Ever crave dark, rich chocolate? In cake form? Then this one's for you. I stumbled across this cake on one of my long Pinterest binges, and I knew I had to try it! This was a more complicated cake - both the cake itself and the frosting are made from scratch, and it is labor intensive. Here is the original recipe from Lorraine Elliott's Not Quite Nigella blog.
Look how beautifully her cake turned out! I would highly recommend her blog for a unique take on a wide range of foods from different cultures.
To know before you begin:
The measurements in this recipe require weighing of ingredients. A small food scale will be helpful! Some of these ingredients are tricky to find in US supermarkets, but there are some substitutes available. Be prepared!
Ingredients:
For the cake
1 1/2 cups brown sugar (firmly packed)
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 cup black cocoa (I used dark chocolate cocoa)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup hot water or coffee
1/2 cup neutral flavoured oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
100g/3.5ozs. finely chopped dark chocolate
For the frosting
375g/13.3ozs. butter, room temperature
190g/6.7ozs. caster sugar (this is super fine-grain sugar, but not powdered)
4 fluid oz. water, room temperature (test on wrist)
3/4 cup black cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions:
Butter and line two 8-inch round tins. Preheat oven to 320F.
Whisk the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, and baking powder in a large bowl. In a separate bowl measure the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Beat the eggs and then the water into the liquid mixture.
Mix the liquid mixture gently into the flour mixture in 3-4 lots along with the chopped chocolate. Divide among the two tins and bake for 30 minutes.
Fit a beater attachment to your mixer and beat the butter, sugar and cocoa together on low speed for 1 minute and then increase it to a speed of 3 out of 10 for 3 minutes. Add the water and vanilla in at low speed and beat on the same speed (3 out of 10) for another 5 minutes or until the sugar no longer feels gritty between your fingers. (I actually did this part by hand, but it will take more time and effort!)
Trim the tops off the cakes and then slice each cake in half horizontally into equal pieces to create layers. Let the cakes cool completely.
Spread the buttercream between each layer of cake and then coat with more buttercream.
Fit a piping bag with a pipette tip (I chose a plain, round one), and fill with some of the buttercream. Pipe dollops around the edge of the cake.
You can decorate your cake however you'd like, but I chose blackberries! It was a nice complement to the chocolate and added a bitterness to counteract the sweetness of the cake.
I made this book as a pairing with My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell. It matched the cover PERFECTLY and hinted at the darker themes of the book. You can read my full review of that book here.
If you try this recipe, I'd love to hear how it went. Drop a comment below or email me pictures! Happy baking!
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