Just in case you’ve forgotten, here is where we last left off:
Inspiration for recipes on The Misanthropic Hostess come from all over the place. Sometimes I’m attracted to a new idea, ingredients or technique I haven’t worked with. Other posts are inspired by memorable meals and childhood favorites. And then, sometimes, I try a recipe for this singular reason: get in my belly! This is one of those recipes. Bon Appetit has this new thing going on where they offer additional recipes via mobile/tablet interface that don’t appear in the print magazine or, as far as I’ve seen, Epicurious. They show you the picture and then send you to the mobile. Such a tease. Anyhow, this is one of those recipes.
Who doesn’t love chocolate and coffee together?
A single recipe makes three eight-inch cakes.
The crumb is pretty fine and loose. If you are going whole-hog and decide to frost these babies, I suggest freezing them first.
While I liked the frosting included in this recipe, I still haven’t found the perfect chocolate frosting. Good thing I like research.
Here is what makes this recipe special. That hazelnut crunch pictured above? It finds its way into each layer of the cake. It’s like a little crunchy Nutella surprise!
Remember to leave some for the top.
Now, who needs a glass of milk?
The only suggestion I have is to maybe chop the hazelnut crunch to a finer grain for the middle cake layers. As you can see from the piece below, the generous chunks sort of got in the way of the layer-flow.
This is a great special occasion cake indeed! And no TD, no peppercorns.
If you like this, you might like these
Soundtrack
I discovered this new dude name Phillip Phillips. Guess who doesn’t watch American Idol?
Devil’s Food Cake with Hazelnut Crunch
Bon Appetit, September 2012
Devil’s Food Cake
Ingredients
- 2 1/3 C cake flour
- 1 C unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Vahlrona)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp instant espresso powder
- 1 C hot coffee
- 1 C buttermilk
- 2 1/2 C sugar
- 1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temp
- 4 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 oz semi-or-bittersweet chocolate, melted, cooled slightly
Directions
- Grease 3 8″ cake pans, line bottoms with parchment.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Sift cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and baking powder into a medium bowl.
- In a separate bowl (better yet, if you have it, use a multi-cup pyrex liquid measuring cup), dissolve espresso into hot coffee, whisk-in buttermilk, set aside.
- In a stand mixer (or with an electric mixer), beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy (5ish minutes), scraping-down bowl as needed. Add eggs one-at-a-time, beating in between additions. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Beat on high speed until doubled in volume and very fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape bottom of bowl well making sure all ingredients are incorporated. Beat 1 more minute.
- With mixer on low, beat in flour and coffee mixtures in alternating pattern, starting and ending with flour.
- Divide evenly among pans.
- Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean (about 20 minutes). Transfer to wire racks, let cake cool in pans for 30 minutes.
- Invert cakes onto racks, peel off parchment and let cool completely. I like to do this step in advance, wrap each cake tightly in plastic wrap and then freeze. These cakes will be much easier if frosted while frozen.
Frosting
Ingredients
- 8 oz milk chocolate, chopped
- 8 oz semi-or-bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 1/2 TBS light corn syrup
- 1 1/2 C heavy cream
- 1 C (2 sticks) chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ pieces.
Directions
- Combine both chocolates and corn syrup in medium bowl.
- Bring cream to barely a boil in a small saucepan; pour over chocolate mixture. Let sit for 2 minutes. Whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is completely combined.
- Using a standing or electric mixer, beat chocolate mixture until cool, 5-6 minutes.
- Add-in butter a few pieces at a time, beating until incorporated between additions. Continue to beat until thick and lightened in color (between 5-15 minutes). If kitchen is hot or frosting feels thin, refrigerate.
Hazelnut Crunch
Assembly
- Level-off cakes using a serrated knife. Place 1 cake layer on a large plate or stand.
- Using an offset spatula, spread about 1 cup frosting on bottom layer. Spring 1/2 cup hazelnut crunch over frosting. Place second layer over crunch. Repeat.
- Top third layer with frosting and decorate as desired. Finish with hazelnut crunch.
- Chill until frosting is set (3-4 hours).