Chocolate Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting

This is a guest post on Archana’s Kitchen. She is one awesome cook !

Do you need excuses to make chocolate cake? And do you make chocolate cake on weekdays?

I, No and Yes.  I don’t need excuses to make cake, in general; and absolutely no excuses to make anything with chocolate; and totally no excuses to make a chocolate cake at that. I just need to think of a recipe that serves me in that particular mood. For me chocolate is mood alleviation, temptation and dearness. And did I tell you that I am extra-possessive when it comes to chocolate? I do not share chocolate. Period

This particular recipe results in the most moist, deep and dark chocolate cake that you must have ever tasted in your entire life till date. I know I shouldn’t dare say that, but I did anyway. For me it was gratification at the very first instant when I dug my fork into the cake, starting from the creamy frosting to the moist interior.

Words fall short.

1. 1 ½ cups freshly brewed strong hot coffee
2. 2  ½ cups all-purpose flour
3. 2 ½ cups granulated white sugar
4. ½  cup dark brown sugar
5. 1 ½ cups natural cocoa powder (unsweetened, need not be dutch- processed)
6. ¾ tspn baking powder
7. ¼ tspn salt
8. 2 medium sized eggs
9. ¾ cup vegetable oil (any odorless one)
10. 1 ½ cup buttermilk
11. 1 cup of freshly brewed coffee
12. 1-2 tspns of vanilla extract (quite generous)

Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting

1. 2 egg whites
2. 90gm of granulated white sugar
3. 150-180 gm of unsalted butter
4. 1-2 tspn of vanilla extract
5. A pinch of salt
6. 50-60 gm of cocoa powder (unsweetened)

–          Preheat your oven to 150C.

–          In a large mixing bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients vigorously till they are until they are combined uniformly. In another bowl, (either a stand mixer or the electric hand whisk) whisk your eggs till they turn a pale yellow, and then add all the wet ingredients, and combine again till everything is uniform.

–          Now, cup by cup whisk in all the dry mixture till the batter is uniform.

–          Pour the batter into a lined and greased tin or two lined tins, if you like, divided equally.

–          Bake for 40-45 min until the center is firm and a toothpick inserted comes out clean

Let the cake cool completely before you start your frosting.

I leave mine on the wire rack and let it cool for atleast 2 hrs before I start frosting.

–          For the frosting, add the egg whites, sugar and salt to a steel bowl and combine. Then set this mixture atop another bowl of simmering water on the stove and start stirring the egg white mixture well (if not vigorously), while it still sits on the top of the simmer water bowl. Keep stirring till all the sugar is dissolved

–          Then take it off the heat and start whisking (again, with an electric whisk or your stand mixer) till you reach the consistency of hard peaks. By this time the egg white mixture should have cools considerable, but if not, leave it to cool for about 3-4 more minutes, till it reaches room temp.

–          After it cools, add in the butter in chunks and keep whisking all through. Whisk till all the butter combines. This will take around 3 min. Keep cleaning the sides of the vessel so that all the mixture keeps getting in.

–          Add in the cocoa powder and whisk again for about a min.

–          Frost your cake!

I lined the frosted cake with a variety of roasted nuts.