The BEST Chocolate Cake

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The BEST Chocolate Cake

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM THE CHEF(S)

This recipe is one of Kaleb's earliest posts from The Wyse Guide. He has great videos on his site if you're interested watching a demo. And this cake is perfection. I love the tangy, cream cheese frosting with the toasted hazelnuts, but you could also use a fudgy frosting.

Ingredients

Cake

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sunflower oil (or other neutral oil)
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup milk, room temperature
1 cup hot strong coffee
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

Frosting

1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbs) unsalted butter, room temp
8 oz cream cheese, room temp
1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted (use 3 cups if you prefer less tangy frosty)
1 cup sour cream (there's the tang!)
9 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 tsp salt
Toasted hazelnuts

Equipment

Large mixing bowl
Another mixing bowl for the frosting (or wash the first one!)
2 round cake pans, 9-inch; you can also use one 9x13 inch pan but it's not as pretty and you don't get to eat as much frosting (but it's also not as much work)
Electric mixer (for the frosting)
Parchment paper
Whisk, sturdy mixing spoon, spatula, thing for spreading frosting
Cooling rack
Serving plate for cake

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease the round cake pans and line the bottom of each with a circle of parchment paper. Grease the parchment also and dust pan & parchment with cocoa.
Mix together the dry cake ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
Add the wet cake ingredients: oil, eggs, milk, coffee, and vanilla. Mix well to thoroughly combine. Batter will be thin.
Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into middle of cake. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, before running knife around edge of pans and inverting each cake onto cooling rack. Once cool, move cakes to freezer for at least 15 minutes before frosting.
Once the cake cools and you are ready to begin the frosting, beat together the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. (Even I could recognize this change.)
Add the cocoa, powdered sugar, and salt. Beat to mix completely, then add in the sour cream and continue mixing until no ribbons of cream remain.
Make sure you have your mixer/beater on low speed and add the melted chocolate and mix thoroughly. As the frosting chills it will stiffen up, so it's best to frost your cake immediately.
Transfer about 1/2-3/4 cup frosting (for center layer) to a small bowl and mix in some of the toasted hazelnuts.
Place one of the chilled layers top-side-down on your cake plate and cover the (new) top with the nutty frosting. Then place the second layer also top-side-down on the first layer. Frost the entire cake with a THIN layer of frosting. Just accept that this "crumb layer" will not be pretty. Let it sit for a few minutes and then frost with another generous, lovely layer.
OPTIONAL: Add more toasted hazelnuts to top of cake.