Chocolate Coca-Cola Cake for Dave's 31st Birthday

Dave sent me this recipe from Southern Living because he wants this cake for his birthday in the fall. I'm posting it here now so I don't lose it. The reviews say there's too much batter for the two 9-inch cake pans specified in the recipe, so I've changed it to 3. Reviewers have baked the cake in either three 8-inch or three 9-inch pans with good results.

Update: The cake turned out great. The icing is very sweet and there will be a lot of icing on the cake if you use it all. Serve thin slices or be ready for a sugar rush.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 1-1/2 cups (9 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 8-oz container sour cream
• 1 cup cola soft drink (with sugar, not diet)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Coat 3 (8 or 9 inch) round baking pans with cooking spray and dust with flour.
3. Microwave chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl on medium (50% power) about 2 minutes, stopping to stir every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth.
4. Beat white sugar, brown sugar and butter with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed about 4 minutes or until well blended.
5. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until just blended after each addition.
6. Add melted chocolate, beating until just blended.
7. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt into a bowl. Stir.
8. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating on low speed until just blended after each addition.
9. Place cola in a microwavable cup.
10. Microwave on HIGH until hot, about 45 seconds.
11. Gradually add cola to flour-butter mixture in a slow, steady stream, beating on low speed until just blended.
12. Beat in vanilla.
13. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.
14. Bake in preheated oven until a wooden pick inserted in center of cakes comes out clean, 33 to 36 minutes.
15. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes.
16. Remove cakes from pans.
17. Transfer to wire racks and cool completely, about 1 hour.
18. Make the frosting.

Fudgy Cola Frosting

Makes about 3-1/2 cups

• 1 cup softened butter
• 6 cups unsifted powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3-6 Tbsp cola soft drink (with sugar, not diet) as needed

1. Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes.
2. Sift together powdered sugar, cocoa and salt in a bowl.
3. Stir together vanilla and 5 Tbsp of cola in a small bowl.
4. Add powdered sugar mixture to butter alternately with vanilla mixture, beginning and ending with powdered sugar mixture, beating on low speed until just blended after each addition.
5. Beat in remaining 1 Tbsp cola to mixture, 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed, until desired consistency is reached.
6. Spread Fudgy Cola Frosting between completely cooled cake layers and on top and sides of cake.

Optional: decorate top of iced cake with assorted sizes of...

• white sugar pearls

Chocolate Cake, 1 Layer & 3 Layers

One-Layer Chocolate Cake

Makes one layer, 9" square. Use high quality cocoa powder.

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup homogenized (whole) milk, at room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper, dust sides with flour.
3. Combine in large bowl of electric mixer, on low speed: butter, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Beat 1 minute.
4. Add eggs and beat until fluffy, 2 minutes.
5. Beat in milk and vanilla. Batter may look curdled.
6. Beat in flour, just until blended.
7. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
8. Bake until wooden pick inserted in centre comes out clean, 30-35 minutes.
9. Let cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes.
10. Remove from pan onto wire rack.
11. Cool completely before frosting.

Three-Layer Chocolate Mocha Cake

Makes a light, triple-layer 9-inch chocolate cake to serve 10-12.

• 3 cups cake flour
• 4 cups white granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 9 oz unsweetened chocolate (OR melt 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp butter or shortening and stir in 1-1/2 cups + 3 Tbsp sifted cocoa powder)
• 2 cups hot freshly brewed coffee (OR 1/2 cup espresso + 1-1/2 cups hot water)
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 1 recipe Chocolate Buttercream icing (recipe below)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter three 2" deep 9" round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper, then butter again and lightly flour the pans.
3. In a stand mixer bowel fitted with paddle attachment, combine: flour, sugar, baking soda, salt.
4. Mix on low speed 2-3 minutes.
5. Finely chop the chocolate and put in a medium bowl OR in a medium bowl, combine the sifted cocoa powder and melted butter.
6. To the chocolate mixture in the medium bowl, pour in the hot coffee and vanilla, let stand 2 minutes to melt any chocolate bits then stir till smooth.
7. In another medium bowl, whisk eggs and oil together. Whisk in sour cream but leave some streaks of white, don't overmix.
8. Add the melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture, stirring until just combined.
9. With mixer on medium speed, add the chocolate-sour cream mixture to the flour mixture in three portions, mixing until combined each time. Stop to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed, until batter is well blended.
10. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom of the sides of the bowl, completely mixing all the batter.
11. Divide batter evenly among the prepared pans and smooth the tops with a spatula.
12. Tap the pans on the countertop to remove any air bubbles.
13. Bake on centre rack of oven at 350 degrees F 40-50 minutes, or until the centre springs back a little when touched and a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean.
14. Let the cakes cool in the pans on racks for 20 minutes. Then remove cake layers from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
15. To assemble the cake, level the tops of two cake layers with a serrated knife.
16. Place one layer cut-side down on cake plate or stand. Slide strips of parchment paper under the edges of the cake to keep the plate clean while you frost the cake. Use an icing spatula to spread a large dollop of frosting evenly over the top.
17. Place the second cake layer cut-side down and frost the top.
18. Place the third cake layer on top, rounded side up, and frost the top and sides, swirling the spatula.
19. Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting for a Layer Cake

Makes about 7 cups of icing, enough for a 3-layer 9-inch cake. Frosting can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days. To keep unused frosting longer, spoon frosting into a mound on plastic wrap, wrap airtight, put in a freezer bag and freeze. To use, let defrost on the counter, then remix in mixer before frosting cake.

• 9 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped (OR 9 Tbsp melted butter mixed with 1-1/2 cups + 3 Tbsp cocoa powder)
• 3/4 lb. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 Tbsp whole milk or cream
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 to 3 cups confectioners' (icing) sugar, sifted

1. Stir chocolate in a bowl held over but not touching a pot of simmering water until chocolate is completely melted, OR stir cocoa powder into 9 Tbsp melted butter. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
2. Fit stand mixer with paddle attachment (or use medium mixing bowl and handheld mixer).
3. Beat 3/4 lb. softened butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy
4. Add milk or cream, mixing until completely blended.
5. Add cooled chocolate, mixing 2-3 minutes or until completely incorporated, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
6. Add vanilla, beat just until mixed.
7. With mixer on low speed, gradually add 2-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar and continue beating, adding more sugar as needed, until frosting is creamy and silky.

Dave's Pandemic Birthday Chocolate Cupcakes

Dave and Becca visited in the backyard and kept a "social distance" on his 29th birthday this year. He blew out his birthday candle on a chocolate cupcake.  Made with cooking oil instead of butter, these cupcakes are light and moist with good chocolate flavour. I use Rodelle's Dutch-processed organic baking cocoa.

If baking ahead of time, cooled cupcakes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days before frosting and serving.

If you don't want to frost and serve all the cupcakes immediately, unfrosted cupcakes can be individually wrapped and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Makes 12-14 cupcakes

• 1/2 cup milk, room temperature
• 1/2 Tbsp white vinegar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup boiling water

1. Stir vinegar into room temperature milk. Let sit 5 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Line a cupcake or muffin pan with paper liners.
4. Sift into the large bowl of your electric mixer: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sifted cocoa powder.
5. Mix well.
6. In a separate bowl, whisk together: milk and vinegar mixture, egg, oil and vanilla.
7. Pour the wet ingredients gradually into the dry ingredients while mixing. 
8. Scrape sides of bowl, stop mixing when combined.
9. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water into a measuring cup.
10. Turn on mixer and carefully pour the hot water into the batter while mixing. Batter will be thin. 
11. Fill each cupcake liner half full of batter.
12. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven about 20 minutes.
13. When baked, top of cupcake will bounce back when touched. Toothpick inserted into centre will come out clean, with a few or no crumbs.
14. Remove baked cupcakes in oven and let sit in pan 10 minutes.
15. Then remove cupcakes from pans to finish cooling on a rack.
16. Frost only when completely cool.

Chocolate Frosting 

Makes enough frosting for 12-14 cupcakes or a single 9" layer of cake.

All ingredients should be at room temperature. If you only have 1/2 cup butter, mix it with 1/4 cup shortening to make 3/4 cup. When doubling this recipe, you can use 1 cup butter and 1/2 cup vegetable shortening and it will still taste delicious.

• 3/4 cups butter OR 1/2 cup butter + 1/4 cup shortening
• 3 cups icing sugar
• 1/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
• 1 Tbsp room temperature milk or cream
• cupcake decorations (optional)

1. Using a mixer, whip the butter at high speed until creamy, about 3-4 minutes (double the time if doubling the recipe.)
2. Melt chocolate chips over low heat, stirring in a bowl sitting in another bowl of hot water. Do not let any water get into the chocolate chips. Set aside.
3. Mix cocoa powder into the whipped butter.
4. Add icing sugar gradually to butter mixture, scraping sides of bowl after each cup is added.
5. Mix in milk and melted chocolate.
6. If frosting seems too thick to pipe add an additional teaspoon of milk.
7. Fit piping bag with a Wilton 1M tip or an open star piping tip.
8. Use rubber spatula to fill piping bag with icing.
9. Starting with outside edge of  cooled cupcake, pipe icing in a clockwise (circular) motion, spiralling into centre of cupcake top.
10. If desired, top with a chocolate chip, halved candied cherry, candy sprinkles, crushed candy canes, other decorations, or a birthday candle.

Chocolate Mocha Cake

Espresso Cake: 2 layer or sheet cake

This is writer Elizabeth Berg's favourite chocolate cake. She clipped the recipe from Parents magazine and printed it in her book Escaping into the Open.

• 1-3/4 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup brewed espresso coffee (or a cup of strong black coffee)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Thoroughly grease and flour two 9-inch layer cake pans or one 9 x 13 inch pan.
2. If your pans are not non-stick, line with parchment paper, grease and flour.
3. This moist cake will stick to the pan if the pan is not well-prepared.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in the large bowl of an electric mixer.
6. Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla.
7. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed.
8. Batter will be quite thin.
9. Pour batter into prepared pan(s).
10. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.
11. When baked, cake will start to pull away from the sides of the pan.
12. A wooden pick inserted in the center of each layer will come out clean.
13. Remove from pans onto a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.
14. If serving plain, top with vanilla ice cream or caramel sauce.

Chocolate Heaven Cake: 3 layer

American cookbook writer and bakery owner Cheryl Day says this is the first cake she ever made with her grandmother and is still the best cake she's ever tasted; it's an amazing cake if you use unsweetened chocolate that is 99% cocoa.

If you're not going to use really high-quality chocolate, but you have high-quality cocoa, I'd suggest substituting the cocoa powder. I use Rodelle Gourmet Baking Cocoa (Dutch dark chocolate). To substitute, use 3 Tbsp of cocoa + 1 Tbsp butter for every ounce of chocolate specified. Add the cocoa to the hot coffee in this recipe and add the melted butter to the canola oil mixture.

Note: Dutch-processed cocoa lacks acidity. Baking soda in a recipe requires the presence of an acid to work, which is why this recipe uses sour cream. 

• 3 cups cake flour
• 4 cups white granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
• 9 oz. unsweetened chocolate (with 99% cocoa content), finely chopped
• 2 cups hot freshly brewed coffee
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 1 recipe Chocolate Buttercream (recipe follows)

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter three 9x2 inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment and butter it as well. Lightly dust pans with flour, tapping on the counter to shake out excess flour.
3. Fit stand mixer with paddle attachment (or use handheld mixer with a large mixing bowl).
4. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt. Let mixer run on low speed 2-3 minutes to aerate the flour.
5. Put chocolate in a medium bowl and pour in hot coffee and vanilla. Let stand about 2 minutes to melt chocolate, then stir until smooth.
6. In another medium bowl, whisk eggs and oil together until thick, satiny and light in colour. Whisk in sour cream, don't overmix, leave some visible streaks of white. Pour in melted chocolate mixture and mix until just combined. 
7. Add the chocolate-sour cream mixture to the dry ingredients in thirds, mixing on medium speed until well blended.
8. Remove bowl from mixer and use a rubber spatula to incorporate any ingredients still at the bottom of the bowl, making sure the batter is completely mixed.
9. Divide batter evenly among the prepared pans and smooth the tops with the spatula.
10. Tap pans firmly on the countertop to remove any air bubbles from the batter.
11. Place pans in preheated 350 degree F oven and bake 40-50 minutes, until centre springs back a little when touched and a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cake will have slight cracks on top. Let cool 20 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
12. To assemble cake: level tops of two of the cake layers with a serrated knife so they're flat. Place one layer cut side down on a flat serving plate. Using an offset spatula, spread the top with a big dollop of frosting. Place second cake layer cut side down ad spread top with another big dollop of frosting. Place the final layer on top, right side up, and frost top and sides with remaining frosting.
13. Frosted cake can be stored in am airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

Chocolate Buttercream for 3-layer Cake (Makes about 7 cups)

• 9 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 Tbsp whole milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 to 3 cups confectioners' (icing) sugar, sifted

1. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a simmering saucepan of water. Don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is completely melted.
2. Set the chocolate aside to cool to room temperature.
3. Using the paddle attachment on stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy.
4. Add milk, mixing until completely blended.
5. Add cooed chocolate and mix until completely incorporated, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary.
6. Add vanilla and beat just until mixed.
7. With  mixer on low speed, gradually add 2-1/2 cups icing sugar and continue beating, adding more sugar as needed, until a creamy, silky frosting consistency is reached.
8. Frosting can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.