I have been thinking about making this cake for a long time now. What made me change my mind every time I thought of making it, was the buttercream icing part. I was really worried about how it would turn out. In the hot and humid climate here, there are chances that the icing would fall back immediately after whisking, or wouldn’t rise at all. It might even split and the whole thing would be a mess. I also had been searching for an easy buttercream recipe, and found one that requires you to heat the egg whites and sugar mixture. So, I thought it might just work, and it did!
In today’s time, a cake is the epitome of celebration, and
you just don’t make a big cake any day you want. So, I also needed a special day
when I wouldn’t mind giving into the little laborious job that it is. Today,
being the 6th anniversary of the day I signed the legal papers with
the Mister, it called for me to brave into the kitchen and finally put the
thoughts into action. The result was delicious!
I followed Nigella's Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake recipe to make the cakes.
Ingredients for the cake :
- Plain all purpose Flour - 1 1/2 cup or 200g,
- Caster Sugar (or just powder your grainy sugar) - 1 cup or 200g,
- Cocoa powder - 1/2 cup or 50g,
- Sour Cream (substitue with thick yoghurt) - 2/3 cup or 150ml,
- Butter (soft, at room temperature) - 175g,
- Eggs (at room temperature) - 2,
- Vanilla extract /essence - 2 tsp,
- Baking powder - 1 tsp,
- Baking soda - 1/2 tsp.
This makes 2 cakes to be sandwiched. If you want to add a third layer to the cake, like I did here, just make another cake with half the quantity listed. Also, for the third layer, I ran out of yoghurt. So, I added some fresh cream insted. Turned out to be just as good.
Now, I don't have a conventional oven. I happen to own a Convection+Microwave+Grill oven, and I bake my cakes, one at a time, in the convection mode. So, what I did was, I didn't add the raising agents to the cake batter right away. I divided the batter into two portions, covered and set aside one, and to the other half, I added 1/2 the amount of baking powder, and baking soda, poured it in the tin and baked. When I was done with the first one, I baked the second one similarly.
Method:
- Pre-heat the oven at 180°C.
- Line and grease 2 cake tins.
- Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla, and the sour cream, and mix it all up with a whisk.
- Mix in the cocoa powder, the flour, the baking powder, and the baking soda, and make a smooth batter. If you find the batter very thick, you can add a couple of tablespoons of milk.
- Or you can just mix it all up together in a food processor.
- Pour the batter in the two lined and greased tins, and bake at 180°C for 30-35 mins.
- Take it out, and allow it to cool down completely.
To make the buttercream icing, I followed a Martha Stewart recipe. The original recipe had food colour in it. I omitted that as I wanted a white icing to go with the chocolate cakes. You may add a little gel or paste (as the original recipe suggest, to avoid streaking or flaking) food colour of your choice. Just mix it in to the buttercream with a skewer.
To prepare the buttercream icing, you will need:
- Eggs (separated, just the whites)- 5,
- Caster Sugar (you really need the superfine sugar here) - 1 1/4 cup,
- Butter (soft, at room temperature) - 350g,
- Vanilla extract - 2 tsp.
Here's what you have to do:
- Bring half a saucepan of water to boil, and then turn the heat down to a low simmer.
- Take the egg whites and sugar in a bowl that fits over the sauce pan, place it over the simmering water, and whisk the egg whites and the sugar. The bowl SHOULD NOT touch the water.
- Keep beating /whisking till the mixture gets a little warm, and the sugar melts. It takes around 3-5 mins.
- Now take the bowl of the heat, and immediately start whisking with an electric whisk on medium-high setting. Keep going for a good 7-8 mins, till the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Now bring the speed down to medium, add the vanilla, and start incorporating the butter, one tablespoon at a time.
- There, you have your vanilla buttercream ready! You can store it in the fridge in an airtight box.
To layer the cake:
- Place a cake over your cake stand or serving dish, spread over some icing in an even layer, and place the other cake gently on top. Spread some icing evenly over it.
- Repeat if you are adding another layer.
- With the help of a spatula spread the rest of the icing over the cake and on the sides, cover it up as evenly as possible. If you've got the fancy tools, use them to make the cake look smooth.
- Decorate your cake with some sugar flowers or however you like.
Chill well in the fridge before cutting and enjoying your slice.
Ciao!
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