Aunt Doads Chocolate Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour three 9-in. round baking pans., In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well after each addition. Stir in water until blended., Transfer to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, in a metal bowl over simmering water, melt butter and chocolates; stir until smooth. Cool slightly., In a large bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, sour cream and vanilla. Add chocolate mixture; beat until smooth. Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate leftovers.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.
• Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
• Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.
• Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the first four ingredients; set aside. In a small saucepan, bring butter, cocoa and water to a boil. Immediately remove from the heat. Add to dry ingredients and mix well. , In a small bowl, beat eggs. Add buttermilk and vanilla; mix well. Stir into cocoa mixture. Pour into a greased 15x10-x1-in. baking pan. Bake at 375° for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean., Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring the butter, cocoa and milk to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; add sugar and vanilla. Mix well. Spread over hot cake; immediately sprinkle with nuts. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Steps:

• Grease and flour a cookie sheet and preheat oven to 400ºF.
• In a small bowl, mix the eggs, baking soda and sour cream.
• In a mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar and salt, stir to combine.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, water and cocoa powder, heat and stir to combine.
• Add cocoa mixture to flour/sugar, blend with mixer. Add egg mixture and beat 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips if desired. Put in cookie sheet and bake 14-20 minutes.
• When the cake is out of the oven, put the cream in a saucepan and heat to simmer.
• Add chocolate to the bowl of a food processor.
• Once the cream is heated, pour into food processor and let sit 4 minutes.
• Pulse a few times then process 5-10 seconds to smooth out the mixture.
• Transfer ganache to a non-plastic bowl. For a glaze style ganache, top cake now. For a lighter, fluffier "frosting", refrigerate 1-2 hours, whip in mixer, then top the cake. Top with walnuts, optional.
• Refrigerate the cake at least an hour before serving.

Steps:

• Don't try to make this cake without the pans I have at home!
• Remove bottoms from 3 9" cake pans with removable bottoms. Trace 3 9" rounds of waxed paper and cut out.
• Grease inside of pans and bottoms, and stick wax paper rounds into bottoms. Flour pans and tap out excess.
• For cake: cream sugar and shortening until like soft butter, at least 5 minutes.
• Add egg yolks one at a time, beating each one in thoroughly. Add and mix in melted chocolate.
• Sift baking powder, sifted cake flour, and salt together and set aside.
• Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, mixing each in. When both are all added, add sour cream. Beat at 3 or 4 speed for 1 1/2 minutes.
• Add vanilla and mix.
• In a separate, clean, dry bowl, with clean, dry beaters, beat egg whites until stiff.
• Gently fold stiffley beaten egg whites into cake batter.
• Divide between prepared pans. Bake at 350 for 30-35 min. Until tester inserted in the middle of each cake comes out clean.
• Cool in pans on wire racks until you can touch pans. Remove pans from rack, and one at a time, place a rack on top of a cake in it's pan. Invert cake onto rack so pan is on top. Remove pan sides, slide a knife under pan bottom to remove if needed, and remove wax paper round. Do this for all three cakes, and let them cool completely, not stacked, on wire racks.
• While cakes cool, melt 1 oz (1 square) of bakers unsweetened chocolate with 1/3 cup of water, 4 Tbsp of butter, 2 Tbsp of unsweeened cocoa, and 1 tsp instant coffee over low heat.
• Put 6 cups sifted powdered sugar in a bowl and add the above mixture to it while it's hot. Mix well on low speed until sugar is incorporated.
• Add two egg yolks and 1 tsp vanilla to the frosting and mix again. Add hot water as necessary to make a spreadable consistency.
• When cakes are fully cool, put one on a plate. If the top is domed, level it. Top with enough frosting to evenly cover the top, but don't make it too thick. Top with another cake, and repeat the process.Top with the final cake and repeat the process again, using enough frosting that it starts to fall down the sides of the cake. Spread any frosting that has squeezed out from between the layers onto the sides of the cake. Fill in openings in the side frosting with excess from the top edges. Use extra frosting to smooth the top and sides. This cake is prone to having chunks come out of it while you're frosting it. Grit your teeth, swear, and keep going. It'll all hold together eventually. I've been making this cake for 40 years, and am just now getting to where I can make it without too much trouble, if I'm lucky! Cut yourself some slack, remember how much you love the person you're making it for, and keep going. It may not look great, but it'll taste spectacular!!