Wedding Cake Rich Dark Chocolate Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Butter, double-line and wrap the sides of the 30cm deep-round cake tin as before. Put the butter and chocolate into a medium saucepan, then stir over a low heat until melted and smooth. Stir in the coffee and vanilla.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into the biggest bowl you have. Add the sugar, breaking down any lumps with your fingertips if necessary. Beat the eggs and soured cream together in a jug or bowl and pour into the flour mix. Pour in the melted chocolate mix as well, then stir with a wooden spoon until you have a thick, even chocolaty batter.
• Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 2½ hrs - don't open the oven door before 2 hrs is up, as this will cause the cake to sink. Once cooked, leave in the tin to cool completely. The unfilled cake will keep for up to four days, wrapped as before, or frozen for a month.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 3 - 9 inch round cake pans. In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at time, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Spread batter evenly between the 3 prepared pans.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

Steps:

• Place rack in middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper. Butter the parchment, and dust with cocoa powder; tap out excess. Sift cocoa; whisk in boiling coffee and milk. Let cool. Sift together cake flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• Using a rubber spatula, mix the butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Pour in the cooled cocoa mixture. Mix until fully incorporated.
• Add the sifted dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture, stirring until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pans (about 4 cups in each pan). Bake for 20 minutes, rotate the pans, and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center.
• Remove the cakes from the oven, and allow to cool in pans for 15 minutes on a cooling rack. Carefully run a small offset spatula around the edge of the cakes to loosen them from the pan. Remove cakes from pans, and invert onto a wire rack. Let cool completely, about 1 hour.
• To assemble, using a serrated knife, level the top surface of each cake layer. Place four strips of parchment paper around the perimeter of the cake stand. Spread with 3/4 cup of frosting. Top with the remaining layer, bottom side up. Using a swirling motion, cover the outside of cake with the remaining frosting. Remove parchment-paper strips.

Steps:

• Set oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut parchment paper circles to fit three 9 inch cake pans, or 2 larger cake pans (depending on the size and style of cake you want to create).
• Alternatively, this recipe will make about 3 1/2 dozen cupcakes, using muffins tins lined with cupcake papers.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Set aside.
• Whisk the cocoa and coffee together until smooth (no lumps).
• Set aside.
• In a large mixer bowl, cream butter (about 1 minute), add oil, beat for one minute.
• Add sugars, beat for 10 minutes.
• Add eggs, beat 5 minutes.
• Add vanilla, beat until blended.
• Alternately add coffee and cocoa mixture and dry ingredients into butter mixture, mixing after each addition, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl often.
• Pour into prepared pans.
• Bake for about 25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
• If making cupcakes, bake for about 20 minutes.
• Spread frosting over layers, and frost entire cake.
• Another delicious idea is to melt jam until it's syrup consistency (if using raspberry jam, make sure you strain it!) and brush the tops of the layers with the melted jam before frosting them.

Steps:

• Preparing The Cake:
• Make cake layers:
• Preheat oven to 350° F. and line 2 buttered 7- by 2-inch round cake pans and 2 buttered 9- by 2-inch round cake pans with rounds of wax paper. Butter paper and dust pans with flour, knocking out excess.
• Put cocoa powder in a bowl and whisk in boiling water in a stream until smooth. Stir in chopped chocolate and let stand 5 minutes. Stir mixture until smooth and chocolate is melted and cool mixture. Whisk in sour cream and vanilla.
• Into a bowl sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. In large bowl of a standing electric mixer beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy and add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down side of bowl. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and cocoa mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating until batter is combined well.
• Pour 2 cups batter into each 7-inch pan and smooth tops. Divide remaining batter between 9-inch pans (about 33/4 cups each) and smooth tops. In middle and lower thirds of oven arrange one 9-inch layer and one 7-inch layer on each rack, putting 7-inch layers in front part of oven. Bake 7-inch layers 25 to 30 minutes and 9-inch layers 35 to 40 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert cakes onto racks. Peel off paper and cool cakes completely. Cake layers may be made 2 days ahead and kept at cool room temperature, wrapped well in plastic wrap, or 2 weeks ahead and frozen, wrapped well in plastic wrap and foil. Defrost cake layers (without unwrapping) at room temperature.
• Make ganache:
• In a small saucepan bring cream just to a boil. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, butter, zest, and liqueur. Let ganache stand 3 minutes and whisk until chocolate is melted. Chill ganache just until cool, about 40 minutes.
• In a bowl with an electric mixer beat ganache just until light and fluffy before using (do not overbeat or it will become grainy).
• Assemble cake:
• Put one 9-inch layer on 8-inch cardboard round and spread evenly with 2 cups ganache. Top with remaining 9-inch layer and gently press layers together to form an even tier. Put one 7-inch layer on 6-inch cardboard round and top with remaining ganache and remaining 7-inch layer in same manner.
• Frost top and sides of 9-inch tier with some buttercream and chill while frosting 7-inch tier. Chill both tiers until buttercream is firm.
• Cut straws in half and insert 1 straw piece all the way into center of 9-inch tier. Trim straw flush with top of tier and insert remaining 5 straw pieces in same manner in a circle about 1 1/2 inches from center straw. Center 7-inch tier (still on cardboard) on top of 9-inch tier. Fill in any gaps between tiers with buttercream and transfer cake to a cake stand or platter. Chill cake at least 6 hours and up to 1 day.
• Arrange fraises des bois and roses decoratively on top and around sides of cake. Let cake stand at cool room temperature (buttercream is sensitive to warm temperatures) 2 to 4 hours before serving. Serves about 30 (including top tier).
• Preparing The Orange Buttercream:
• Make orange curd:
• In a small heavy saucepan whisk together yolks and sugar and whisk in orange juice, butter, and a pinch salt. Cook mixture over moderately low heat, whisking, until it just reaches boiling point, 5 to 7 minutes (do not let boil), and strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Whisk in lemon juice and cool curd, its surface covered with plastic wrap. Chill orange curd, covered, until cold, at least 4 hours, and up to 2 days.
• Make buttercream:
• In a heavy saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil syrup, undisturbed, until it registers 248° F. on a candy thermometer. While syrup is boiling, in large bowl of a standing electric mixer beat whites with a pinch salt until foamy and beat in cream of tartar. Beat whites until they just hold stiff peaks and beat in hot syrup in a stream (try to avoid beaters and side of bowl). Beat mixture at medium speed until completely cool, 15 to 20 minutes. Beat in butter, 1 piece at a time, and beat until thickened and smooth. (Buttercream will at first appear very thin and at some point look like it is breaking but, as more butter is beaten in, it will thicken and become glossy and smooth.) Beat in orange curd, salt, and zest until smooth. Buttercream may be made 4 days ahead and chilled in an airtight container or 2 weeks ahead and frozen in an airtight container. Bring buttercream completely to room temperature (this may take several hours if frozen) and beat before using. (If buttercream is too cold when beaten it will not be glossy and smooth.) Makes about 8 cups.

Steps:

• Sift Dry ingred seperate bowl.
• Mix wet ingreds sperate bowl.
• Then add all ingred together and with electric handheld blender mix 2 - 3 minutes Pour into lined and greased cake tin (8"round is good) and bake 175 degrees celcius for 35-45 minutes
• Icing 1 cup icing sugar, 2T cocoa, 1T butter and 1 1/2 T boiling water (may need extra) and blend using knife until smooth.
• Cake needs to be cooled in fridge before eating to blend flavours.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Butter and line a 20cm round cake tin (7.5cm deep).
• Put 200g chopped dark chocolate in a medium pan with 200g butter.
• Mix 1 tbsp instant coffee granules into 125ml cold water and pour into the pan.
• Warm through over a low heat just until everything is melted - don't overheat. Or melt in the microwave for about 5 minutes, stirring halfway through.
• Mix 85g self-raising flour, 85g plain flour, ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda, 200g light muscovado sugar, 200g golden caster sugar and 25g cocoa powder, and squash out any lumps.
• Beat 3 medium eggs with 75ml buttermilk.
• Pour the melted chocolate mixture and the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir everything to a smooth, quite runny consistency.
• Pour this into the tin and bake for 1hr 25 - 1hr 30 mins. If you push a skewer into the centre it should come out clean and the top should feel firm (don't worry if it cracks a bit).
• Leave to cool in the tin (don't worry if it dips slightly), then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut the cold cake horizontally into three.
• To make the ganache, put 200g chopped dark chocolate in a bowl. Pour 300ml double cream into a pan, add 2 tbsp golden caster sugar and heat until it is about to boil.
• Take off the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Cool until it is a little thicker but still pourable.
• Sandwich the layers together with just a little of the ganache. Pour the rest over the cake letting it fall down the sides and smooth over any gaps with a palette knife.
• Decorate with 50g grated chocolate or 100g chocolate curls. The cake keeps moist and gooey for 3-4 days.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.
• Use the first set of ingredients to make the cake. In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 3 minutes with an electric mixer. Stir in the boiling water by hand. Pour evenly into the two prepared pans.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely.
• To make the frosting, use the second set of ingredients. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Stir in the cocoa and confectioners' sugar alternately with the milk and vanilla. Beat to a spreading consistency.
• Split the layers of cooled cake horizontally, cover the top of each layer with frosting, then stack them onto a serving plate. Frost the outside of the cake.