"THE BEST Chocolate Cake on the Planet" a.k.a. "A Cake to Catch a Man With"

See this cake?I present it to you with the following warnings:

If you don't want the people who eat it to fall in love with you, don't make it.

If you don't want to be ruined to the point that even cakes from the finest bakeries will taste like dust in comparison, don't make it.

If you don't want coworkers to ask you to bake birthday cakes for their mothers, don't make it and bring it to work.

This is the best old fashioned chocolate cake recipe I have ever tried. And I've tried many. You're talking to the mom who made half a dozen practice cakes before choosing the recipe for her daughter's first birthday party.

The folks at Cooks Magazine said they baked 130 cakes before they landed on this version. That's my kind of research.

"I'd marry you for this cake."
That's what Eric the cute photojournalist said the first time I brought it to work. I can tell this story because his girlfriend is very secure. And much younger than me.

He and another photojournalist each ate three pieces that day. One right after the other.

The next morning Eric walked in and said, "I woke up thinking about that cake."

Single women take note. For if a man is thinking of your cake, surely thoughts of you cannot be far behind.

Now, I am going to tell you how to catch a man. I mean make the cake.

Ingredients:

Cake

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, very soft, plus extra for greasing the pans

1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting pans

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup (3/4 ounce) Dutch-processed cocoa

1/2 cup hot water

1 3/4 cups (12 1/4 ounces) sugar (divided into 1/2 cup and 1 1/4 cup)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon table salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large eggs, plus 2 large egg yolks

Frosting

Note: Don't make the frosting until the cakes are cooled. Use the frosting as soon as it is ready. If the frosting gets too stiff to spread easily, wrap the mixing bowl with a towel soaked in hot water and mix on low speed until the frosting and creamy and smooth. Refrigerated leftover cake should sit at room temp until frosting softens before serving.

16 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons corn syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 1/4 cups cold heavy cream

Preparation:

Cake

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9 inch round or three 8 inch round by 2 inch high cake pans with unsalted butter; line bottom of pans with parchment paper; grease parchment paper; dust pans with flour and knock out excess.

2. Combine chocolate, cocoa powder, and hot water in medium heatproof bowl; set over saucepan containing 1 inch of simmering water and stir with rubber spatula until chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup sugar to chocolate and stir until glossy, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool.

3. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in medium.

4. Combine buttermilk and vanilla in small bowl.

5. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whisk eggs and 2 yolks on medium-low speed until combined, about 10 seconds. Add remaining 1 1/4 cup sugar, increase speed to high, and whisk until fluffy and lightened in color, 2 to 3 minutes. Replace whisk with paddle attachment.

6. Add cooled chocolate mixture to egg/sugar mixture and mix on medium speed until thoroughly incorporated, 30 to 45 seconds, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add softened butter 1 Tablespoon at a time, mixing about 10 seconds after each addition. Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture followed by half of the buttermilk mixture (batter may appear separated). Scrape down sides of bowl and add remaining flour mixture; mix at medium-low speed until batter is thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds.

Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter once or twice with rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour.

7. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans; smooth batter to edges of pan with spatula. Tap pans on edge of counter to pop air bubbles.

8. Bake cakes until toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes, then invert onto wire rack. Cool cakes to room temperature before frosting, 45 to 60 minutes.

Frosting

1. Melt chocolate in heatproof bowl set over saucepan with 1 inch of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat until melted. Increase heat to medium; add sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt and stir with heatproof rubber spatula until sugar is dissolved, 4 to 5 minutes.

3. Add melted chocolate, butter mixture, and cream to clean bowl of stand mixture and stir to thoroughly combine.

4. Place mixer bowl over ice bath and stir mixture constantly with rubber spatula until frosting is thick and just beginning to harden against sides of bowl, 1 to 2 minutes (frosting should be 70 degrees).

5. Place bowl on stand mixer with paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until frosting is light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir with rubber spatula until completely smooth.

6. Frost the cake: if using two layers, spread 1/2 cup frosting between the bottom and top layer. If making a three layer cake, spread 1/3 cup frosting between layers. Spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake.

Here are some pictures if you'd like to follow along:

Cake:
First I trace rounds of parchment paper the size of the bottom of the cake pans.

Then I cut them out... inside the pencil line so I don't get lead in my cake. Lead... ick.
I use unsalted butter to grease my pans. I grease the sides and bottoms.
Then I put the parchment paper in the bottom of the pan and grease that, too.

No way is this cake going to stick.
I plop some flour in there and rotate the pan and shake it around until the whole pan is nice and dusted. Then I tap out the excess flour. My pans are ready so I just set them aside.

The work part is done and the fun begins.
Combine the chopped chocolate and the Dutch-processed cocoa powder in a medium heat-proof bowl.
Add hot water. This is called blooming and it totally enhances the chocolate flavor.
Put the bowl of chocolates over a saucepan with one inch of simmering water.
Stir with a rubber spatula.
Don't panic if the chocolate kind of clumps up before it starts to melt.
Keep stirring. You'll progress through some weird consistencies. From wet and clumpy...
... to dry and sticky.
But, when you add the 1/2 cup sugar something magic happens.
Stir over the simmering water until smooth and glossy, 1 to 2 minutes.
Isn't that pretty? Adding some of the sugar at this point creates a kind of "pudding" and that boosts out the chocolate flavor even more. No wonder this cake is so good.

Set the chocolate mixture aside to cool.
Measure flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
Whisk until well combined. Set aside.

Combine buttermilk and...
... vanilla in a small bowl.
It looks cool when it's stirred. Set aside.
In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whisk eggs and two extra yolks on medium speed until combined, about 10 seconds (sorry forgot to get a separate shot of this). Add remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar...
Increase speed to high...
... whisk until fluffy...
... and lightened in color, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Replace whisk with paddle attachment.

Add cooled chocolate mixture to egg/sugar mixture and mix on medium speed until thoroughly incorporated, 30 to 45 seconds, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed.

Add softened butter one Tablespoon at a time (this is my favorite part, which is why I'm so bummed I forgot to take a picture of it; probably because it takes two hands) beating about 10 seconds after each addition.

Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix until incorporated.
Add half of the buttermilk mixture...
... mix until incorporated.
Repeat with 1/3 flour...
... then remaining buttermilk,, mixing after each addition (batter may appear separated).

Scrape down sides and add remaining flour, scrape down sides, mix at medium speed until thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter once or twice with rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour.
Divide batter evenly into pans. I use three 8 inch pans for a taller, more dramatic cake.

Smooth batter to edges of pans with spatula.
Tap pan on edge of counter to pop air bubbles.
Bake cakes until toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes, ten invert onto wire rack. Cool cakes to room temperature before frosting, 45 to 60 minutes.

Frosting:
Melt chocolate in heatproof bowl set over saucepan containing 1 inch barely simmering water....
... stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat until melted. Increase heat to medium; add sugar...
...yum.
Add vanilla...
... and corn syrup and salt.
Stir with rubber spatula until sugar is dissolved...
... this takes about 4 to 5 minutes and it smells as though you are in a candy store. Or heaven.
Add butter mixture, melted chocolate to clean bowl of stand mixer.

Add the cream.
Stir thoroughly to combine.
Place mixture over an ice bath and stir constantly with rubber spatula...
... until frosting is thick and just beginning to harden against the side of the bowl. Once this starts to happen, it goes super fast, so be careful it doesn't get too hard. The recipe says frosting should be 70 degrees, but I've never checked. I go by feel.

Place bowl on stand mixer with paddle attachment and beat on medium-high until frosting is light and fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir with rubber spatula until completely smooth.
Frost between the layers.

Then the top and sides. Truthfully, I have my husband do that part. He makes it look purdier than I do.

The second time I brought one of these cakes to work Eric told me I should have the serving platter framed. I think that says it all.

Enjoy!!