Recipe: Chocolate Cake IV

While I am not so much a fan of the commercialization heyday and restaurant crowding around the fourteenth of February, I am a fan of excuses to eat chocolate. And if I was going to eat with chocolate, I figured I might as well make the fancy layer cake recipe from the gallery of desserts that had been staring at me all week at work.

The creamy chocolate-coffee filling and chocolate ganache frosting were as tasty as they sounded without being over-the-top rich, but they took forever to prepare, cool, prepare more and assemble. The cake part was a definite winner and not terribly labor-intensive. With a hint of cinnamon and just enough melted bittersweet and semisweet chocolate bars, the flavor was definitely chocolate but not too chocolate-intense for the chocolate-is-okay parties that partook. Next time, I think I'll try the chocolate cake batter as cupcakes or with a simple chocolate icing. 

Chocolate Cake IV

Vegetable shortening

1/2  (4 ounce) semisweet chocolate baking bar, chopped

1/2  (4 ounce) bittersweet chocolate baking bar, chopped

1/2  cup  butter, softened

2  cups  firmly packed light brown sugar

3  large eggs

2  teaspoons  vanilla extract

2 1/4  cups  cake flour

2  teaspoons  baking soda

1/2  teaspoon  salt

1/4  teaspoon  ground cinnamon

1/2  cup  buttermilk

1  cup  boiling water

Coffee Liqueur Ganache Icing

Mocha-Chocolate Cream Filling

Garnish: chocolate curls

Coat 3 (8-inch) round cakepans with cooking spray. Line bottoms of pans with wax paper; grease wax paper with shortening, and set aside.

Melt chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth; set aside.

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition. Stir in melted chocolate and vanilla.

Sift together flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating at low speed just until blended, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in boiling water. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.

Bake at 350° for 28 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate; spread top with 4 tablespoons Coffee Liqueur Ganache Icing. Spread half of Mocha-Chocolate Cream Filling evenly over ganache on cake layer. Top with second cake layer; spread top with 4 tablespoons Coffee Liqueur Ganache Icing and remaining Mocha-Chocolate Cream Filling. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining Coffee Liqueur Ganache Icing on top and sides of cake. Garnish, if desired.