I’ve listed the ingredients and directions for the cake sponges and the frosting. You can figure out how to put the two of them together. It should looks something like this… 🎂
Ingredients
- 2 c. cake flour (260 g)
- 2¼ c. sugar (450 g)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1 c. cocoa powder (80 g)
- ½ c. hot brewed coffee
- 1 c. sour cream, room temperature
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 5 large eggs plus 2 large yolks, room temperature
- ¾ cup neutral oil
- 8 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (226 g)
- 1 c. whole milk
- ½ c. sugar
- 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1¼ c. salted butter, at room temperature (2 ½ sticks)
- If you use unsalted butter, add ½ tsp. of salt.
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions – Cake Sponges
- Heat the oven to 350F. Lightly coat the bottom and sides of 3x 8-inch round cake pans with butter, then line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cake flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder; mix on low speed just until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the cocoa powder and hot coffee. Add the sour cream and vanilla, then whisk until completely smooth. Set aside.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk the 5 whole eggs and 2 yolks until smooth; set aside.
- To the stand mixer bowl, add the oil and half of the cocoa mixture; mix on low speed just until the flour is completely coated in the liquid ingredients. Pause the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then mix on medium until smooth and pasty, about 30 seconds. Pause and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl again, then add the whisked eggs and remaining cocoa mixture. Beat on medium speed, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl once or twice, until the batter is very silky and has the consistency of thin pancake batter, about 1 minute.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans, dividing evenly. Bake, rotating the pans after 20 minutes, until the tops of the cakes are domed, springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove the pans from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Directions – Buttercream Frosting
- In a small saucepan, combine the milk and ¼ cup of the sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar, then remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add the cocoa powder, flour and remaining ¼ cup sugar, and whisk until combined. Add the egg yolks to the bowl and whisk slowly to combine.
- Whisking the yolk mixture constantly, slowly stream in about half of the warm milk mixture. Then whisk the now tempered yolk mixture back into the saucepan, and place the finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate into the now emptied medium bowl.
- Set the saucepan over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly and scraping against the sides, until thick and bubbling, 1 to 3 minutes. Immediately scrape the pudding over the chopped chocolate.
- Let the pudding mixture sit for a few minutes, so the heat gently melts the chocolate, then mix with the paddle on low speed until the chocolate is completely melted and the pudding is smooth and glossy. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the outside of the bowl is cool to the touch, 10 to 15 minutes.
- With the mixer running, add the butter a couple of 1 Tbsp size pieces at a time, waiting for each addition to incorporate into the pudding before adding the next, until you have a smooth, glossy, spreadable frosting. Stop the mixer, thoroughly scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and add the vanilla. Beat once more just until evenly mixed.
Notes
- When I say “salt”, I mean normal table salt. If you’re using a coarse kosher salt or flaky salt, you probably need to double it.
