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Chocolate Birthday Cake

This tender, dark chocolate cake, layered with a fluffy, not-too-sweet, white Ermine icing, also known as boiled-milk frosting, is inspired by the memory of a Chuck E. Cheese chocolate birthday cake from the early 1990s. This style of devil’s food cake is also a staple of the refrigerated cases in supermarket bakeries, and starts with an oil-based cake that doesn’t harden when cold, as butter-based cakes do.
The chilled, soft sponge gets its special dark and nostalgic flavor from vanilla, sour cream and Dutch-processed cocoa powder, which is less acidic than natural cocoa powder and produces a darker color and rounder flavor. Hot coffee blooms the generous amount of cocoa powder and melts the chopped bittersweet chocolate, giving this cake a dreamy, fudgy texture when cold. Sour cream lends tenderness to the crumb and lightness to the frosting. The buffed, blindingly white frosting is sturdy enough for candles.
Servings: 8
Author: New York Times Cooking

Ingredients

For the Cake

  • olive oil for greasing pans
  • 83 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons
  • 1 cup hot coffee 240 milliliters
  • 43 grams bittersweet chocolate chopped, ¼ cup, 1½ ounces
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil 118 milliliters
  • 267 grams granulated sugar 1⅓ cups
  • 3 large eggs at room temperature
  • 162 grams sour cream at room temperature, ¾ cup
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 128 grams all-purpose flour 1 cup
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon coarse kosher salt or fine salt

For the Frosting

  • 150 grams granulated sugar ¾ cup
  • 25 grams all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons
  • ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt or fine salt
  • 1 cup whole milk 240 milliliters
  • 2 cubes unsalted butter at room temperature, 227 grams , 1 cup
  • 120 grams sour cream at room temperature, ½ cup
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the cake:

    Prepare the pans:

    • Grease three 8-inch round cake pans using a paper towel dabbed with a generous amount of olive oil.
    • Line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper.
    • Position the racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees.

    Make the batter:

    • In a large bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and hot coffee until smooth.
    • Add the chocolate and stir occasionally until fully melted and mostly cooled, about 1 minute.
    • Vigorously whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil until smooth.
    • Add the sugar and whisk until smooth, then add the eggs, sour cream and vanilla, breaking each yolk before whisking until very smooth.
    • Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. (If you don’t have a sieve, you can whisk these dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to the wet ingredients.) Whisk just until incorporated and no flour streaks remain. The batter will be thin.

    Bake and cool the cakes:

    • Divide the batter evenly among the three prepared pans (about 390 grams per pan).
    • Place two of the pans on the top rack and one on the bottom.
    • Bake, swapping the position of the bottom cake with the top two halfway through, until the cakes pull away from the sides of the pans, the tops are cracking slightly and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
    • Let the cakes cool completely, then remove from the pans to frost right away or wrap in plastic wrap or foil and freeze for up to 3 days. (To help the cakes release from the pans, run a dull, slightly flexible knife or offset spatula around the edges and slightly underneath the cakes.)

    While the cakes bake and cool, make the frosting:

      Cook the roux:

      • In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, flour and salt.
      • Whisk in the milk until smooth.
      • Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to bubble, about 4 minutes, then continue whisking the boiling mixture until it’s thick like pudding, about 2 minutes longer.
      • Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

      Whip the frosting:

      • Beat on high speed until the bowl feels cool to the touch. It may take up to 5 minutes.
      • With the mixer on medium-high speed, add the butter 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until smooth between additions.
      • When all of the butter has been incorporated, raise the speed to high and beat until white and very fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes.
      • Stop the mixer, add the sour cream and vanilla, then beat on low just until incorporated.

      Frost the cake:

      • Place one cake layer bottom-side up on a flat plate or cake stand, then top with about ¾ cup of the frosting and spread evenly using an offset spatula. Don’t worry about the sides yet.
      • Repeat with the second and third cake layers, placing them bottom-sides up.
      • With the remaining frosting, frost the sides of the cake. It’s okay if you don’t cover the sides completely like the inner layers, but do make sure there are no gaps at the edges where the layers meet.
      • Refrigerate until firm and set, then serve cold or bring to room temperature first if you prefer.
      • The cold, set cake can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 24 hours or frozen for up to a month. Thaw before serving if needed.

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