275 g Salted butter; very soft
275 g Soft light brown sugar
2 ts Vanilla extract
4 lg Eggs
225 g Plain flour
75 g Cocoa powder
3 ts Baking powder
150 ml Weak black coffee
MMMMM------------------------BUTTERCREAM-----------------------------
225 g Salted butter; softened
50 g Cocoa powder
2 ts Vanilla extract
325 g Icing sugar
2 ts Instant coffee; dissolved
-in:
2 ts Water
This is a simple cocoa powder batter complemented by light brown
sugar, vanilla, coffee, and salt. The sugar adds a toffee edge to the
sweetness, vanilla and coffee bolster the chocolate flavour, while
the salt brings the whole thing into focus. No expensive chocolate,
no fuss or fiddly detail just a perfect chocolate cake.
You could swap the cocoa buttercream for a richer chocolate ganache,
made with dark chocolate melted into an equal weight of scalding
double cream, but I think that the heaviness of ganache smothers the
mild cocoa kick of the cake. A compromise, if you want something a
little more grown up, would be to ice the cake as detailed below,
chill it well then glaze with a thin coat of ganache afterwards.
Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/gas mark 4. Grease two 20 cm round
cake tins (loose-bottomed or springform are best) and line their
bases with circles of baking parchment.
Beat the butter with the soft light brown sugar in a large mixing
bowl for several minutes, creaming the mix until it is perfectly
smooth and light. Stir in the vanilla extract. Add the eggs one at a
time, beating well between each addition to minimise clumping and
curdling. Stir the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder together,
then add this mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing just until
smooth. Add the dissolved coffee and fold it in to create a soft,
velvety cake batter.
Divide the batter between the two prepared tins and bake for 30 to 35
minutes, until well-risen and springy to the touch. A small knife
inserted into the centre of each cake should emerge with no more than
a couple of crumbs stuck to it. Leave the cakes to cool completely in
their tins before unmoulding.
For the buttercream, beat the butter until smooth, then stir in the
cocoa powder and vanilla extract. Sift in the icing sugar a third at
a time, mixing well as you go. The buttercream should be luxuriantly
thick, but still soft enough to spread on the cakes without ripping
them. Add a dash of milk or coffee to slacken the mixture, if
necessary.
Smooth a thick layer of cocoa buttercream over one of the cooled cake
layers, then sandwich with the second layer and ice the top. Spread
the remaining cocoa buttercream generously around the sides of the
cake.
