i don't bake it very often. and that is for the following reasons.
1. cake comes in a pan. a full pan. sometimes more than one pan. i don't make one piece of chocolate cake. so. we all know how this would play out.
2. too much sugar and i feel lousy. seriously. it's time i figure this out. it's an instant slump.
3. wait. who would i even be baking it for? me. just me. because there are only 3 people in this house: one who isn't tempted by sweets (obviously not me), one who goes weak at the sight of donuts (guess who?), and one whose nourishment is entirely dependent upon me and doesn't need the extra sugar poured into his/her system (hi, baby!).
so you'll understand why i'm thrilled when once in a while there's a special occasion to splurge, or a chance for me to have just one piece. which is exactly what happened last week. my mother in law needed help baking cakes for a church thing (church things always need cakes, or something just as delish, right?) so i got to make this. and she held back a piece of the moist chocolaty, coffee-boosted goodness for me, because she is sweet like that. we generally follow an unspoken rule in our fam.. you make it, you get to taste it.
it tasted good. i hope there's a church thing for you to take it to so you can have just one piece, too. :)
Chocolate Buttermilk Cake with
Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup baking cocoa
3 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
3/4 cup oil
1 T. vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups brewed coffee, room temp
6 T. cream cheese, softened
3 T. butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, or less depending on the consistency you like
1/4 tsp. salt
6 T. raspberry jam
in a large bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. combine the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla; add to dry ingredients. add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition; beat for 2 minutes. gradually add coffee- batter will be thin. pour batter into a prepared 9x13 pan. cake will get pretty tall when baked- adjust shelves in oven accordingly. bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean in the middle. let cool. for frosting.. in a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until well blended. gradually add powdered sugar and beat for 4 minutes. beat in salt and raspberry jam. spread over cooled cake. for extra deliciousness, drizzle chocolate sauce on top of raspberry frosting.
*variation: for a 3-tier round cake, follow cake instructions as directed and pour into 3 parchment-lined and greased 9-inch rounds. use raspberry frosting as filling between layers and drizzle top with chocolate sauce or dust with powdered sugar. or, use raspberry jam as filling between layers and reserve frosting for top of cake.
6 comments:
I'm in trouble with this one!
Mhhh yummm... chocolate and raspberry is my favorite combination. Now I need an occasion to make this one.
Mmmm...I'm definitely bookmarking this one for future reference! It looks Ah-MAZ-ing!
btw, have you ever heard of this? http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=34253999105 It's a little generous for just one person--even (ahem) with my justification that I'm eating for two--but it's cakey and chocolatey and just right for those uncomfortable times when nothing but chocolate cake will do but an entire cake certainly will not do. : ) A couple of tips, though: do NOT omit the chocolate chips and DO check the wattage on your microwave before cooking it.
You have got to try Debby Maugans Small Batch Baking and Small Batch Chocolate
http://www.small-batchbaking.com/sbb/home.html.
It is perfect for you. She does all of our food styling for Smithfield.com and she is the bomb dot com! Let me know what you think.
You had me at raspberry cream cheese frosting!
I can think of one certain father in law who would LOVE that cake!! Mmmm! I might have to test it out before his birthday in December though because I don't think I can wait 9 more months!!