Ten Pound Chocolate Cake

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When the need for a rich and decadent chocolate cake hits, this is the recipe to feed that craving.

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The love of chocolate can be an all-encompassing obsession.  First, you feel a subtle nudge for a bite.  But if neglected, the craving will act like a grumpy teenager and try your patience.  It will be there in the back of your mind becoming more and more insistent.  When a chocolate craving strikes, there is no denying it.  It needs to be fed.  It demands immediate satisfaction.  It demands an intense, rich, and robust flavor.  Not just any chocolate cake will do.

A chocolate cake is a serious thing.  This is how I dive deep when the craving hits.  There are no halfway measures here.  It's all good - rich color, deep chocolate flavor, and moist cake.  To complement the smoky and intense flavor of the chocolate, the cake is enveloped in a chocolate cream cheese frosting.  The tang from the cream cheese is a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the cake.  Also, it has a silky smooth texture that clings to your mouth when you are savoring your dessert.  It's okay, you can eat it off a spoon.

Making the Ten Pound Chocolate Cake

Maybe it is because of my history with chocolate cakes that I felt compelled to create a recipe.  There were several versions until I felt I could commit -  this is the one, the Ten Pound chocolate cake.

How do you make the chocolate taste more chocolatey?  Add coffee.  This addition to the chocolate accentuates its richness and intense flavor.

Who wants a dry cake?  Me, me, me - not!  Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Don't worry, it is time well spent.  Creaming the butter and sugar incorporates air into the batter, leavening the cake.  Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl after each addition.  Finally, add the sour cream to the bowl for a more complex flavor and moist texture.

Lastly, add the dry ingredients alternately with the coffee/chocolate mix.  The batter will be rich, creamy, and thick!

It helps to use an offset spatula to spread it evenly in the pan.

Cream Cheese Frosting

If the cake is not enough to satisfy the edgy craving, the frosting is the coup de grace.  The tanginess of the cream cheese compliments the complex richness of the cake.

My family can be a little jaded when it comes to desserts since we often have some sort of baked good on the kitchen counter.  This cake, though, is the exception.  Rich and decadent with a full chocolate flavor, it is our special cake!

Recipe

Ten Pound Chocolate Cake

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Compliments many cuisines

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Cool cake to room temperature: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 2 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 people

Calories: 732kcal

Author: Julie

A rich and decadent chocolate cake

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Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

• 2 ¼ cups cake flour
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup coffee hot
• 1 ½ ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
• ¾ cup butter room temperature
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• ½ cup sour cream
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 tablespoons butter room temperature
• 16 ounces cream cheese room temperature
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• ⅓ cup milk

Instructions

Chocolate cake

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees

  Butter, flour, and line with parchment paper two 9-inch cake pans.

  Sift cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, pour hot coffee over bittersweet chocolate. As the chocolate melts, stir to combine. Add the vanilla extract. Set aside.
• Using a mixer, cream butter and sugar together for 5 minutes until very light in color and fluffy. Add the sour cream and mix until incorporated. Make sure to scrape the bowl so that all ingredients are mixed together. Add the eggs, one at a time, completely incorporating the egg before adding another. Again scrape the sides of the bowl. The mix may look curdled but will come together as the other ingredients are added.
• Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl. Next add ½ of the coffee/chocolate mixture. Again add ⅓ of the dry ingredients. Add the last of the coffee mixture. When this is incorporated, add the last of the dry ingredients. Scrape the bowl for the last time and mix for another 10 seconds to make sure every ingredient is combined.
• Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared pans. It helps to use an offset spatula to evenly spread the batter in the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until the cake is pulling away from the sides. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before releasing. Let the cakes come to room temperature on a cooling rack.

Frosting

• Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa together. Cream the butter and the cream cheese together until they are completely combined and smooth. There shouldn't be any lumps. Add the dry ingredients slowly so that you don't end up with a face full of sugar and cocoa powder. Lastly, add the milk to get the frosting to the right consistency. Whip the mixture for a few more minutes until it is light and creamy.

Assembling the cake

• Once the cake has completely cooled and is at room temperature, slice each layer in half. This will be a four layer cake. You can always make it a two layer cake. Put the bottom layer on a cake plate or a cardboard cake circle. Add about 1 cup of the frosting to the top of the layer and spread to the edges. Add the next layer, cake top down. Cakes often have a domed top. By adding the layer domed side down, you will have a flatter cake. Again add a 1 cup dollop of frosting to the layer and spread to the edges. Add the upside top of the next layer and repeat frosting. Lastly add the bottom layer, upside down.
• It helps to crumb coat the cake first so that you will have a more attractive final product. Spread a thin layer of frosting all over the cake, covering the entire surface. Chill for 30 minutes so that the frosting sets up. Once the cake has chilled you can finish frosting the cake.

Notes

The amount of frosting that you add to the cake is up to you.  Some people like to lay it on thick, others not so much.  If you prefer less frosting, here are the amounts for a smaller recipe.

6 tablespoons butter, room temperature

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

3 ¾ cups powdered sugar

¼ cup milk or cream

Nutrition

Calories: 732kcal | Carbohydrates: 126g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 441mg | Potassium: 522mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 94g | Vitamin A: 815IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 169mg | Iron: 3mg

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