For softening butter, what anne said (I like to cut it in pieces first, so theres no melty spot in the middle of a big stick). I want it to taste good, but the birthday girl (a 6 year old) wants a very specific design. Just finished frosting the cake and Id recommend adding the salt. Even my pregnancy-addled, not-right-tin-having self didnt mess it up. I really really loved this recipe. So much inspiration on here. If anyone is curious to try, here are the measurements I used for the cake (I used a different frosting recipe- whipped ganache): 3 tablespoons / 43 g unsalted butter, room temperature . Am i right? The color of my baked cake is a lighter brown but the flavor is fantastic. Bottom line, it needed to be made well enough in advance to get to the best consistency and flavor. Would the cake be able to take the weight of the ganache? Do it.) Deb made this cake last night in a woohoo Ive made it to the third trimester fury. I find that its hard to get a bittersweet chocolate taste in a cake from bittersweet chocolate itself, because the chocolate itself is sweetened. I dont have any dutched cocoa but used regular ghiradelli coca and it came out just fine (threw in a handful of extra chocolate baking chips for good measure). Hi! This is a delicious, fast chocolate cake! Chocolate Cake. I deviated ever-so-slightly by topping it with a cream cheese frosting, simply due to the vibe I was feeling. Also I only made 1/2 the frosting (good gravy, so much butter!) Thank you for this recipe. Not to be anal or anything, but to be, umm, anal, I guess: why is everything 3/4th or 2/3rd of the loaf cake but the egg is actually 1.5x? I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did (and still do!). This was exactly what I was craving! (Me: Hmm this looks wrong..its all lumpy. It may taste acidic or strong, but its due to a ph change, just flavor. You cant beat chocolate cake and this one looks incredible, Deb. Im not saying how many I had. are the measurements the same? I like blooming cocoa mixed the dry cocoa with 1/2 cup boiling water; once the mixture was cool, added enough buttermilk to arrive at 1 cup of liquid total. Or do I defrost them all now, decorate and then put in the fridge or freezer? Its a problem, I hear you loud and clear! Turned out, really, really well. I rescued a broken buttercream Id attempted for a friends birthday and added freeze-dried raspberry powder to it. Thank you for an awesome cooking blog! Thanks! For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat two 9-inch round cake pans with oil and dust with flour. Or have them page by page. Girl, you are speaking my language. I finally made this cake today (despite having seen the recipe many times) after being enabled by the Cup of Jo post. Huzzah for cake. I promptly stopped at the store for ingredients and spent my free afternoon making this yesterday. I want to bake this beautiful for my daughter`s 14th bday Thursday. I guess Ill just have to give this cake a go at the next family birthday (which, thankfully, is in barely two weeks). I did increase to 1/2 tsp of baking soda because I used Hersheys (not Dutch process), but kept a 1/4 tsp baking powder because it was GF flour. O.M.G. There was no glaze but they served it what I think was more slathered brown butter. I LOVE your recipe blog!! Ive also just made it as square. Youre pregnancy sounds exactly like my pregnancy. At grocery stores, I find Droste to be very solid for a dutch-process. I love your description of your food cravings; theyre contagious! your salted peanut butter cookies won me a baking competition at work last month, so I thank you for that too :-D This! A happy anniversary, indeed! Perfect Friday night dessert. So the question of saving it for later doesnt even arise! Another stellar recipe! Ill never buy it from a store again. Any other ideas? Ill add a note. Brisa I havent tried it but I feel like this recipe should be okay with the adjustment. measurement question! Thanks for this! If anyone is like me and has a Costco sized version of coconut oil theyre all too eager to use (vs expensive organic butter), use coconut oil! Id limit it to a couple tablespoons as it will be pretty wet, and personally, I prefer to strain raspberry purees to get rid of the seeds, but I think they bother me more than they bother other people. Very best wishes from the UK, Jo :-) (The 88 I have on hand is glass, with rounded corners, which makes it seem so much smaller.). I find it can easily get lost in cakes but in a vanilla or brown sugar cookie, is easy to taste. (See more details on how I figure this out below, but it sounds like you already know. Would either be acceptable with modifications? Think of it as my New York Sheet Cake, intense (the impact of cocoa and unsweetened chocolate should not be underestimated), rich (butter, in all of it), tiny (one-eighth of a sheet, to be particular) and quick to make, so you can just because you want it but not have it stay long enough to cause any permanent damage. Did in a 9.5 pie pan, which alters the edge texture a bit, but that was what was on hand! Thank you! You also ruined me with Dutch processed cocoa. A perfect, quick, rich chocolate cake. I think the problem may have been my food processor. Ive also wanted to PIN some of your recipes, but I cant find PIN links anywhere, although the one here goes directly to your Pinterest page. 1/2 cup butter is 8 oz not 4 ozs! I took these to a party and they received rave reviews! Deb, I made this frosting tonight and I found it almost too bitter as written. Im reading this recipe for Emergency chocolate cake while filling my mouth with your Cocoa Brownies from a couple of years ago. Yay! Bake for 18 to 22 minutes (updated, based on feedback) 25 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Deb, And just want to confirm its fine for the frosted cake to stay room temp for a couple days? 3 times? So yummy! Scrape the bowl down well and dont worry if the batter looks uneven. (Okay, I see that you had already changed to doubling the eggs back at the red wine version. Didnt bother to sift even though cocoa was lumpy and it was fine. the most beautiful chocolate cake i ever did see. I have a large jar of Nutella sitting in a kitchen cabinet and was thinking it might be good mixed with marscapone as an alternative frosting. Chocolatey, soft-textured but not crumbly, sweet but not overpowering. I will try that recipe for sure. My cake dint rise too much i cooked in toaster oven.. Was that it?? I kept going, because you cant waste eggs in a pandemic, but a little worried if its safe to eat? Made this today and although I am not a great fan of chocolate I do really like this one. The Double Chocolate probably is more chocolaty, but I hardly notice. Or The I Want Chocolate Cake Cake. This cake lives up to the title! It made 24 minis plus one regular cupcake. Too late. I find they have a great range of those clamp-top canning jars. This is my go-to site for recipes. when I suddenly NEEDED brownies, so I feel you on this! -baking time was approximately 35 minutes (Or, Id have done it already. Any suggestions for cooking times for cupcakes? I`ll use a 6 inch pan and wondering how to adjust the baking time. Thanks so much! If it makes a difference, I am coloring the frosting to make Pigeon and Hungry Caterpillar cupcakes. In short, this is EXACTLY the cake I need when the chocolate cake craving hits :-). Ive made it many times and its definitely become a family favorite. This is my sisters oven, so I am just learning how it bakes. I want it. I thought it wasnt quite chocolately enough (mightve been the quality of my chocolate, to be fair), so I ended up adding a scant 1/4tsp of almond extract and 1/4 tsp of espresso powder, and that livened it up a little. This cake sounds heavenly and, well, just too darn cute. Im sorry. And to top it off, hubby, the pickiest cake eater I know, who rarely finishes a slice, had seconds. :). Love your recipes:) I just moved a few weeks ago from Brooklyn, NY to Germany and I wanted to see if you had any insight on the baking soda/baking powder issue. . Let cool in pan for about 15 minutes, then use a knife to loosen the edges and lift out using parchment to help. 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter 1/2 cup half and half Instructions CAKE DIRECTIONS Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I subbed home-made full fat natural yoghurt for the buttermilk (loosened a little with a dash of milk) and used an inch of real vanilla pod rather than the extract and the cake came out very well indeed. I have bittersweet baking bars and cocoa powder. I also recently had a strawberry buttercream that was delicious; I suspect they just took a quick vanilla buttercream and beat in a spoonful or two of strawberry jam. It was really fun making it and i loved making the frosting and cake. Im still super nauseous though, this was supposed to go away weeks ago, and havent baked anything because I cant stand being in the kitchen. Space Station Mir Hilarious. I was meaning to ask you about that as I read through the recipe and your note was a very welcome surprise. I keep Guinness & cocoa powder on hand all the time just in case. Meanwhile, Uncle Vixen had bought unsweetened cocoa rather than unsweetened chocolate for the frosting, so I had to find a sort of halfway point between Debs recipe and the one on the back of the cocoa bag (which assumes a double layer of cake, natch) w/r/t proportions of cocoa, butter, and milk; also I had to deal with the same issue of the stand mixer not really being able to reach all of the frosting; also I splashed the vanilla and the frosting tasted Very Strongly of it when it was finally done. 6 tablespoons buttermilk (or, for ease of measuring, 1 / 4 cup + 2 tablespoons) I needed a very quick and easy cake for my brothers birthday and this cake was easy and great and frosting in the food processor amazing!!!! Absolutely its intended a building block. Turned out great Thank you! The recipe is a favorite of our Editor-in-Chief, Faith Durand, who described these squares as a "solid tablet of butter and sugar." With a recommendation like that, it had to go on the list. I made a double layer round train track cake fir my sons birthday. The frosting is delicious too! 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar Made this and it was bone dry and crumbly. I followed the instructions and used exactly the type and amount of ingedients called for. I didnt even notice. This cake is now my cake. I need enough frosting for a three layer cake 8 inch rounds. salted butter chocolate chunk shortbread . Needless to say, I wont be making this cake, but Ill stay tuned :). Ive often had more success with the oil-water chocolate cakes than with the butter-based ones (in general I mean; I havent tried your butter-based chocolate cakes). i made the cake! Hands down the best frosting Ive ever made! It was pretty powerful at first while mixing, so I wont go by first taste ever again!). (The taste test tomorrow) simple and easy to follow recipie (im addicted to your Instagram too!). You said in your email today that any 8 cake recipe could be halved and made in a 6 pan, which I would love to do- except when your chocolate cake calls for one egg yolk and one whole egg, how do I halve that? Since I only have one (short on storage space) it was not difficult to simply bake one layer at a time. I know that you do them by hand right now, and I totally admire your patience with that, hence the q :). I live at 5000ft, so I added an extra 2Tbs of buttermilk, cut the baking powder down by 1/8tsp (to 3/8 tsp), and baked about 10 degrees higher for more like 30 minutes. Not that I wont eat it :-D. Thanks so much Deb! And she had marked so many pages with little pink tabs! It was definitely brown-butter-nutty flavored enough that my health conscious husband thought it was whole wheat- did I correct him, no :) I saw some recipes that brown then freeze the butter and use buttermilk instead of cream in the scone. I bet you could put in the same amount of cinnamon, for a Mexican chocolate vibe.). NB my main beef with most chocolate cakes is that they are far too sweet and rich (I drink cocoa without any added sugar at all so that tells you something about my palate for sugar) and I would not reduce the sugar in this. Turns out baby now had taste buds! New here? And why I dont have half of these ingredients in the house, RIGHT NOW, I do not know. I recently warned (threatened?) i used thinned greek yogurt for the buttermilk. Ill be making this weeks pasta you posted as soon as I exercise off the brownies. Im going to triple the cake recipe but do you think I need to do the same for frosting? Hmm, in the spirit of, I have to make this cake right nowIve just discovered I dont have unsweetened chocolate for the frosting. Okay, Deb. What do you use? All of your chocolate cakes look delicious and I cant decide which recipe to use! That can greatly affect baking, as well. This is a great recipe!! The Double Chocolate Layer Cake is amazing, as is the Peanut Butter Chocolate Cakes cake layers (although I prefer the Double Layer) but this just wins. So I caved in last night and started my chocolate cake-baking journey. I cant wait to get all the ingredients and bake this cake! One should never taunt the idea faeries, of course.) I made it on Saturday with my 5 year old and it was a huge success among adults and kids alike. The first two attempts were as the recipe said, the third with replacing 1/2C of buttermilk with coffee. But I am living in a country free of baking powder (Switzerland!). In Smitten Kitchen Every Day, my second cookbook, I turn this cake into a whole party cake section with a mix of base cake flavors (chocolate, vanilla, or spice with pumpkin or apples) and frostings (chocolate, vanilla, cream cheese) that can be kept small and simple like this or built into anything from cupcakes to layer cakes. Any suggestions on the dryness? (and tastes great). Thank you. Just made this today. I just made this on Friday after hearing about it on Call Your Girlfriend. How can I make this a vanilla version? I wasnt sure. Deb, yes, I will be another one of those commenters that tells you I made this recipe and then explain how I jacked it up. and then your post came to my email box. Thanks so much! What I loved about it is that it was not too sweet which made the frosting necessary and special. Put all in the freezer to flash freeze and called it a night. its very hot here today so unfortunately i had to refrigerate it, much to the detriment of the cake. Should I 1.5x the frosting recipe? Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Thanks for the doable, approachable, ingredient-accessible recipe. Well, my healthy lunch of last nights leftovers seems utterly unsatisfying now. Make the cake: Heat oven to 350F (175c). No surprise there though, considering the source! The cake came out too salty and I really like salt! Cake has come out perfectly. Just wondering if you use brands that are commonly available in grocery stores (US) or if you use more of a speciality chocolate. Thanks! Many of the older cakes and almost all in the last couple years are one-bowl or at least each component is. Just putzen this cake into the oven- if itll taste anything like the uncooked batter I just liked off the bowl Ill probably not make another chocolate cake recipe. We still have to quarantine for a whole week anyway. How can I cut down on the sugar in a cake recipe without throwing off the volume and texture? Deb, you so perfectly describe what I experienced with food when I was pregnant!! How would you adapt this frosting for other flavors? But frosting in a food processor? I just made it for our sons birthday and if the batter is any indication this is one of the most delicious chocolate cakes I have ever eaten. Thank you Deb for another amazing recipe! No, the recipe is correct and what youve written is not. Details. Perfect size cake for two people. Yes, this is everything I want. Note: when I do pack it and weigh it, 145g actually comes to a little over 1/2 a cup of brown sugar. Pinch of fine sea salt (optional) I made this yesterday with normal cocoa (didnt have Dutch process) and 70% dark chocolate for the frosting (didnt have unsweetened, and neither did Yes market when I went out on purpose) and it is still delish. Making a commenting account just to say this is now my favourite chocolate cake recipe. (Also a ridiculous amount of red dye and a little fondant because we used a 9 circular pan and made Elmo.). What I really want is chocolate on chocolate. Ive made this version and the red wine version and both are moist and perfectly chocolatey delightfully eat-em-up good! I wish I could post a picture of the cake I made from your recipe! 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all-purpose flour 3/4 cup (60 grams) unsweetened cocoa, any variety, sifted if lumpy 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar 3/4 cup (145 grams) dark brown sugar 1/2 cup (120 ml) olive oil 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) water or coffee (It says it on this package.) I have seen your recipe for Chocolate Banana Bread, but I just love this recipe (second time making it). Was too impatient to leave this review. Can you tell me what size is your strainer in the picture? Took more like 42 minutes to cook all the way and I was worried it was going to be dry but ended up still very moist! Grace Sugar provides moisture to cakes, too, so its not ideal to just drop it. Especially how there was so little to clean up, and how all the ingredients came nicely together :) My friends all enjoyed it immensely too and they all said the icing went really well with the cake. I did cut the sugar and butter by about 20% (and replaced it with apple sauce), and it still turned out great! Im sorry this will sound similar to a comment I posted on another recipe (marshmallow frosting), but how does this chocolate cake compare with the other chocolate cakes on your site, especially the ones in the double chocolate layer cake and the peanut butter chocolate cake? Would it be possible to switch the frosting to vanilla? Would I leave the recipes as is if doing cupcakes and adjust baking time? I havent made one since a family birthday version last summer, but this looks awfully tempting. Scoop the frosting onto the cooled chocolate cake and swirl it around. Everyone told me I used the wrong pan and I got a chemistry lesson and another one on finding the right pan (which I still dont understand). No one wants a dry cake! Thank you very much in advance, your answer will make this obsessive baker so happy!! I usually bake for around 21 minutes for the regular cupcakes with this recipe. Great cake for V-day!! Happy Holidays! I guess I wasnt in the mood for sticky buns last week, or I would have been up on all the news, but I didnt know about the baby! I also used cocoa and a little extra butter, with a dash of instant-espresso powder, in the frosting, and did not find it particularly sweet at all, just a good chocolate flavor. Its just like the soft, fluffy chocolate buttercream frosting I used to get on cupcakes from my old favorite cupcake shop, which I always wished I could replicate at home. I made it yesterday and it was easy and excellent! ), and had complete faith in the recipe. Just five more weeks of this! Is it very winey? but how much should I multiply the recipe to make a three layer cake? This cake rivals the chocolate cakes from the best bakeries in town. I want cake now! I add the frosting inside the cupcake and on top. :). At 38 weeks, Ive decided I really should eat whatever I want, especially things that might cause problems when I start breast feeding in a couple weeks. I reduced the total sugar to 270g (so 135g in the original size), made it GLUTEN FREE by using brown rice flour, and also used rice milk soured with lime juice in place of the buttermilk. Just found out were having a second boy. Yum! Smitten Kitchen's Blondies, Infinitely Adaptable is an adaptation of Mark Bittman's recipe that Deb Perelman has baked with every alteration imaginable. I made this cake and it came out dry and dense. Thank you, for this recipe! If small squares, 16. I turned to google and opted to add shredded [unsweetened] coconut 1 T at a time, probably going over by a 1/2 to a T. The frosting was good but a bit stiff. :) xx. Any tips for a frosting I could make with a whisk or does that just not work for frosting? Kate Check out overstock.com. Wow, just wow. I have enjoyed the recipes although my husband and I find them quite fussy (we find your title misleading). You made it a Sweet! I only made a half batch, iced the gift cupcake generously, and had enough to adequately ice the rest. It looks so generous. Your recipes are so easy and relate-able, and yet so novel, and your photography is scrumptious. Ive tried adding back the sugar in the hopes it will fluff but alas, no; its an oily albeit fudgy/tasty mess. 2.5 times the recipe? You can drop the sugar a little, but too much and it wont be thick enough as a frosting. I think another eight minutes after that and the testing knife finally came out clean enough that I was prepared to take the thing out of the oven. And I really really love the frosting. And for perfect timing! I must say, something that involves both the food processor and mixer does not qualify as a one bowl cake. I made this and it was so delicious! I should have listened to your original notes and checked it a few minutes sooner it was a tad dry, which was completely my fault. I need chocolate cakeNOW!! After the corn muffins. I plan to make all your chocolate cake recipes (your triple berry bundt cake is a huge hit with my family & friends) from now through Sept. Thank you! Every time Ivve made it, Ive been invited somewhere, including in the middle of making the frosting for this one! Is there a good way to search for all your one bowl cakes? Is it supposed to be like that? Thanks Deb! I used to think all chocolate cakes were either boring, dull, and dry, or so dense and moist that they couldnt actually be called cake. I am planning to make this next week, and I dont know if I should send a hug to you or be irritated that you continue to post such delicious recipes! I suggest a warning label: You will not be able to lay off the cake slices, nor will anyone else who sees/smells/tastes it. Both work, so it wont matter. And the Dutch process cocoa seriously made a difference. I will report back when I try it :). Or eaten. Scoop batter into prepared pan and smooth flat. I frosted my cake and then covered it well with plastic and it was GREAT the next day. you know, something about being in the family way (im assuming thats whats going on???) Hi, am I able to make the frosting in advance (perhaps 3 days or so) and leave in the fridge until required to frost the cake layers? Does this cake freeze well for a day or two before frosting? Generously butter sides of pan and parchment round. I processed the next batch just until fluffy and spreadable looking and it turned out great. And I think the frosting recipe is one of the best Ive ever made. The cake itself isnt very sweet, in hopes to provide contrast. (P.S. Regrets: I have many. This cake would feed one of them, maybe 2 if they were forced to share. Make sure you use the bake setting, not the broil setting (I did that once when I was a kid!) Its been a pretty miserable week, and this cake is exactly what I need. Checked it at 22 minutes and then after 5 more and 5 more after that so next time Ill likely check it at 33 minutes. & again the perfect cake to make again the next night when youve been asked to bake it for a friend. Thank-you Deb! I found that the coffee version took slightly longer in my oven, but produced the most delicious moistness. Would that work? anne I think stout would work just fine. What do you suggest? only asked about the choc sub to see if i could use what i already had on hand. This seems silly to ask, butwhich amount should I use? I would love to make this for my daughters birthday.do I double the ingredients for 2 nine inch rounds? Can you help? Im salivating. They baked for about 20 minutes. Delicious and quick. Find that I need to let the butter milk warm bit at room temperature or it hardens the butter when mixed in and makes it lumpy. I need cake in my face, or everyone in this office will have to pay! I heeded the note about acidity required to wake up the baking soda, and so also added a splash of white vinegar. They die for chocolate but dont care for overly sweet frosting. Looked cute, tasted great and since it was only for 3 people, it was a perfect size. Remove from the heat and let cool. Oops! I wonder if you weighed your dry ingredients? :) Do you have a suggestion which of your fabulous chocolate cakes might best survive the two-day mailing across country? It is the kitchen tool that will make spreading cake batter, especially in round pans (among many other spreading chores) and icing a cake so much easier! If it has larger pockets, just needed more mixing of the leavening before adding the flour. also, i love stout in a cake as an option as well. Baked for 30 mins. Other ways to print: Im really not sure without testing it, or knowing what else is in the pudding mix, sorry. The standard Id say for this size is 8 tablespoons instead of 6. Very much looking forward to any recipe involving peanut butter! I been looking for flat sheet cake recipes; thank you so much Deb. Seven years ago: Escarole and Orzo Soup with Meatballs Thanks again for your wonderful recipes, they never cease to impress me. So good! In any case, it is excellent. Anna You can replace all of the buttermilk with wine, because wine is an acidic ingredient (almost a match in ph, if I remember correctly from my research a few years ago). one note: We only have glass 88 baking dishes, and it required quite a bit more time to bake the cake to done. I am going to purchase a metal 88 as soon as possible! I love making chocolate cake but never seem to be able to eat an entire cake. If so, then it was the decrease in sugar. I dont think you will have time to respond to this question, but I am baking a beautiful cake for my baby who is turning one. I used two whole eggs for not wasting an egg white, but it turned out fine. The only edit I would make is to halve the amount of frosting. All that to say, I enjoyed a piece of your chocolate cake for breakfast enormously. Thank you! thank you! This is my go-to for most of my recipes now, since my friend turned me onto here! Ill be as surprised as everyone else. I cupcaked these and doubled the recipe. Can I sub 2% milk for the cream/whole milk in the frosting? I ordered one for an upcoming birthday party cake, and the instructions say to use a dense cake such as a pound cake. Ive kept the sugar about as low as you can get away with and still have a frosting, so if you do try, Id limit it to 1 to 2T less. A question about the eggs. Thanks for the craving, Deb! Thoughts on a little white vinegar in regular milk to make buttermilk? Youre kind of my hero. If youre looking for some detailed troubleshooting tips on dry cake, this is a site I go to often for baking tips, and has some guidance: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/prevent-dry-dense-cake/. Your site is consistently the best food site on the entire internet. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Grad school is sometimes miserable but also wonderful. Just made this cake tonight and as I have a milk allergy I replaced the buttermilk with 1/2 cup strong coffee and 1/4 cup red wine!! Now I need a glass of wine to round out my palate. (I dont like super sweet cakes, so I often leave the sides unfrosted.). Recipes. I even had to use half caster sugar because I didnt have enough icing sugar and it was still good! So simple and so good. SO GOOD. Same with frosting. I only made the frosting part, but had to comment because it was fantastic and easy. I have a daughter who would love this but is gluten free. Every year I make my kids half a cake for their half birthday and this made a PERFECT half double layer cake. I this chocolate cake!! Thanks. cheat day cant come soon enough. Moist, flavorful and absolutely a winner every time I have made this. I regret to tell you that this cake is nothing exactly new, and its not because Im out of ideas (I hope not, at least!