Chocolate Cake (Ina Garten)

This cake was absolutely delicious. It was an elevated take on a simple, unfussy chocolate cake. The cake itself was rich and moist, yet light, and the salt level was perfect. My favourite part, however, was how intensely chocolate-y it tasted compared to the other cakes, and that's because the bitterness of the coffee helped bring out the chocolate flavour. Using coffee in place of boiling water, the liquid most commonly found in chocolate cakes, proved to be a total game-changer, and it led this cake to victory in our showdown. The frosting was also incredible. It was smooth, light, and easy to work with. I've never made a frosting that called for an uncooked egg yolk before, and it seriously improved the texture. Just as egg yolks are used as emulsifiers in salad dressings, the yolk here helped bring this frosting together into one fluffy, homogenous mixture. The instant coffee was also nice and gave the frosting a more complex flavour. This will absolutely be my new go-to cake recipe for birthdays and celebrations.

Cake:
butter, for greasing the pans
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
¾ cups good cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
½ cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup hot coffee, hot, freshly brewed

Chocolate Frosting:
6 oz semisweet chocolate, such as; Callebaut
½ lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1¼ cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 Tbsp. instant coffee powder

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Butter two 8x2" round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Make the Cake:
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 35-40 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.

Make the Chocolate Frosting:
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 tsp. 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.