posted
I want to make a demonically chocolate cake. I make perfect frosting from scratch, the problem is that if I used a mix for the cake i know it would turn out perfect, but it would have transfat in it and I am trying to avoid that. How do I make a good chocolate fudge cake that won't turn out dry and heavy and revolting but light, fluffy and moist?
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Here's the one I use, but it uses butter. If you're trying to avoid all transfats completely, I don't have a good option for you. Believe in the butter
2 cups boiling water 1 cup cocoa powder
2 3/4 cup flour 2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup butter, soft 2 1/4 cups white sugar 4 eggs 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-Preheat oven to 350. -I use two 9" round pans. -Mix the cocoa in with the hot/boiling water until it's completely dissolved. Set aside to cool (or stick in the fridge), this will take like half an hour. -Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt. -Cream together the butter and sugar in a separate bowl(if you use salted butter, then leave out the extra salt). Add eggs, vanilla. Mix thoroughly. -Add the flour+ingredients and the liquid cocoa mixtures to the creamed butter, alternating. So you're taking three separate containers, and mixing them together. -Bake 25-30 mins.
Posts: 1261 | Registered: Apr 2004
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I also have an alternative... it works for me!
Death by Chocolate Cake
1 pkg. either chocolate devil's food cake, or chocolate fudge -- any chocolate cake mix, Duncan-Hynes is the best option. 1 small box instant chocolate pudding 2 eggs 1/2 cup vegetable/canola oil 1/2 cup water 1 sm. container/cup sour cream (haha, you have to for this one!) 6. oz. chocolate chips
Icing (optional -- if you make your own that's absolutely fine!): 8 oz. "Baker's semi sweet" chocolate for baking 4 tbsps milk 2 tbsps butter
-Preheat oven to 350 F. -Mix everything together, and beat it all with a hand-mixer until smooth. -Grease pan (a bundt pan is preferable, but really it just makes it look pretty more than anything else), and pour in batter. -Bake for 50 min. - 1 hr. To test, stick in toothpick, and see if hard.
For icing, melt chocolate with two tablespoons of butter and four tablespoons of milk, and put on top. Make sure you melt the chocolate in a double boiler.
This is a pretty decadent cake. I highly recommend it. Posts: 7877 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
All mayonaise is is oil and eggs mixed together in an emulsion. Oil and eggs are typically found in cakes, so it makes sense for certain recipes to have mayonaise in it.
Posts: 4089 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Also; the point of a cake is that it is not exactly good for you. If you're going to make a cake, you're going to commit to the fact that you are going to have something yummy, not very healthy. Trying to make cake healthy is almost like blasphemy.
At least, that's my opinion .
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I use the Hershey's chocolate cake recipe. It is the best cake I have ever eaten. It is so light and fluffy and moist.
Deep Dark Chocolate Cake 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa 1 cup milk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups sugar 1 cup boiling water 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 eggs 1/2 cup vegetable oil Directions: 1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan. (I have also made great cupcakes with this)
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes (I use a standing Kitchenaid). Stir in boiling water. (Batter will be thin which is a little scary. Don't worry; you have it right) Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely before icing.
Posts: 1319 | Registered: Jul 2005
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The Hershey's cocoa cake recipe is pretty good. I attest to its tastiness. The boiling water mixed into your batter is totally scary, but works.
Posts: 1261 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
If you use canola oil in place of vegetable oil, that might work with no trans fats. I haven't tried this myself, though, so I have no idea if it would work. Better ask the cakemeister Jaiden.
Changing up recipes to discover new information is fine but only if you're willing to risk this particular cake not turning out that well, and I rarely am. So if you bravely conduct this research, then be sure and post the results for the sake of science, okay? Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
Butter does not have trans fats. Trans fats are "hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils". Butter is full of saturated fat, but like Teshi said cakes aren't supposed to be healthy. ( But I try to at least have natural badness in mine).Dabbler's recipe looks yummy.
Posts: 2711 | Registered: Mar 2004
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Synesthesia, would you mind sharing your perfect frosting recipe? I'm a tad tired of Betty Crocker's.
Posts: 1215 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Ok. What I do is... Take a stick of butter, leave it out for a while until it gets soft. Then you take some confectioner's sugar, not too much, about half a box or so. Add a ton of cocoa powder. I don't bother measuring. I just mix the soften butter with the confectioner's sugar and chocolate, add vanilla to that and milk or light cream, keep adding chocolate until it's so overwhelmingly chocolate it can kill an elephant.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Wow, sounds great. Is that unsalted butter? And about how much is half a box of powdered sugar? We buy the ten pound bags..
Posts: 1215 | Registered: Apr 2005
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not unsalted, but that would not be a bad idea. Usually I use the small little 1 pound boxes of confectioner's sugar... and I might add a bit more to taste, it's totally unmeasured. I haven't had that frosting in sooooo long.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Canola oil works in my recipe. It is the only kind I buy to bake with (because olive, which I cook with, would be yucky).
Checking out the recipe site now. I love to bake and I am a pretty decent cook too. One of my few skills.
Posts: 1319 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I must say that Dabbler's recipe turned out pretty good. I split it in half so I don't eat too much cake. I was doing so well on the cut down on sweets thing too. Ah, well. And it's also a chocolate upsidedown cake because I was too lazy to flip it over.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
I'm not sure if I'm too late or not, but I have lots of recipes for demonically good chocolate cakes.
If you're up to it this is the "ultimate" chocolate cake recipe in my mind... but it's not the easiest recipe out there. Always make sure to read a recipe all the way through and understand it before you start
Jaiden's Chocolate Cake Recipe:
Butter and flour, for spring form pan 2 cups pastry flour 3/4 cup cocoa powder 11/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 2 cups sugar 4 eggs 1/2 cup plus 2 ounces buttermilk 1/2 cup plus 2 ounces brewed coffee 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Milk Chocolate Ganache, recipe follows Special equipment: 10-inch springform pan
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour a 10-inch springform pan. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, set aside. Cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time beating well after each addition. Combine the buttermilk, coffee and vanilla extract. Mix in 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then half the wet ingredients. Repeat with the remaining dry and wet ingredients, finishing with dry. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the pan after 15 minutes. Cool completely. Cut the cake into 2 layers. Sandwich whipped ganache between the 2 layers and spread more ganache on the top and sides of the cake if you wish.
Chocolate Ganache: 1 cup heavy cream 10.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (shaved is preferable) In a medium pot over high heat bring the cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly add to the chocolate. Wait a minute until chocolate is melted. Stir until all has melted and the mixture is a smooth even color. Taste. Decide if you want to add sugar (powdered) or flavouring (liquor). Add a little of either of these at a time and continue tasting until you like it. Cool to room temperature stirring occasionally. Cover and refrigerate overnight. This is too much ganache for this recipe- cut it in half if you want, but I’d suggest doing the whole bit and whip –half- of the ganache in a chilled bowl until stiff peaks form for the center of the cake and use the other half for other things.
Random notes- Sifting- To sift just take a strainer and put the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt through it. Do it a couple of times to make sure uniformity.
Layers If you want perfect layers you have to only use one pan- no choice. So what you do is take the cake out of the spring form pan and wait until it's cooled all the way through. Then, on a flat surface get out a good long bread knife. With the knife mark off where you want the layers to be. Go to the oposite side of the cake and do teh same. Now start on one side of the cake and cut part way into it- about an inch in. Rotate the cake and continue the cut around the whole cake. Now start cutting further into the cake still rotating the cake in a circle. Finally cut all the way through. This is your best chance to get even layers. I would only attempt one layer for now, but once you get used to the idea many layers can be done this way. However, if you're nervous about doing layers this way just seperate the cake mixture and shorten the cooking time! Also don't attempt this with a store bought cake mix- they're usually too crumbly to be cut in this maner.
Chocolate- Water is death for chocolate. Never ever ever get water near your chocolate!
Ganache- It’s to die for. However some people freak out well making it. The shock of the temperature extremes will cause the fat in the chocolate to separate. As the chocolate melts, you will see some elasticity if there is no fat separation. This means the chocolate still has an emulsion; the fat molecules are still holding together. If the ganache separates, it loses its elasticity, collapses, and becomes very liquid. I use a hand-held immersion blender to ensure a smooth ganache and to keep the emulsion of the chocolate. Add the remaining cream gradually and mix until all of the hot cream is incorporated and the ganache is smooth and homogenous. If the ganache separates, it is very easy to fix. Simply add a small amount of cold cream and whisk well. This will bring the ganache back together. The ganache should be thick, shiny, and smooth. Ganache is amazing stuff- you can flavour it with your favourite liquor (Grand Marnier is great) and if you have leftovers I have tons of cool things you can do with it. With the second half of the ganache I’d suggest making truffles! Just roll the ganache into balls with your hands- if it’s sticking to your hands it maybe because your hands are too hot. Put your hands under cool water for a few minutes and dry them off very very well. If that doesn’t work you can always cover your hands in cocoa powder or sugar. You can put nuts (hazelnuts is my favourite) into the center, etc. The easiest way to “finish” truffles is rolling them into something- coconut, cocoa powder, or a cocoa powder and powder sugar are my favourites. If you want to try something a little more difficult melt some extra chocolate in a bowl over top of a pot of warm water on the stove. The water should never ever ever boil. The chocolate should always feel just under body temperature to the touch. Once melted dip the ganache into the chocolate using forks. You can then just put them on seran wrap or a cooling rack or you can “roll” them over the cooling rack to get a different “drippy” affect. They kind of look like hedgehogs then. Or you can do as my little brother does. Eat it out of the bowl for the next week with a spoon. Refrigerate ganache, or you can try to freeze it. I’ve never frozen this recipe. If you do do so, when it’s time to defrost place frozen truffles, etc. on a cooling rack not touching each other or anything else.
I'm fairly tired right now, but I'll post some simpler recipes for chocolate cakes either today or tomorrow Posts: 944 | Registered: Jun 2001
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I guess I am too late, sorry! (which means I won't post any more recipes unless people want me too)
Posts: 944 | Registered: Jun 2001
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Btw, point of note for copyright hounds, any recipe I post are my own recipes (as in I "invented" them) or people I know closely (who "invented" them and I've adjusted for my own uses. I also know my friends are fine with me giving out their recipes)
Posts: 944 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
For a different style of chocolate cake and always an easy favourite in my opinion is the molten style. This recipe -has- to be baked and served right away. You -cannot- put leftover baked cakes into the fridge. It makes 12 servings- however feel free to halve, etc. the recipe.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Grease the tins with butter. In one grease tin pour some cocoa powder and coat the tin, dump into another tin and repeat the process. Set aside tins.
In a bowl over a saucepan of warm (not boiling!) water, melt the butter and chocolate together, stirring occasionally. Make sure to not get the chocolate wet! Cool slightly.
In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, yolks, and sugar until –really- fluffy. It should be close or more than double it’s original size). Whisk the egg mixture into chocolate mixture; then whisk in the flour.
Fill the tins with the batter and bake for 5 to 9 minutes. The tops of the cakes should be "baked" but just barely. (Alternatively, refrigerate the cakes until ready to bake and adjust the time). Keep a close eye on them! The time really depends on your oven and altitude.
Once baked on the top pull out of oven. Using a towel flip each cake onto a plate (one cake per plate one plate per person). Put a scoop of vanilla icing with it. The hope is when you put your fork in, the cake will still be liquid in the middle and "ooze" out. However if you did cook it too long it'll still be very yummy and your guests will just get individual little warm chocolate cakes.
Posts: 944 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
When I lived with my parents my mom made a homemade chocolate cake every year for my birthday with a chocolate frosting made from Betty Crocker's chocolate frosting whipped with whipping cream. Can't really find chocolate frosting mixes anymore, so I've missed it the past few years.
posted
Okay, so the questions about oils, fats, etc. into cakes.
Butter gives the best flavour and the best texture to cakes. It's much more rich, creamy, etc. I only use butter in my cakes.
If a recipe requests oil, use it (duh). You can use canola oil in place of vegetable oil, but don't go off into the more flavourful oils. Don't use olive oil- it's flash (burning) temperature is a lot lower and it’ll give it a funny taste. Don't use peanut oil, it'll give your cake a very distinctive taste, etc.
So-ooo… about trans fats… First off I’m not a registered dietitian. That means anything I say should be taken with a grain of salt.
Trans fats are artificial fats made when you add hydrogen to liquid vegetable oil and then add pressure (I can explain it better, but that’s it in non scientific terms). The result is a stiffer fat. Trans fats are also called hydrogenated fats. Trans fats pose a higher risk of heart disease than saturated fats. Saturated fats are found in butter, cheese, beef, coconut and palm oil. Saturated fats raise total cholesterol levels. However, trans fats not only raise total cholesterol levels but they also deplete good cholesterol (HDL). So, in a nut shell the stiffer and harder fats are, the more they clog up your arteries. However, the reason trans fats are used is they extend shelf life extraordinarily. The reason your crackers are so nice and crisp is trans fats
When choosing what “fat” to use, avoid using “stick” margarine as that contains lots of trans fats and check out tub margarine before buying it. Olive oil is claimed to be one of the “better” oils health wise (but I haven't done any serious reading up on it).
Pet peeve slightly off topic- plants don’t and won’t naturally have cholesterol!!! Cholesterol is made in the liver and plants don’t have livers! (Random note, ounce for ounce shrimp have almost double the cholesterol beef has.)
posted
The cakes don't prevent you from doing it- the cake gods do. I promise you righteous wrath will come down on all who try to put already baked molten chocolate cakes into the fridge. As a minor member of the cake gods worshipers I’ve come to free you from nasty molten cakes.
----
These cakes aren't fully baked and are designed to be eaten warm. If you put them into the fridge the part that is baked will go soggy from the liquid inside. If you were to attempt to reheat them you’d come into other problems. You can't microwave them due to how a microwave works (the runny inside would get cooked) and you can't put them back into the oven or you'll over bake them. (Cooking the inside is just silly- the whole point of the cake is for a runny inside and a cooked outside).
--- But, because the cake gods are all-knowing, they do allow putting unbaked molten chocolate cakes into the fridge for up to a week. And if you –really- need to bake them –right- now, just bake them all the way through like a normal chocolate cake. It’ll still be yummy just not to die for like good chocolate molten cakes are Posts: 944 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
I am getting a mental picture of the cake grabbing the edges of an open refrigerator as someone tries to put it in.
Jaiden, is pastry flour the same as cake flour? I think I will try your first cake recipe tonight for my church group. I am a newbie on Hatrack but it seems like you are after my own heart. I am usually more of a cookie baker myself. Your fats discussion is scaring me though. I am a BIG fan of butter Crisco sticks for my cookies.
Also for cake layers, unwaxed dental floss works well for me. It takes some pulling though. And I always put the crumbly side down so it is easier to ice the top.
Posts: 1319 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I can testify as well that cakes made with butter are far far superior to those made with margarine. They have better texture and flavor and the batter fluffs up higher and rises better in the oven.
I'm SO glad now that margarine is less healthy than butter. I always knew butter was better.
To deal with shelf-life issues, I keep my butter in the freezer except the one stick I'm currently using.
I use Crisco shortening for biscuits, but now that it's bad for you, I suppose I'll go back to butter for biscuits as well. Lard is supposed to make good biscuits but is not an option for vegetarians. Does anyone know of any good biscuits made with some sort of fat that's not bad for you? I can't see oil working well.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Okay, so the first thing you have to realize about flour is each type of flour is made with different amounts of each part of the wheat seed. Each part of the wheat seed gives a distinct characteristic. I’m sure people understand the starch and bran parts of the wheat seed (which are called something different in “real” life, but this image labels them as such). For those who don’t know about the embryo it contains a lot of protein and other whatnots. Like it name indicates it’s the real “procreation” part of the wheat seed- the rest offers protection and nutrients for the embryo to consume.
The percentage of protein is what is mainly labeled when it comes to flours you’ll find in a grocery store. In bake shops where I’ve been employed we will call up flour mills and request a certain composition. But for general use protein and bran are the ones you really care about. If there is a lot of bran, you have whole wheat flour, no bran you have white flour.
As far as protein goes, the more protein the “harder” the flour- bread flour contains more protein than cake flour for example. That is why you really shouldn’t mix flours in recipes
Here’s the numbers I’ve been given in the past, however it varies between brands and where you live. All-purpose flour up north contains more protein than all-purpose flour from the south due to eating/baking habits of people.
High-gluten flour is made up with 14-15% protein. It’s good for bagels and for blending with out flours.
Whole-wheat flour is made up with 14% protein.
Bread flour is made up with 12-13% protein which is about what you want for traditional breads and bread machine breads
All-purpose flour is made up with between 9-12% protein depending on where you live and the company. This is the type people have around the house for everyday cooking.
Self-rising flour is made up with 9-11% protein, once again depending on where you live and the company. I never use self-rising flour as I like to adjust baking soda, baking powder and other risers to my recipes, temperature and whatnot.
Pastry flour is made up with 8-9% protein and it’s terrific for pie crusts, pastries, cookies and biscuits.
Cake flour however is made up with 5-8% protein and it’s good for cakes with high ratio of sugar to flour.
Gluten is another thing referred to when talking about flours- however I think people use the term a little wrong. Merriam-Webster defines gluten as “a tenacious elastic protein substance especially of wheat flour that gives cohesiveness to dough”. People confuse gluten with protein and vice versa. When talking about flour I always refer to protein as protein is in every kind of flour, gluten isn’t however- it’s only in wheat flours and a few others. In a bake shop when people refer to gluten 90% of the time it’s to flour that’s already in a product, such as dough, pastry, etc. So people discuss the gluten of bread dough. When resting bread dough (letting it sit out after you’ve kneaded it) what you’re really doing is resting the gluten and allowing it to go back to its previous “rested” state. If you don’t allow bread to rest long enough it’s tough because the gluten is stretched to its limit. Another example is with pastry dough- you aren’t supposed to mix it too much because you don’t want to stretch the gluten at all.
I could go on for hours on any of these topics but I'll refrain from it Posts: 944 | Registered: Jun 2001
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So MandyM the real short answer would be no, they are not the same. But in some recipes you could exchange one for the other
For my cake recipe go for it- it won't be the "exact" same but it won't cause any harm. It'll just give it a slightly different texture.
Posts: 944 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
I'm glad to know that about flour! Thanks, Jaiden! Now I have to look for pastry flour for my biscuits. I've been using all purpose.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
That's awesome info, Jaiden. It really fills in some of the gaps from my well-worn Sunset bread book. Posts: 4089 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I make my ganache with butter. ( My daughter is lactose intolerant, so can't tolerate cream but butter has no lactose). It has never seperated.
Posts: 2711 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Romanylass if you haven't already, you might also want to try coconut milk- that's a common substitute in ganache for those who are lactose intolerant
Depending on what you're using the ganache for, butter ganache (which isn't technically a ganache... but the difference is only ever noted by the upmost food dorks and nerds) doesn't have the right consistency. Coconut milk has a closer consistency to cream which is why it's used. It's also considered a healthier root to go (which may or may not be true- as I said before I’m not a registered dietician as of yet).
posted
This thread is amazingly informative. I'm going to have to try some of these recipes on my husband, who is a major chocoholic. And I just love baking so I'll have fun, too.
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Jaiden
