Cake from Scratch

Over the weekend I made my first cake from scratch. I usually have the opinion that cakes from scratch are dry and not as sweet as a mix. And I was right, to an extent. The chocolate taste was really good, but it was a little dry. It's possible if I had used actual frosting it would have worked better. Anyhow. Enjoy!


Chocolate Layer Cake from the "Bitten" blog on NY Times.

Ingredients

* 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened; more for greasing pans
* 2 cups (9 ounces) cake or all-purpose flour; more for dusting pans
* 3 ounces high-quality unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped (I used Ghiradelli)
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 eggs, separated
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/4 cups milk
* 2 cups sweetened whipped cream

Method

* 1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter bottom and sides of two 9-inch layer-cake pans. Cut rounds of parchment or waxed paper to fit bottom of pans. Butter paper, and dust flour over pans; invert to remove excess.
* 2. Melt chocolate in saucepan or double boiler, stirring occasionally. When just about melted, remove from heat; stir until smooth.
* 3. In mixer, cream butter until smooth, gradually adding sugar. Beat until fluffy, 3 or 4 minutes. Beat in egg yolks one at a time, then vanilla and chocolate. In a bowl, mix 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to chocolate mixture a little at a time, alternating with milk. Stir until smooth.
* 4. Beat egg whites until they hold soft peaks. With rubber spatula, fold them gently into batter. Turn batter into cake pans, and bake 30 minutes, or until a toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool on a rack 5 minutes, invert and complete cooling.
* 5. Put one layer on a platter, rounded side down. Spread with whipped cream. Top with second layer, flat side down. Spread cream over top and sides. Serve in an hour or two.







I added a layer of raspberry jam



This is homemade whipped cream. Heavy and Heavenly.



I used a vegetable peeler on some chocolate to dust the top of the cake.



Oh, and don't forget the most important ingredient :)