Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
- 2 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cups plus 1/2 cup sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- 3 egg whites
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, and beat until fluffy.
Combine milk and vanilla in a measuring glass. Fold melted chocolate mixture into butter mixture. Alternately fold the flour mixture and milk mixture into butter mixture. Gently fold in the whipped egg whites.
Chocolate Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1 pound bittersweet chocolate
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 3/4 cup egg whites (4-5 extra-large eggs), at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 pounds unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 teaspoons instant espresso powder, dissolved in 1 1/2 teaspoons water (If you do not drink coffee substitute espresso powder with hot chocolate powder)
- 3 tablespoons dark rum, optional
Directions
Chop the chocolates and place them in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.
Mix egg whites, sugar, cream of tarter, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Place the bowl of egg whites over the pan of simmering water and heat the egg whites until they are warm to the touch, about 5 minutes.
Return the bowl to the electric mixer and whisk on high speed for 5 minutes, or until the meringue is cool and holds a stiff peak. (I never got it to form stiff peaks at this stage. It formed soft peaks for me, but that was it. So just whip the egg white mixture until it wont rise any more and it will still work. I just made sure that after I added my butter that I let it whip really well so it still turned out fluffy.)
Add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, while beating on medium speed. Scrape down the bowl, add the melted chocolate and fold together. Add the vanilla, expresso, and rum, if using, and mix for 1 minute or until the chocolate is completely blended in. If the buttercream seems very soft, allow it to cool, and beat it again.
Recipe from foodnetwork.com