Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake

I recently discovered that my oven thermostat has gone totally out of whack! How did I find out about it? Well, I baked some cupcakes one week day evening after work and mid way through baking, the cupcakes looked a bit too brown at the edges to me. I thus lowered the oven temperature from 180C to 170C. By the time the cupcakes were done, every single one had cracked domes and the edges were slightly crisp. This got me really puzzled. I then decided to test the oven temperature by using an external oven thermometer (which I rarely use) and it showed that my oven was off by about 15C. By the end of the same week when I had to complete my Cake Slice challenge, I again resorted to using the external oven thermometer rather than rely on the oven's one. Lucky for me I did! My oven thermostat is now off by 50C.

Although it took me a while to get the oven to the right temperature, I finally did manage to get my three cake trays baked. I was a bit sceptical about how this cake would taste like as no butter or oil was used at all. Instead the binding agent was mayonnaise. Who would have thought that mayonnaise would have produced such an excellent fudge cake. I had a small slice to taste after the cake layers were put together. It was yummilicious and the sour cream chocolate icing is one frosting (though I didn't care too much for the white choclate mousse) that I will use over again in the future! It's that good! By the way, this cake will be the last cake from "Sky High Irresistible Layer Cakes" book which our group, Cake Slice Bakers, will be baking. We will be baking from a totally new book next month, so stay tuned!



Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake
Makes an 9inch triple layer cake; serves 12 to 16
(Recipe from Sky High Irresistible Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne)

2¼ cups all purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2¼ tsp baking soda
1¼ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 ½ ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup milk
1¼ cups hot, strongly brewed coffee
2 eggs
1 cup mayonnaise (not low fat or fat free)
1½ tsp vanilla extract
2¼ cups sugar

White chocolate mousse (below)
Sour cream chocolate icing (below)

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 9 inch round cake pans. Line the base of each pan with parchment.

2) Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

3) Put the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Bring the milk to a simmer. Pour the hot coffee and milk over the chocolate. Let stand for a minute, then whisk until smooth. Let the mocha liquid cool slightly.

4) In a mixer bowl, beat together the eggs, mayonnaise and vanilla until well blended. Gradually beat in the sugar. Add the dry ingredients and mocha liquid alternately in 2 or 3 additions, beating until smooth and well blended. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans.

5) Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out almost clean. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10-15 minutes before un-molding onto a wire rack and carefully peeling off the paper. Leave to cool completely.

White Chocolate Mousse

4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 egg white
1 tbsp sugar

1) Melt the white chocolate with ¼ cup cream in a double boiler. Whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat and let the white chocolate cream cool to room temperature. When it has cooled, beat the remaining ¾ cup cream until soft peaks form. In a clean bowl whip the egg white with the sugar until fairly stiff peaks form.

2) Fold the beaten egg white into the white chocolate cream, then fold in the whipped cream until blended. Be sure not to over mix.

Sour Cream Chocolate Icing

12 ounces bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate, chopped
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
2 tbsp light corn syrup
¼ cup half-and-half at room temperature
½ cup sour cream, at room temperature

1) Melt the chocolate with the butter and corn syrup in a double boiler over barly simmering water. Remove from the heat and whisk until smooth.

2) Whisk in the half-and-half and sour cream. Use while still soft.

To Assemble:

1) Place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Cover the top evenly with half the white chocolate mousse, leaving a ¼ inch margin around the edge. Repeat with the second layer and the remaining mousse. Set the third layer on top and pour half the sour cream chocolate icing over the filled cake. Spread all over the sides and top. Don’t worry if some of the cake shows through. This first frosting is to seal in the crumbs, and is known as a crumb coat. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes.

2) After this time cover the cake with the rest of the icing, smoothing it down the sides. It should be the consistency of mayonnaise. Use a palette knife or the back of a spoon to swirl the frosting around the cake.