Chocolate-Flecked Layer Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting
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- Prep Time 40 minutes
- Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield Serves 10 to 12
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 1 large egg yolk plus 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (61 to 70 percent cacao), finely chopped
- Milk Chocolate Frosting
Directions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans, and line with parchment. Butter paper, and flour pans. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
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Beat together butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in yolk and eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream and milk, beginning and ending with flour. Fold in chocolate.
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Divide batter between pans, and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Bake until deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans 20 minutes. Invert cakes, remove pans and parchment, and let cool completely, right side up, on wire racks.
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Cut each cake in half horizontally with a serrated knife. Place 1 bottom layer on a platter or cake stand, and spread evenly with 3/4 cup frosting. Repeat with a second layer and another 3/4 cup frosting. Place third layer on top, and spread with another 3/4 cup frosting. Place fourth layer on top. Spread entire cake with remaining frosting (about 2 3/4 cups), smoothing top and sides. Serve immediately, or refrigerate, uncovered, up to 2 days; if refrigerated, let cake come to room temperature before serving.
Cook's Note
This chocolate-flecked creation with milk chocolate frosting is a great party cake. Enriched with shards of bittersweet chocolate and a luxurious frosting, it makes for a dramatic presentation and can be assembled two days ahead of time.
SPECTACULAR CAKE! I don't know what the reviewer below is talking about. The cake was moist and beautifully flavoured. It is a special cake and well worth the price. The icing is to die for! Decadent, divine and not too sweet. I used the entire amount as it shows thickly applied in the photo. Don't skimp. The cake cut beautifully, with perfect slices the stood upright. I used Lindt Excellence Extra Creamy chocolate for the icing and Lindt Excellence 70% for the cake. Small slices suffice.
The frosting is a definite keeper. I'm not usually keen on frosting, but this was luxurious w/o being too sweet. The method was new to me. As with all Martha's frosting recipes, make half. The cake itself was labor-intensive, expensive, and tasteless. Sadly, I knew this when I tested the batter. Next time I will try gently folding chopped chocolate into Betty Crocker's recipe for chiffon cake and top it off with this yummy frosting.
I made this for my husband's surprize birthday party - everyone loved it and couldn't believe it wasn't store bought. I followed directions except for the whole milk (used 1%). It was my finest cake moment yet, so easy and SO delicious. I will definately make it again.
I did not yet make this cake, but plan to. I think Austin may have used regulat salt, in which case that much is certainly too much salt. Why the recipe calls for coarse salt, I wonder, but I do think this was his problem.
Delicious cake! BUT, it does work better in two 9" springform pans than in the 8" cake pans. AND it did take a longer to cook (in either size pan) than the recipe specified. Make these adjustments and you'll have a cake worthy of any occasion!
The best chocolate cake I've ever made.
I found my chocolate cake recipe.
Thanks.
I was so excited to try this cake. I made it following the directions exactly. Major disappointment - the cake is way too salty. The whole thing is going in the garbage. What a waste of some expensive baking milk chocolate.
The batter does not fit in 8 inch pans. It overflowed in the oven. It had to be left in the oven 25 minutes longer than what the recipie states. I wasn't happy with this at all. It's obvious nobody that works for this site has made this cake following this recipe. I thought this was a reputable source for cake recipes, but I was wrong.
I made this recipe exactly as written and it was divine. Perfect amount of frosting, no salt "grit," nicely moist, beautiful presentation. I wouldn't change a thing. Used Belgium dark chocolates bars and just the big Trader Joe's milk chocolate bar for the frosting. I agree--it's a keeper!
Amazing cake - not too chocolatey, so it's a great compromise for those who do and don't love chocolate. I love chocolate and enjoyed this a lot. However, I made adjustments to the recipe based on taste and comments (mostly due to dry cake...mine was NOT). CHANGES:
Cake:
- 1 7/8 Sticks butter
- 2 tsp regular salt (I don't like chunks in cakes)
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4c sugar and 3/4c dark brown sugar, for richness
- 2 Tsp Vanilla
- 3/4 half & half
- 10oz 72% Choc. (+more choc. in frosting)
Enter your review...
I made this last night for an office birthday and it came out perfect. I used Callebaut bittersweet and milk chocolates. Don't understand how it could come out dry with eggs, butter and sour cream in the batter unless it was over-beaten or over-baked. The frosting was divine and makes a BUCKET, but make sure your chocolate has cooled and your sour cream is cold. Another keeper recipe from Martha.
I've just finished the cake and it tastes great! Here's what I did differently: I used 2 tsps of regular salt. You may want to decrease to 1 tsp if you don't like sweet and salty. To make sure my cake wouldn't be dry, I used an extra egg yolk and only baked it for 30 minutes. It was JUST done. I also didn't beat the ingredients to death. I find that over-worked eggs in cakes and cookies yield a tough, dry cake. Just mix everything until it's mixed. Now for the frosting!
This cake turned out delicious, and my family was impressed. The frosting is wonderful, although I had a lot left over after frosting the cake (too much frosting isn't the worst thing in the world!). It's even better the next day, served warm so the frosting melts a little bit into the cake.
This cake looks lovely in the photo and is just as lovely on the plate. But that's the end of it. Fail. There is seriously no flavor in this cake and it was very dry. The frosting recipe is just wrong-- and chilling it/whipping it does not help. Adding more confectioners sugar makes a too-sweet frosting. Expensive ingredients too.
THis cake makes a lovely presentation, but my family did not enjoy the coarse salt crystals throughout the cake. I am new to baking with coarse salt...I don't understand the benefit.