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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 30 Minutes |
Ready In: 30 Minutes Servings: 12 |
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Ingredients:
roughly a century ago, the founder of wellesley college held that, “pies, lies, and doughnuts should never have a place in wellesley college.” students honed their fudge-making skills in secret. we wanted to see what all the fuss was about. here’s what we discovered |
test kitchen discoveries |
it seems decades of chocolate overload have desensitized the modern palate, and far more chocolate flavor was required of our cake. we substituted some of the bar chocolate for cocoa powder bloomed in hot water to deepen its flavor. |
our thick, fudgy frosting required an extra-sturdy cake to support it. all-purpose flour in place of pastry flour gave the cake more stability. |
traditional recipes called for “thick sour milk,” an ingredient we weren’t quite prepared to call for. instead, we used buttermilk to give our cake a hint of tang. |
our filling recipe needed to be simple, so we immediately scrapped anything that required a candy thermometer. we found an unexpected solution that called for evaporated milk. |
our frosting kept falling apart when we added chocolate to the warm sugar mixture. the heat was causing the fat in the chocolate to separate, a problem easily solved by adding butter and evaporated milk first to cool it down a bit. |
Directions:
1. We prefer the deep color and balanced flavor of Dutch-processed cocoa powder, but natural cocoa can be used. Although not traditional, two 9-inch round cake pans will work.
2. CAKE
3. 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4. 2 teaspoons baking soda
5. 1 teaspoon baking powder
6. 1/2 teaspoon salt
7. 3/4 cup hot water
8. 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (see note)
9. 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter , cut into 16 pieces and softened
10. 2 cups granulated sugar
11. 2 large eggs
12. 1 cup buttermilk , room temperature
13. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
14. FROSTING
15. 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter , cut in half, and softened
16. 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
17. 1/2 teaspoon salt
18. 1 cup evaporated milk
19. 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped
20. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
21. 3 cups confectioners' sugar , sifted
22. 1. MAKE BATTER Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8-inch-square cake pans. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, whisk hot water with cocoa powder until smooth; set aside. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and mix until incorporated. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk, until combined. Reduce speed to low and slowly add cocoa mixture and vanilla until incorporated.
23. 2. BAKE CAKES Scrape equal amounts of batter into prepared pans and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour. (Cooled, wrapped cakes can be stored at room temperature for 2 days.)
24. 3. MAKE FROSTING Heat 4 tablespoons butter, brown sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup evaporated milk in large saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles appear around perimeter of pan, 4 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture has thickened and turned deep golden brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Slice remaining butter into 4 pieces and stir in with remaining evaporated milk until mixture is slightly cool. Add chocolate and vanilla and stir until smooth. Whisk in confectioners’ sugar until incorporated. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.
25. 4. ASSEMBLE CAKE Place 1 cake square on serving platter. Spread 1 cup frosting over cake, then top with second cake square. Generously spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate cake until frosting is set, about 1 hour. Serve. (Cake can be refrigerated, covered, for 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
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