Chocolate Butter Cake with Frosting

Today is the last Food Network Chef’s Challenge.  I can’t believe we’ve cooked through all of the chef’s on food network, I’ve found some really great recipes and really great blogging friends through this process.  Thanks Sarah from I Blame My Mother for hosting this fun challenge, I will miss it.   During the whole challenge I’ve cooked 30 new recipes, some of which have become staples and family favorites.  I am up for a new challenge if you’ve got any ideas.

This weeks Chef is Warren Brown, whom is known for his famous Cakelove, and desserts.  So how appropriately we should choose a yummy cake.  I choose his Butter Chocolate Cake, because I love a  good chocolate cake.

This cake is delicious, with a deep chocolate flavor, but melts in your mouth texture paired with the best frosting ever, what a treat.  The frosting recipe I used I saw once on PW website, its unusual because it has cooked flour in it, but let me just tell you, its so creamy you will love it.

Ingredients: Dry unbleached all-purpose flour, 1¼ cups + 2 tablespoons, unsweetened cocoa powder, ½ cup, baking powder, 1½ teaspoons, salt, 1 teaspoon

Liquid, half and half, 1 cup, brandy, 2 tablespoons, vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon

Creaming unsalted butter, at room temperature, 1½ sticks, extra-fine granulated sugar, 1¾ cup, 4 large eggs

In a medium sized mixing bowl add all the dry ingredients and sift

Then in another mixing bowl add the wet ingredients.

Milk

Vanilla

and Brandy, I didn’t have any so I used Malibu Rum

*aren’t my mixing bowls cute? They come in 4 different colors  I got them as a gift from my Mom, Thanks Mom.

Now in your stand mixer or hand held mixer cream the sugar and butter.

Once its creamed on low a slowly add 1 egg at a time till each is fully incorporated.

Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Now alternatly add the dry and liquid ingredients. Start with the dry

then wet

and ending with the dry in 3-5 batches.  Be sure to scrape down the bowl again.

Then beat on medium speed for about 15 seconds to help build the batter’s structure.

Spray cake pans, fill equally with batter and bake at 350 for 28 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes our clean.

Set aside to cool.

Next up the Best Frosting I’ve ever eaten.

Ingredients: 5 Tablespoons Flour, 1 cup Milk, 1 teaspoon Vanilla, 1 cup Butter, 1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)

Start off in a saucepan, yes a saucepan for frosting!  Remember the unusual ingredient?

Pour the milk over medium heat

then whisk in the flour

Keep whisking until it thickens then set aside to cool.

add 1 tsp vanilla

While its cooling cream the sugar and butter.

Then add the cooled milk mixture.

Beat until light and fluffy.

Then flip your cake out onto a pretty cake pan.

Dollap a large amount of frosting.

and smooth out to the best of your abilities, and mine are limited.

Next cut a big slice to share…………….not!

And enjoy the rich chocolate flavor and the simply sweet icing.

Print This RecipeChocolate Butter Cake

Recipe courtesy of Warren Brown

Ingredients

Dry

unbleached all-purpose flour, 7 ounces (1¼ cups + 2 tablespoons), or 7¼ ounces (1¼ cups + 3 tablespoons) at high altitude

unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 ounces (½ cup), or 21/8 ounces (½ cup + 1 tablespoon + ½ teaspoon) at high altitude

baking powder, 1½ teaspoons, or 1 teaspoon at high altitude

salt, 1 teaspoon

Liquid

half and half, 1 cup, or 1 cup + 2½ tablespoons at high altitude

brandy, 2 tablespoons

vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon

Creaming

unsalted butter, at room temperature, 6 ounces (1½ sticks)

extra-fine granulated sugar, 14 ounces (1¾ cup), or 13 ounces (1½ cups + 2 tablespoons) at high altitude

eggs (large), 4, or 5 at high altitude

Directions

Yield: two 9-inch round cakes or 24 cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (conventional) or 335°F (convection). Set the rack in the middle of the oven. For cupcakes, set racks in the upper-middle and lower-middle positions.

2. Set out the ingredients and equipment:

Sift the flour directly into a bowl on a scale for accurate measuring.

Measure the other dry ingredients into a separate mixing bowl, add the flour, and whisk for 10 seconds to blend. Set aside.

Measure the liquid ingredients into a separate bowl and set aside.

Measure the butter and sugar into separate bowls and set aside.

Crack the eggs into a separate bowl and set aside.

3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on the lowest speed for 3 to 5 minutes.

4. With the mixer still on the lowest speed, add the eggs one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl.

5. Add the dry ingredient mixture alternately with the liquid mixture in 3 to 5 additions each, beginning and ending with the dry mixture. Move swiftly through this step to avoid overworking the batter. Don’t wait for the dry or liquid mixtures to be fully incorporated before adding the next. This step should take a total of about 60 seconds.

6. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl all the way down. Don’t miss the clumps of ingredients hiding on the bottom of the bowl. Mix on medium speed for 15 to 20 seconds to develop the batter’s structure.

7. Prepare the pans. For 9-inch-round cakes, line the bottom of each pan with parchment; do not spray the sides. For cupcakes, lightly spray the pan with a nonstick spray to help release any overflowing crowns. Line the pan with paper liners.

8. For 9-inch-round cakes, deposit the batter in three separate areas of each pan and smooth out with the rubber spatula or an offset metal spatula, making sure the pans are two-thirds full. For cupcakes, use a 2-ounce, trigger-release, ice-cream scoop to deposit batter into the lined pans so they’re two-thirds full.

9. Follow the approximate bake times listed below.

ITEM: 9-inch rounds – at Sea Level, bake 28 minutes; at High Altitude, bake 35 minutes.

ITEM: cupcakes – at Sea Level, bake 22 minutes; at High Altitude, bake 20 minutes.

10. Once the top of the cake doesn’t jiggle in the center, test for doneness by inserting a bamboo skewer in the center of the cake. An even dark brown color should extend from the edge to the center, and the cake’s edges may pull away from the pan. When the skewer shows just a touch of crumbs or comes out clean, the cake is done. Remove the pan from the oven and place on a heat-resistant surface or wire rack.

11. For 9-inch-round cakes, cool to room temperature, 25 to 30 minutes, before removing from the pans. Use a small offset spatula to loosen each cake from the rim of the pan. Carefully invert each pan onto a flat surface and remove the layers. Remove the parchment from the bottom of each cake and wrap the cake tightly in plastic. Refrigerate the layers for up to 5 days before frosting. (See page 200 for more information on layering and assembling.)

12. For cupcakes, cool to room temperature, 25 to 30 minutes, before carefully lifting each cupcake from the pan. Proceed with frosting or store for later use.

SERVING AND STORING

Serve frosted with your choice of buttercream. It’s especially good paired with Coconut Buttercream.

Store under a cake dome at room temperature, or wrapped in plastic in the fridge for up to 1 week. If frosted, store under a cake dome for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 1 week. To store unfrosted cake longer, label, date, and store the plastic wrapped cake in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Print This RecipeThat’s the Best Frosting I’ve Ever Had

Added by missydew

Ingredients

5 Tablespoons Flour

1 cup Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 cup Butter

1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)

Preparation Instructions

Bake your favorite chocolate cake and let it cool.

In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.) Stir in vanilla.

While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then add the cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.

Grab a spoon and taste this wonderful goodness. If there is any left after your taste test, spread it on a cooled chocolate cake.

Cut yourself a piece and put it on a pretty plate. Grab a fork and prepare to experience the most divine pairing you can imagine. This frosting on chocolate cake is to die for. Sure, the recipe sounds strange — it has flour in it — but it’s sublime. Try it, you’ll see. You’ll love it so much you won’t go back.