Chocolate Fudge Cake

Yesterday for Father's Day I made this chocolate cake for Derek. I saw it on Pinterest, and it looked absolutely delicious and figured it was the perfect chocolaty treat to win Derek over. It definitely did, but I'm just going to throw out there that this was one of the most complex cakes I've ever made. There are a lot of steps, but it is definitely worth it for the final product. This is probably going to be Derek's birthday cake recipe for the rest of his life. 

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into 16 pieces, and softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Frosting:

3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut in half, and softened
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup half and half
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Cake:  With the oven rack in the middle position, heat the oven to 350˚F.  Grease and flour two 8-inch square baking pans.  (Two 9-inch round cake pans will work.)  Whisk together  flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk hot water with the cocoa powder until smooth.  With electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, and mix until incorporated.  Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk, until combined.  Reduce speed to low and slowly add cocoa mixture and vanilla until incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.  Bake until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes.  Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.  (Cake layers can be wrapped tightly and stored at room temperature for 2 days.)

Frosting:  Sift together the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa.  Heat 4 tablespoons butter, brown sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup half and half in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until small bubbles appear around perimeter of pan, 4 to 8 minutes.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens slightly and turns deep golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Slice remaining butter into 4 pieces and stir in with the remaining half and half.  Add the chopped chocolate and the vanilla and stir until smooth.  Slowly whisk in the confectioners’s sugar and cocoa until incorporated.  Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.  Refrigerate for 30 to 40 minutes until the frosting reaches the desired spreading consistency.

Tip: I baked the cakes the night before, cooled, wrapped, and froze them. I then took them out of the freezer the next day after I made the frosting, and then frosted the cakes frozen. It made everything go a lot smoother, and then the cakes defrosted and were ready to eat within in an hour!

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