Amazing Chocolate Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Melt chocolate in a double boiler over hot (not boiling) water, stirring occasionally until melted; set aside to cool.
• Grease two 9 by 1 1/2 inch layer cake pans and "flour" with unsweetened cocoa (so the cakes don't look white after all that flour); tap out excess cocoa.
• Sift flour (cake and all-purpose), baking soda, and salt onto wax paper. Preheat oven to moderate (350).
• Beat butter, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl with electric mixer at high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and cooled chocolate.
• Stir in dry ingredients, alternating with sour cream, beating well with a spoon, until smooth. Stir in water. (Batter will be thin) Pour into prepared pans.
• Bake in preheated moderate oven (350) for 35 minutes, or until centers spring back when light pressed with fingertip. Cool in racks 10 minutes; turn out on wire racks;cool completely.
• Frost and fill with favorite frosting and pig out :D.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Butter and line a 20cm round cake tin (7.5cm deep).
• Put 200g chopped dark chocolate in a medium pan with 200g butter.
• Mix 1 tbsp instant coffee granules into 125ml cold water and pour into the pan.
• Warm through over a low heat just until everything is melted - don't overheat. Or melt in the microwave for about 5 minutes, stirring halfway through.
• Mix 85g self-raising flour, 85g plain flour, ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda, 200g light muscovado sugar, 200g golden caster sugar and 25g cocoa powder, and squash out any lumps.
• Beat 3 medium eggs with 75ml buttermilk.
• Pour the melted chocolate mixture and the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir everything to a smooth, quite runny consistency.
• Pour this into the tin and bake for 1hr 25 - 1hr 30 mins. If you push a skewer into the centre it should come out clean and the top should feel firm (don't worry if it cracks a bit).
• Leave to cool in the tin (don't worry if it dips slightly), then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut the cold cake horizontally into three.
• To make the ganache, put 200g chopped dark chocolate in a bowl. Pour 300ml double cream into a pan, add 2 tbsp golden caster sugar and heat until it is about to boil.
• Take off the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Cool until it is a little thicker but still pourable.
• Sandwich the layers together with just a little of the ganache. Pour the rest over the cake letting it fall down the sides and smooth over any gaps with a palette knife.
• Decorate with 50g grated chocolate or 100g chocolate curls. The cake keeps moist and gooey for 3-4 days.