And who doesn’t love chocolate cake? But, you say, a good chocolate cake is just too hard to make. So hold on to your hats, help is on the way. Below you will find an excellent collection of Chocolate Cake recipes and, are you ready for this; they’re all made from a mix. I kid you not! What mix? Whatever chocolate cake mix is on sale.
So, let’s get baking.
Double Dutch Chocolate Cake
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 ounce of dark bakers chocolate
¼ cup butter
Prepare the mix following the manufacturers directions. Cut or grate the chocolate into bits and place it in a small bowl with the butter and melt in the microwave. Stir it gently into the cake batter. Divide the batter between two 8-inch baking pans you have prepared with disks of parchment paper or pan spray. Bake as per manufacturers directions.
Prepare butter cream icing and add ½ ounce of bakers chocolate melted with ¼ cup butter.
When the cake layers are cold, remove one from it’s pan, dust off any crumbs and place on a cake plate. Ice the top. Place the second layer on top and proceed to ice the top and sides.
A Man’s Chocolate Walnut Rum Cake
Follow the directions above with the following additions:
To the batter add 1 tablespoon rum flavoring and 1 cup chopped walnuts. Bake as usual. Allow to cool and frost as usual but liberally scatter chopped walnuts on the top or place walnut halves around the outer edge of the top.
Black Forest Cake
Black Forest Cake, or Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte was not named after the German region known as the Black Forest. It was named for Kirschwasser, a liquor made in the Black Forest. In that region it cannot be marketed as Black Forest Cake if it does not contain Kirschwasser.
To make a reasonable facsimile of a Black Forest cake, make the basic Double Dutch cake above and add Kirsch if you can find it, if not, flavor the cake with brandy or rum. How much – how ever much you like. Traditionally a Black Forest cake is three or four layers, so you will need to use two boxes. Follow the directions. When the layers are cold, place one on an attractive cake plate and frost it with whipped cream. Scatter the whipped cream with chopped, well drained canned cherries. Add the next layers one at a time doing the same thing. Frost the top and bottom with the whipped cream. Often the sides are decorated with shaved chocolate. The top is traditionally decorated with whole canned cherries and chocolate shavings. In the U.S. sometimes the top is coated with canned cherry pie filling.
Devil's Food Cake is moister than a traditional chocolate cake. Now here’s one for the books – originally it got it’s moistness and rich deep color from grated beets, much the same way as a carrot cake. Give it a try. I think you’ll be pleased. Again, start with the Double Dutch and add a cup of finely grated beets. You may want to cook them slightly first, in which case, use the water they were cooked in for the liquid; or you could grate canned beets; not pickled though. Bake butter cream icing enhanced with melted chocolate.
German Chocolate Cake: Now this really takes the cake. German chocolate cake has nothing to do with Germany. It was created by the wife of Sam German who in 1852, developed a type of dark baking chocolate for the Baker’s Chocolate Company.
A red velvet cake is simply a really good, rich chocolate cake with red food coloring added. I find that to make it the right color I have to use 3 or 4 of the little bottles. It is iced with a cream cheese icing.
To make cream cheese icing, soften a 4-ounce package of cream cheese, add ½ stick of butter and 2 cups of powdered sugar. Cream well. If it is too stiff, add a few drops of milk or water.
Sachertorte
That deep, dark chocolate indulgence known as Sachertorte was created in Vienna in 1832 by a young apprentice chef, Franz Sacher, who went on to open his own establishment. This delight is still served at the Sacher Hotel and Coffee House.
You can make a reasonable facsimile of a Sachertorte beginning with a mix.
Begin with a mix and follow the directions but add 2 ounces of bakers chocolate melted with ¼ stick of butter and melted. Bake in 8-inch round pans that have been lined with disks of baker’s parchment. Allow the cake to cool thoroughly before removing from the pans.
While the cake is baking and cooling, put a jar of apricot preserves in your blender and puree. If it has any lumps, run it through a sieve.
Very carefully, with a sharp knife or a bread knife, slice split each layer in two to create four layers. Now, place pieces of parchment paper around the edge of your cake plate in a fashion that will allow you to pull them from under the cake after it is completed. This is to keep the cake plate clean. Dust all crumbs off one of the split layers and place it on the prepared cake plate. Spread one-third of the apricot puree on the top of the first layer. Dust the next layer and do the same, and the same with the third layer. Carefully dust the fourth and final layer and place on top. With a soft brush, remove any remaining crumbs.
Next make a pseudo chocolate ganache by making butter cream icing, but adding 2 ounces of bakers chocolate melted with ¼ cup butter. This icing needs to be soft enough that it will flow, not be real runny but flow smoothly when spread and not leave marks from the knife you spread it with.
Now, spread some of the ganache, (remember, this isn’t a true ganache) on the top of the torte and smooth it down over the sides. Try not to lift any crumbs. Coat the sides as evenly as possible. This will be somewhat difficult because it will of course try to run off. Don’t worry. Let this first layer dry completely and then apply a second coat. After it has totally dried you may even want to add a third coat to make sure it is totally smooth. When it is dry, remove the paper that protected the plate.
This decadence is traditionally served with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream on the side of each slice and strong black coffee.
Dublin Stout Cake
This rather unique cake has a pleasant, almost bittersweet taste. Again, use follow the directions for Double Dutch Chocolate Cake at the beginning of this article but add one cup of black raisins and use a dark stout like Guinness for the liquid. Ice with chocolate butter-cream icing.
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