Wednesday 29 June 2016

Brooklyn Blackout Cake











My family love chocolate cake.  The more chocolate there is, the happier they are.  And when I say chocolate cake, I mean the ones made with the oozing, silky, dark, luscious kind.  That’s the best kind, right?  Unless we’re talking chocolate chips, bars and cookies… but that’s a whole other story.  A chocolate cake on the kitchen counter doesn’t last long in our house.  Yeah, they really do love their chocolate cake.  But seriously, what’s not to love?

Brooklyn Blackout Cake
slightly adapted from here

For the Filling:
250g caster sugar
500ml full cream milk
1 tablespoon maple syrup
140g dark chocolate, chopped
50g cornflour
2 teaspoons instant coffee
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Cake:
200g plain flour
50g cornflour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
50g cocoa powder
140g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
100ml sunflower oil
250g light brown sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon instant coffee dissolved in 100ml boiling water
140ml buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Frosting:
115g unsalted butter
155g icing sugar
50g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 – 2 tablespoons thickened cream

Make the Filling:
Put all the ingredients, except the vanilla, into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-low heat, whisking continuously. Once smooth and thick (about 5 minutes), remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Put the custard into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap making sure the plastic sits directly on top, and chill in the refrigerator until set.

Make the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 180C.

Grease and line the base of 2 x 20cm round cake pans. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cornflour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder together. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the butter, oil and sugar until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the coffee, buttermilk and vanilla, mixing until combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Don’t over mix the batter, or you’ll end up with a tough cake.

Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 25 – 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the Frosting:Put the butter and icing sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high until light and creamy. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and beat again until thoroughly mixed. Add 1 tablespoon of cream and mix the frosting until whipped and fluffy. Add the extra cream if needed to create a spreadable consistency.


To Assemble:
Once the cakes have cooled, cut each one in half horizontally. Take your least attractive layer and blitz it in a food processor to create the crumbs for the topping. Set aside.

Place one layer of cake onto a cake platter, spread it with the cooled custard filling. Top with another layer of cake, then more custard, then the last layer of cake.

Spread the top and sides of the cake with an even layer of frosting. Sprinkle the top and sides of the cake with the cake crumbs, pressing the crumbs into the frosting with your hands.

Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving. My crew couldn’t wait that long, so you’ll notice my filling isn’t as set in my photos as it could be, but it will set firmer if you chill it longer. Enjoy!

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