So, I do not like LaRocca… Okay, maybe I like them. A lot but my envy gets in the way. They are the baking equivalent of those really accomplished, multiply-linguistic kids at school, that have it all, including modesty. Yes, I am sorely jealous, but mostly, I am in awe, waiting hopefully to grab any pages from their book that they can spare. They happen to recycle.
Fluffy Chocolate Cake Recipe
I settled on a slightly modified version of the cake, with two layers – chocolate cake and chocolate truffle. The Chocolate Cake Recipe is what I’d like to call the Best Fluffy Chocolate Cake in the World adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Sour-Cream Chocolate Cake, who got it from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes
Also Try: Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
Makes an 8-inch triple-layer cake; or about 24 cupcakes. I used it to make one 8-inch one layer cake, a 6-inch thick one layer cake and about 5 cupcakes.
Ingredients Chocolate Cake Recipe
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
How to Make Chocolate Cake Recipe
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottoms of your cake pans and line with greased parchment paper.
- Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl, whisk to combine. Add the oil and sour cream and blend with a spatula. Gradually add in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk the eggs and add them to the mixture; beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Pour into cake pans or tins, making sure it is only 3/4 full.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and the cake is springy to the touch. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes – they may fall a little. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely. Be very gentle when handling your cakes because they are extremely light and fluffy – I recommend freezing them for atleast a half hour to make them a little easier to manipulate. (This is also why it is better to bake them in layers, instead of trimming and dividing post-baking!)
Keep your cooled cake layer ready, and place it either at the bottom of a parchment lined cake pan OR a cake ring, if you’re smart (unlike me) and decided to buy one last time you were at the Baking Warehouse…
Chocolate Truffle Recipe
Now, time to make the Chocolate Truffle Recipe! I’ll let you in on a secret – it’s a mousse recipe. And although I didn’t add a white chocolate mousse layer because of time-restrictions, it is the exact same recipe, substituting white chocolate for dark.
I got this recipe from one of my favourite blogs.
Ingredients Chocolate Truffle Recipe
Chocolate Mousse:
- 4 ounces (115 grams) bittersweet/semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 large eggs, separated
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream
How to Make Chocolate Truffle Recipe
Place chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof stainless steel bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl. Once melted, remove and set aside, letting it cool for a couple of minutes and whisk in your egg yolks. Refrigerate.
Meanwhile, whip the egg whites and whipping cream.
In the bowl of your electric mixer whip the two egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add two tablespoons of sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form, but still glossy and not dry. Set aside.
In another bowl, whip the heavy cream, remaining one tablespoon sugar, and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. My whipping cream wasn’t very billowy, but as long as it is creamy and hasn’t transformed into butter, you’re good.
Also Try: Perfect Double Chocolate Brownies Recipe
Remove the chocolate mixture from the refrigerator, and stir a couple of spoonfuls of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, and then fold the remaining whites into the chocolate mixture, gently but thoroughly. Fold in the whipped cream.
Spoon the chocolate mousse into your cake-lined cake rings (or pans). Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours – or freeze, if you’re short on time. Remove from freezer, run a knife along the edges to remove from sides of pan and gently remove sides.
Place on wire rack on top of parchment paper, and pour your chocolate ganache glaze over top of the cake, letting it pour down the sides. Sprinkle grated white chocolate over the sides to cover imperfections and pipe a white chocolate design on top. Voila!
Chocolate Ganache Glaze from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes
Makes 1 1/4 cups
- 6 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 2/3 cups heavy cream
- 1 tbsp light corn syrup
Place chocolate in medium heatproof bowl. In a sauce pan, bring cream and corn syrup to a simmer. Pour over chocolate, let sit for a few minutes to melt. Mix with your spatula until desired consistency. Strain through a sieve if necessary. Place cake on a wire rack, lined with parchment paper. Gently pour ganache over, covering top evenly and letting it run down the sides. It doesn’t have to be super even, you will cover it with chocolate shavings.
Also Try: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Recipe
Keep the cake refridgerated – it won’t collapse on you completely if kept out in the warm, but the truffle texture comes from the chilled mousse.
A note for those attempting the recipe: When serving, remember to cut the portions yourself. I let Misiu and my cousin Martyna “have some cake”, and the half left the next day was attacked by forks. Did I mention they didn’t leave me any???
