl clean! Im also pregnant and wanted chocolate cake so badly last week that I was practically begging anyone who would listen to bring some to me! ), the perfect cake to whip up the night before youve decided to take cake to celebrate 2 years at your current job (woot!) Definitely needed the extra time, I was closer to the 35 minute mark than 25. I ended up with lots of frosting left over (I should have just made a smaller batch, I knew I didnt want a thick layer) but my biggest issue was that I ended up adding an additional 8-10 minutes to the baking time. It was moist, but still firm, and tasted even better after a day or two in the fridge. It cooled nicely and didnt fall apart when I turned it out of the pan onto the rack, a perennial fear of mine, but the outside was so dry and solid I could pick the whole thing up in one hand like a discus. My hubs and I are chocoholics and this cake definitely is a winner. I know you have other vanilla frosting recipes but I love making this one in the food processorso easy and the texture is great. Not that I havent eaten what I wanted the whole time, and that want has mostly been chocolate (and frozen mango pieces lately, so good!) I agree that a salad dressings index would be great. The perfect antidote to absolutely needing a chocolate fix. Ive put it in an 8 inch round, cut in half and created a half layer cake. At last I have a chocolate cake recipie that tastes of chocolate! Good luck! Ill never buy it from a store again. I want it to taste good, but the birthday girl (a 6 year old) wants a very specific design. This frosting, tripled, perhaps, looks perfect! Thank you for the recipe and inspiration. And maybe use vanilla bean instead of extract? Today its the first time Ill make it since I bought your new book and I noticed that there is a difference in the baking powder quantity (1/2 tsp in the recipe above, 3/4 tsp in the book). Can you file it under I at least? NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER A BON APPETIT and EPICURIOUS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR The long-awaited new book from the best-selling and beloved author of The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook and Smitten Kitchen Every Daya collection of essential recipes for meals you'll want to prepare a. So in the batter went, and crossed the fingers were. The batter tastes amazing! (I also made it once with peanut butter frosting winner.) Is this the nature of this recipe, due to the added solid chocolate, or did I perhaps mis-weigh my powdered sugar? I questioned the need for unsweetened chocolate vs. one of the many choices I already had in my pantry and am certainly glad I went and got some. This worked great as cupcakes! It baked in 20-25 minutes. b.) This cake was fantastic and was so easy to put together. Melissa Yes, double the ingredients, including the frosting if youre looking to cover the sides as well. I made this tonight and used your suggestion of red wine and yogurt if youre out of buttermilk. Or should I just give in and go to the store? Also, I doubled the cake recipe to make a 139 cake but did not double the frosting recipe; it covered it just fine. I baked for exactly 22 minutes in two little pans. Just made this cake & your perfect birthday cake for a friends 1-year old party. I have steadily leaned on SK since I started baking and cooking 15 years ago. Thank god for that frosting, because it turned out the ratio and the richness of the frosting balanced with the sturdy, deeply chocolate-y cake that was barely almost a smidge over but not too badly. In the book, I have a section with different flavor cakes and frostings built off of this one, including a vanilla-vanilla. I love your little person for inspiring you to post this. Ive made this twice now and its definitely in rotation as a birthday cake cake. It was DELICIOUS! There are ways to adjust a recipe accordingly to your neck of the woods. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9 by 2-inch spring form pan with nonstick spray. For a 4 tiered cake, says triple the recipe but what about when Please maam, may I have another?!!!!! Your cake defies all logic, physics, and natural laws of consumption. Anyways, good luck! Thank-you Deb! Linda Yes, it just might be a little more pale in color. cannoli pound cake. How well do you think it would hold up in a totally round pan (like the Wilton Sports Ball pan)? If I double the recipe, would a bunt pan be appropriate? My baking tome was slightly less, but I always consider baking times rough estimates. I may know why, because it happened to me. This is absolutely a keeper. I looked at your lighter than air cake, but 4 layers is too intimidating for me Thanks! This looks like heaven on earth I think I might need to run to the grocery store and bake this tonight!! So I googled smitten kitchen chocolate cake, and when I saw the name of the recipe, I knew it was the one. Thanks in advance! Ive even had some photos Ive taken of your recipes published in our local papers, The Vancouver Sun and The Province. They love it and I love that its simple and doesnt leave me with heaps of dishes! Thank you! If you give the mixer 30 more seconds, suddenly the capsules break apart and the batter becomes thick, shiny, and more like the texture in the pictures. Forgot to add I only put in 130 grams of sugar because of marmalade. I made this in two 6 rounds and it was a perfect little layer cake. 1. .). New here? Right now, theres a limitation because the Index is based on titles, and the title is rarely the name of the dressing, but that could change. Is it possible for the machine to heat up just enough to melt the butter? :) 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract Ive been dreaming of my late mothers chocolate cake lately (yes, dreaming!) and it was AMAZING. Hmm. This cake fed 6 adults and 4 children with two small slices left over, perfect for breakfast the next morning with strong coffee :P. Crystal Im not sure how is the temperature control in your toaster? Its possible the book version has a tiny bit more airiness to it, but nobody has ever complained here. At grocery stores, I find Droste to be very solid for a dutch-process. That was TOO easy. Man, Deb I have made this cake about 5 times in the last two months. I saw this recipe and I wanted that chocolate cake for my birthday. This morning, however, it has settled down some and is more balanced and its firmer. Thanks for replying! When I had a piece I cut some cake, scooped out some frosting and let it sitto warm and frosted the squares individually before eating. This cake is EVERYTHING. Baked 25 minutes in a convection oven. Baking soda is actually part of baking powder. Man I have had a chocolate cake kind of week. Yes. (It says it on this package.) Every bit as wonderful as I imagined. Third. You might want to aim for three layers, or just make even more batter for two thicker ones. Maybe its not as pretty but it worked really well- maybe this is helpful to someone with the same dilemma. And OH MY. I even went digging in our cabinets last night to see if we had any unsweetened chocolate around (alas, no) because I was feeling it so strongly! One should never taunt the idea faeries, of course.) I really wanted that light & fluffy frosting. The frosting recipe I made as is, with the addition of about 3/4 cup of left-over coconut cream I had. You mention that the frosting is generous for an 88, but is it enough to cover a 913 (to satisfaction)? I sifted the sugar and the butter had softened all day. It should have been on the rack one level up. It has drawn expletives from my family today (in a good way). I never made frosting in a food processor. Have just put this in the oven. liz I have no idea! Needless to say, I wont be making this cake, but Ill stay tuned :). Jane M Ugh, I give up. Thanks for this! I was skeptical that such a simple recipe could produce such an amazing cake BUT IT DID. It came out slightly dry. Looked cute, tasted great and since it was only for 3 people, it was a perfect size. next year I am making this chocolate cake. You can eat a square without feeling any guilt. Its not too sweet and the texture is incredible! I switched buttermilk for mascarpone (I had the latter in the fridge, but no buttermilk which is surprisingly difficult to get here in the UK). Its cold here for S. Texas! this frosting is even *better* cold! Dear Deb, If i wanted to omit the chocolate from the frosting (as Im picturing blue frosting for a deep sea themed cake) and added some blue colouring, Would that work okay do you think? I have a three layer 9 inch cake to frost. The sugar is a bit much so the salt balances the sweetness a bit and enhances the chocolate flavor. I made this (in a Transformer-shaped silicone cake pan) for my sons 6 year old birthday party last weekend. 1/2 cup (4 ounces or 115 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature I look forward to trying it again with regular Dutch process cocoa. that said, flavor was good. Set aside. are the measurements the same? I used closer to 2/3 cup of cocoa and I made it with gluten free flour. Less so on the first day. I do know that I want this cake RIGHT NOW! My friends, family and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you very very much :) This chocolate buttercream is the best ever. I like the size. If square, 300 to 325%. Is that just me?! The sides have cooked but the center hasnt. What a fantastic recipe! Did freezing work well?? My hubby loved it for his decadent birthday surprise! Once I found it, I saw no reason to keep looking. I can already tell by how great the batter is that this cake is going to make the awful week worth it. Its amazing on this cake and thinking of using for other chocolate cakes or yellow cake. Congrats you just made brownies.. really? I love your recipes! Thank you. Follow. If I want to make mini cupcakes, how long do I bake these for? I was going to guess at it but you have saved me a bit of worry. And then I had to tell my mother that it is better than The Family Recipe for chocolate cake. So yummy! Deb, Im in week 11 and only the thought that morning sickness is about to end keeps me going! However, I am making a cake that has to be white. Same temperature. My 8yo made this today. :) Do you have a suggestion which of your fabulous chocolate cakes might best survive the two-day mailing across country? The cake never fails and is always a huge hit. I decided to divide my cake in to two 9 round pans. Ive made this version and the red wine version and both are moist and perfectly chocolatey delightfully eat-em-up good! 1 large egg yolk The frosting turned out great! You can make buttermilk by mixing a little white vinegar (somewhere between 1 tsp and 1 Tbsp) and the rest of the cup milk, itll curdle, and then you can use it as buttermilk! Reading this blog right now brings back so many memories. I am planning to make this next week, and I dont know if I should send a hug to you or be irritated that you continue to post such delicious recipes! I didnt know that was even possible. ), Its there Add the egg, yolk and vanilla and beat until combined, then the buttermilk and mix again. :). Thanks. I promptly stopped at the store for ingredients and spent my free afternoon making this yesterday. My son requested a chocolate-chocolate cake for his 4th birthday so I doubled the recipe and got 3 6-in. One question I dont have a mixer or a hand mixer (I knowI know) I normally do everything by hand and I dont think Ive ever made icing before so I havent yet found something I couldnt do by hand. Sorry about that Deb. Do you think I could add 1/4 cup cocoa powder and decrease the powdered sugar to 1 cup in the frosting? I`ll use a 6 inch pan and wondering how to adjust the baking time. Loaf pan Use the Everyday Chocolate Cake recipe. I dont recommend trying to speed the cooling of the melted chocolate by putting it in the refrigerator though, things can change fast! I am off to the store to get the ingredients I need right now. Chocolate cake, with rainbow sprinkles, is simply the best thing ever. Yummy! Thank you for this quick and delicious recipe! It was a little dry around the edges. Slightly adjusted ingredients, same effect. I love your description of your food cravings; theyre contagious! Im making for a party and dont want to not have enough! I needed a piece of chocolate cake so badly that I began to regret every cupcake shop Id ever walked past and not gone in during the height of the mid-aughts cupcake craze. I didnt have electric beaters so I just forked the sugar and butter together well, and didnt sift the cocoa powder, but it seemed to be ok. Oh, and used sour cream + water for the buttermilk. OK, the chocolate frosting from this recipe is my favorite frosting to make of all time, so much so that I basically only make cakes with chocolate frosting now because I dont like to use any other frosting recipe. I baked this beauty of a cake this evening for a welcome home dinner tomorrow, and didnt really think through my process made the frosting while the cake was baking, but think it might be best to wrap the cooled cake and make some fresh to frost with tomorrow. . Is it very winey? I only had black cocoa and not regular Dutch-process (apparently black cocoa is very heavily Dutched) and it was super chocolatey and a big hit, even with my 4 year old. good luck and thanks for the beautiful cake! i got 12 standard size cupcakes plus one bigger one, made in a custard cup. thanks! I made this cake and it was pretty much the best cake I have ever eaten. My name for this cake is Why Havent You Baked Me Earlier Cake. This is a great cake! This year he wants colored frosting. But, what a lovely thing to have a perfect recipe to get to play with. I have some red wine to use and i would try making this cake with it. Space Station Mir Hilarious. having major third trimester chocoholic cravings and this is on the agenda for tonighthopefully this wont derail my glucose test next week (pray for me!!!! ;) Anyway, Im sure you know how well your book is selling by the numbers, but I thought Id share the glee of finding your book and an enthusiastic audience in a couple of different countries. Want to make this for my husbands birthday and he is a big fan of cream cheese frosting! It is delicious! Im so, oh, so sad. Does this cake freeze well for a day or two before frosting? I have two boys, almost exactly five years apart, and its (mostly) a really good gap. Baking time for cupcakes is less; I usually start checking at 15 minutes. I was generous with the icing, which brings this cake together. Thanks! I saw the title and that you started yours really late in the day too. Love your site your writing, approach and photography are all just superb, and I appreciate your sense of humour and real-life tips. I cant wait to get all the ingredients and bake this cake! This is by far my familys favorite cake! Deb, the best thing about this recipe is that at the drop of a hat you can make a delicious chocolate cake. But so thick that the cakes moist crumb couldnt hold up to it. Additionally, I have baking powder but not soda might I somehow be able to work with one? It is a pretty easy cake so I highly recommend it for oh no it has come to the end of the day but I *need* it. I made it yesterday and it was easy and excellent! I go through a lot of butter I love baking and cooking and its expensive so whenever I can take a shortcut I will. Thank you! I heeded the note about acidity required to wake up the baking soda, and so also added a splash of white vinegar. Do you have Smitten Kitchen Every Day? This looks so delicious, and I cant wait to try this recipe out. Thanks. I never found it, and was too lazy to try to make it (im never satisfied with my own baked goods anyway). I need this cake in my life, and I need someone else to make it! It looks amazing, so Id love to use it for a marbled birthday cake. Okay, Deb. Ill have to give this a try for comparison. Im currently 7 months pregnant, and Im pretty sure Ill never eat them again after A Very Unfortunate Incident involving your sweet potato tacos (RIP to my favorite SK recipe) in my first trimester. BTW, I have been following you since nearly the beginning and I feel as if I learned to cook with you. As luck would have it, my husbands birthday is tomorrow, so Im using this occasion as my excuse! . I have made this several times and absolutely love it! I made this cake and it came out dry and dense. Hi! I just tasted one of the chunks (for research, clearly, not as an excuse to have cake for breakfast ;) ) and its sugar!! $5.50; 200 . I use it so much more often than I ever thought I would. Ive had great success with them. Would aquafaba work to replace eggs (vegan version)? I put little chocolate rainbow sprinkles on it which were very charming and made me happier than I expected they would. Completely organic and perfect. YMMV. Is there a cream cheese frosting that you would recommend, to go with this cake? Beat the 12 tablespoons (170g) of butter with the 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (225g) of sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Its cooling but Im so nervous its going to be dry, *swoon* How hard was it to take those gorgeous pictures of the finished and then sliced cake without pouncing on them first?? I did something stupid & went upstairs to check on the Internet briefly (I thought). I had just about everything I needed to make this in my pantry, but I could only muster half the frosting but it was still excellent. Wouldnt be the same without them! This cake looks so delicious! Thank you! . Except the word wanted doesnt accurately describe the craving; it was suddenly everything. This is a longtime favorite; its fluffy in an old-school way. I made it today for a cast party for a community theatre again, accolades from the crowd. someone point me in the right direction! Could also yield: 1 generously frosted 8-inch or 9-inch round cake, 12 very generously frosted cupcakes, or it could be doubled and baked in a 913-inch pan. Except for the recommended 16-small-square servings, which she thought were deprivingly undersized. Speed up by placing outside for 10 mins LOLZ Hi! Ha! If larger squares, 9 to 12. Got about 10 from a single batch, and baked about 24 minutes in my oven. Deb this cake looks great and just the type of thing I want to make, but dont want my husband to realize I am capable of making, lest the requests come non-stop! I mean, us. the cake was *very* thin, so i cut it in half and stacked it to create a small layer cake. The cake itself isnt very sweet, in hopes to provide contrast. I also used cocoa and a little extra butter, with a dash of instant-espresso powder, in the frosting, and did not find it particularly sweet at all, just a good chocolate flavor. I made the same cake recipe with their dark chocolate salted pudding buttercream, and it was UNBELIEVABLE. The frosting was a bit sweet for us, next time I will use less sugar and add some espresso powder. And its beginning to be like my cure-all for days Im in a sour mood. Otherwise, Id recommend you invest in an oven thermometer. Actually, Id probably keep 1/4 cup buttermilk, just so the batter wasnt too thick to work with. also, i love stout in a cake as an option as well. Baked for 20 minutes. This seems silly to ask, butwhich amount should I use? Mazel Tov on your happy news, and thanks again for your indispensable Smittenkitchen! Perfect timing! Im totally making this cake for his first birthday. Youll want the full yield of frosting for each layer, especially if youre covering the sides. Hi! Does the baking time need to be adjusted? Just enough for one ;) Quick question can I use light brown sugar instead of the dark brown? Thank you for this wonderful recipe it is incredible! I think that I would like chocolate cake better if it were significantly less sweet. I am also trying to prep for a busy birthday weekend.. (twin boys who want DIFFERENT cakes. Update: went ahead and tried it anyways it was definitely enough for the naked cake look, ie just inside and on top! I think SmittenKitchen is AT LEAST 10% of the reason why my fiance proposed to me. Made this cake last night. Made at 9:30 at night and it baked perfectly in 25 min. Beat in the egg, scraping down the sides of the bowl. :-)). The recipe has you bake two cake layers and then slice each one in half to create four. it really cuts the sweetness and just has the most awesome texture a solid lid to the cake but that still can be cut through, and so creamy. Divine- super moist and deeply chocolatey! Esp the frosting. Hey Deb, It was a big hit with friends, too. Keep in mind that there is no telling where said birthmark will show up I am pretty sure my mother is not the only woman to utter the hint, I mean heartfelt words, Nonni, I want only to have her grandmother show up with a big dish of (fill in the blank)! Thanks so much! Yes, but it is not needed to make this cake tender/plush. It turned grainy or separated or something. Ultimately it was a success! So I substituted cocoa (6 T with 2 T of melted butter). What do you use? NB my main beef with most chocolate cakes is that they are far too sweet and rich (I drink cocoa without any added sugar at all so that tells you something about my palate for sugar) and I would not reduce the sugar in this. No bears there then? I made mini-cupcakes for my son. Do let it clabber for 10 to 15 minutes for a thicker texture. Megan You could halve this in a 6-inch round. Should the butter quantity for the frosting be 1/2 cup or 4 oz? Please send help. Its a winner. Your safest bet might be more of a ganache, which doesnt need to be whipped, only stirred. I bought a six inch cake pan last year, and thought Id try halving this recipe to make one six-inch layer. No surprise there though, considering the source! This is what happens when I am craving chocolate cake, see THIS gorgeous cake, and want it NOW! Thank you so much. 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt mine clocks in at 5 grams vs. the 6 grams of table salt. Youre kind of my hero. It was still speckled. And just want to confirm its fine for the frosted cake to stay room temp for a couple days? ;). Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Its hard from the fridge and would need to be warmed up a little and possibly re-whipped. This cake lives up to the title! I think i am going to try to make it myself!!! Thank you! Perfection! Its perfect. i filled them about 3/4 full; next time ill do a little less as they spilled a tiny bit. FWIW, I first peeked at the cake at 20 min, then it took three more 3-minute timers till finished.