Kitchen3N

Recipes and food fun from Apt 3N

Small Chocolate Cake

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There are many a great chocolate cake recipes out there. Why, say you, post yet another? Take for example the great Beatty’s Chocolate cake recipe that I made for many years. All the elements of a great chocolate cake: good quality cocoa, buttermilk, coffee. The problem is, they’re quite big if you’re making something for an intimate gathering. I’ve learned an 8in cake feeds approximately 20 people, and 9 feeds about 25. So, if you’re looking for a small celebration cake for the family, this is the recipe for you. If you invest (~$20) in 3 6in round pans, you can have small, chic cakes any time. I always freeze my cake layers by inverting onto plastic wrap lined 6in cake board, then wrapping well with the plastic wrap. Small cakes can be kind of wobbly and difficult to decorate unless frozen solid. Then, let come to room temperature before serving.
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I also recommend using a good quality cocoa powder for your chocolate cakes. You don’t have to break the bank. Rodelle from Amazon is really good quality for a reasonable price. You’ll get 6 to 12 servings, depending on how big you cut each slice.
I always find the best chocolate cakes are the ones with coffee in the batter. The batter will be quite thin – don’t let this worry you. It makes for a wonderfully aromatic and moist cake – doesn’t taste like coffee or mocha at all.
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For the biggest chocolate fans, frost with a chocolate ganache, using a 1:1 weight ratio of chocolate to heavy cream. Otherwise this goes great with salted caramel, vanilla, chocolate or raspberry buttercream. Links to each below!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup freshly brewed strong, hot coffee

Directions

1. Spray 3 6in cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Place the pans on top of a big sheet of parchment paper and draw circles around the bottom of each pan. Cut out each circle and line the bottom of each pan with one. Spray the parchment lined bottoms of the pans with a bit more non stick spray.
2. Brew coffee. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Add sugar to the bottom of a large bowl or the mixing bowl of your stand mixer.* Place a sieve over the bowl and add the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda. Sift into the bowl. Add salt. Whisk to combine.
3. In a large measuring cup or bowl, combine oil, milk, eggs and vanilla extract. With the mixer running on low, or by hand, slowly add wet ingredients to dry, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Finally, add the coffee, stirring slowly and carefully, until batter is combined.
4. Divide evenly between the three cake pans (I use a scale to determine this). Bake for 25-28 minutes in preheated oven or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool, then remove from pan and slice off the domes before stacking and frosting. Frost with my raspberry swiss meringue buttercream, american buttercream, vanilla swiss meringue buttercream, chocolate swiss meringue buttercream, chocolate ganache or your choice of frosting.

*I do this step first because I’ve forgotten to add the sugar too many times.

Chocolate Wafer Cookies

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If ever you’ve craved a cookie so intensely chocolately, with little to meddle with it pure chocolate flavor (no nuts, no eggs, and a high cocoa to flour ratio), then this cookie is it.

I first made these about 1 year ago when I made my first ice box cake…for 50 people. I must have made 4 batches. Probably could have made less if I hadn’t been snacking on them along the way.

These cookies mimic the famous Nabisco Chocolate Wafers that most icebox cake recipes call for. For some reason, they’ve been discontinued in store, and are only available online. Every time I attempt to purchase some, that little voice in my head goes “hydrogenated oils…preservatives” then I head to the kitchen to make my own. They are easy to make, hard to mess up, and I always have the ingredients on hand.fullsizeoutput_480c
It’s hard to tell when these cookies are done, since they are so dark. I usually just go by 10 minutes, as the recipe indicates. Since the cocoa is the predominant flavor, quality really matters. And unfortunately, it is one of those slightly fussy recipes in that it requires dutch-processed cocoa (cocoa powder that’s been alkalized, making it less acidic than natural cocoa powder). You could try to use a natural cocoa powder, such as Ghirardelli (I wouldn’t recommend Hershey’s for these), but you may need to increase the baking soda. I haven’t tried it yet, but if you do, please let me know!
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As these cookies cool, they become crisp, which is why they work so well in icebox cakes, and in this week’s case, ice cream cake. More on that coming soon!

They absorb the moisture from the surrounding medium without getting too soggy. They aren’t as heavy as say a brownie or a chocolate chip cookie, so you can satisfy your chocolate craving with a fraction of the guilt.

Recipe from Cooking Channel.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup or 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar*
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup flour
  • 3/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa (such as Rodelle)
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup whole milk

Directions

  1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, cream together the butter and both sugars for 2 minutes at medium speed. Add vanilla and beat until combined.
  2. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda. Add salt and stir to combine.
    With the mixer running on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Once all the flour’s been added, add the milk and mix until combined.
  3. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface. Dump cookie dough directly onto the plastic wrap, in a log-like shape. Wrap up the dough with the plastic wrap and continue to shape into an even-width log. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Score cookie dough with a ruler 1/4in apart. Slice the log into 1/4in thick disks and place disks on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes. Refrigerate the remaining cookie dough. Then rotate baking sheet and bake for 2 minutes more. Allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
  5. Continue with remaining cookie dough. Wrap well and store at room temperature.

*I only had light brown sugar in stock, so I added half a tablespoon of molasses to substitute for the dark brown sugar.