Dr Stan Dodds’ Perfect Chocolate Cake
Dr. Dodds’ fabulous cake is based on a recipe from one of his mother’s McCall’s Cooking School booklets, similar to: http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/1310849-McCall-s-Cooking-School-Perfect-Chocolate-Cake.
The original recipe calls for a vanilla whipped cream filling between the cake layers and a chocolate butter cream frosting on the top and outside of the cake. Dr. Dodds uses the chocolate butter cream as both filling and frosting, so make extra frosting and skip the filling part of the original recipe. He makes 1-1/2 batches of the original frosting recipe.
Note: This dessert creates a lot of dirty dishes and takes up to 2 hours to prepare. You need THREE round 9-inch cake pans and an electric mixer or hand-crank whisk. Also, the butter must be softened to room temperature so plan ahead. Take the butter out of the refrigerator in the morning before you make the cake that afternoon or evening.
Ingredients
For Cake
- 1 cup cocoa
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2-3/4 cups flour, sifted before measuring
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 2-1/2 cups regular white sugar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 4 eggs
- additional 2-3 Tablespoons flour to prepare cake pans
- additional 2-3 Tablespoons butter or shortening to prepare cake pans
For Frosting (quantities below are for the amount of frosting needed to fill layers and cover outside)
- 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup cream
- 1-1/2 cups butter
- 3- 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted to remove lumps
Setting up for success
Preheat oven to 350° F, then grease and flour three 9-inch diameter cake pans in this manner.
Use up to 1 Tablespoon shortening or butter to wipe the inside of each pan, thoroughly covering the entire bottom and sides of the pan with the grease. Sprinkle up to 1 Tablespoon of flour into each pan, then shake pan as if you are mining for gold in a stream to cover all the grease with the flour. Over the sink or trash can, turn the cake pan perpendicular to the floor and slowly rotate the cake pan so that the flour also covers the greased sides of the pan. Invert the first pan over the second pan and lightly tap the bottom of the first pan to release any extra flour. It falls into the second pan for recycling. Complete the flouring of the second and third pans, tapping the bottom of the last pan over the sink or trash can to release any extra flour.
Mixing the cake ingredients in three parts
- Hot cocoa – use a hot water kettle or a saucepan to bring 2 cups of water to a boil, then pour the boiling water into a medium mixing bowl. Immediately add in the cocoa powder and stir briskly with a whisk or fork until powder is thoroughly dissolved into the water. Set aside to cool.
- Creamed ingredients – the butter must be softened but not melted for this part. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until the consistency of the creamed ingredients is light and fluffy.
- Sifted dry ingredients – turn the remaining dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt) into a sifter and sift into a medium bowl or onto a large flat sheet of parchment paper or pastry mat.
Combining the three parts of the cake batter
All three parts will be combined in the large mixing bowl with the creamed butter. Using your mixer on a low speed, add in 1/4 of the sifted dry ingredients and beat until thoroughly combined with the creamed butter, then 1/3 of the hot cocoa part and beat to combine. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients, followed by hot cocoa, ending with the last 1/4 of the dry ingredients. Do not overbeat. As soon as the last portion of dry ingredients is mixed in and no white bits remain, turn off the mixer.
Baking the cake
Divide the cake batter evenly between the three cake pans. Bake each layer for 25-30 minutes until the sides begin to pull away from the pan and the top springs back if you test it by gently pressing it with your fingertip. If you don’t have a large oven, you can only bake one layer at a time. DO NOT attempt to cook multiple layers at once by stacking the pans and baking racks on top of each other. Dr. Dodds also deflects direct heat in his oven to prevent over-baking on the bottom of the pan (ask him about this next time you see him).
When you remove a baked layer from the oven, allow the cake layer to cool 10 minutes in its pan on a trivet or wire rack that allows air to flow under and around the pan to speed the cooling process. After 10 minutes, carefully run a flat knife blade or spatula around the inside of the pan to loosen any “stuck” edges. Invert the cake pan in a single swift movement onto a piece of parchment or waxed paper on a flat surface (like a wire rack) and allow it to continue cooling.
Make the frosting while the cake layers bake
Sift the powdered sugar to reduce lumps and set aside. Prepare a large bowl as an “ice bath” by filling it 1/4 – 1/3 full of ice. Place bowl back in freezer until needed. In a large saucepan (one that will fit inside the ice bath bowl), combine chocolate chips, butter and whipping cream. Stir frequently while you heat the frosting over medium heat (5-6 on a scale of 1-10). Stir and continue heating until the chips and butter are completely melted; this step may take 10-12 minutes. Once the chips and butter are completely melted, remove the saucepan from the heat and blend in the sifted powdered sugar with a hand-crank whisk or electric mixer.
Now place the warm frosting pot inside the bowl with the ice bath. Settle the pot down into the ice bath so that the ice extends about 1/4 – 1/3 of the way up the sides of the pot. Continue using the hand crank or electric mixer to beat the frosting until it begins to thicken (about 7 minutes), then continue beating until the thickening frosting holds its shape. When it is ready, you should be able to scoop up a mound with a spoon and turn the spoon upside down while the mound of frosting retains its shape.
If your cake layers are completely cooled and ready to frost, remove the frosting from the ice bath. If your cake is still cooking, leave the pot in the ice bath for now.
Frost the cake layers
Dab a small amount of frosting on a decorative plate or a cake board (round cardboard or plastic, slightly larger than cake layers), then arrange the first cake layer on the plate or board. Use a knife to mark the frosting into four quarters inside the pot so you will know how much to use on the different layers. Use 1/4 of the frosting to cover the top of the first cake layer on the plate, and spread so you end up with the thickest part of the frosting layer on the outside edge.
Arrange the second layer on top of the frosting. As you settle the layer down, some of the frosting should squeeze out around the outside edges . Use the next 1/4 of the frosting to cover the second cake layer, again ending with the thickest part of the layer at the outside edges.
Arrange the third layer on top of the second layer of frosting. Settle the cake down on the frosting so that a little frosting squeezes out the edges. Use the third quarter of frosting to cover the top of the cake, again with the thickest part of the frosting layer on the outside edges. Place mounds of the remaining frosting around the sides of the cake in 4-6 places around the diameter, then begin “connecting the dots” of frosting.
The extra frosting that squeezed out between the first and second cake layers will help you connect the dots of frosting. Use the extra thickness of frosting from the top layer if you need additional frosting to completely cover the sides.
Serving and cutting the cake
Store the cake in the refrigerator for 1-1/2 hours before serving. Remove the cake from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. To cut a layered cake like this one, use a long, thin knife and cut wedges by sawing through the layers of cake and frosting.
Serves: 12 large slices or 16 medium slices