Mile High Chocolate Cake With Vanilla Buttercream Recipes

Steps:

• For cake:
• Butter three 8-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of each pan with parchment paper round; butter parchment. Dust pans with flour; tap out excess. Whisk 11/4 cups hot water, cocoa powder, and sour cream in medium bowl until smooth; set aside until mixture is cool, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Sift next 4 ingredients into another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and shortening in large bowl until well blended and smooth. Add both sugars; beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with cocoa mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating just until incorporated. Divide batter among prepared pans (about 23/4 cups batter for each) and smooth tops.
• Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 20 minutes. Run knife around sides of cakes to loosen. Invert cakes onto racks and cool completely. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic and store at room temperature.
• For vanilla buttercream:
• Combine egg whites and 1/3 cup sugar in large bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment; scrape in seeds from vanilla bean.
• Combine remaining 1 1/3 cups sugar and 1/3 cup water in medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Attach candy thermometer to side of pan, making sure that bulb of thermometer is immersed in syrup. Increase heat; boil until temperature registers 238°F to 240°F (soft-ball stage), about 5 minutes. Immediately remove syrup from heat (use within 2 minutes).
• Meanwhile, beat egg white mixture on medium speed until very soft peaks form (mixture will be slightly opaque).
• Increase mixer speed to high and slowly pour hot syrup down side of bowl into egg white mixture in slow steady stream; beat until meringue forms stiff peaks. Cool meringue in bowl until lukewarm (instant read thermometer will register 100°F), about 30 minutes. Do not beat.
• Start beating meringue again on medium speed of stand mixer. Gradually add butter, 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, beating constantly until absorbed before adding next addition. Continue beating until buttercream is smooth. (If buttercream looks broken or curdled, place mixer bowl with buttercream over medium heat on stove burner and whisk with large whisk for 5 to 10 seconds to warm mixture slightly, then remove from heat and whisk vigorously or attach bowl to stand mixer and beat mixture again on medium speed. Repeat warming and beating buttercream mixture as many times as needed until buttercream is smooth and no longer curdled.)
• Using serrated knife, cut each cake in half horizontally, forming 6 cake layers. If necessary, trim any domed tops of cakes to form even layers. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Drop 3/4 cup buttercream by tablespoonfuls over top of cake layer, then spread evenly to edges with offset spatula. Top with second cake layer, then spread 3/4 cup buttercream over. Repeat with 3 more cake layers, spreading 3/4 cup buttercream over each and pressing slightly to adhere. Top with 6th cake layer (do not spread buttercream over top cake layer). Chill cake at least 1 hour.
• For chocolate glaze:
• Combine both chocolates in medium bowl. Bring cream and corn syrup to simmer in heavy saucepan. Pour hot cream mixture over chocolate; let stand 2 minutes. Whisk chocolate mixture until melted and smooth. Add butter; whisk until melted. Chill glaze until slightly thickened and glaze drips thickly when poured slowly from spoon, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Spoon glaze around top edge of cake by teaspoonfuls, spacing drips up to 2 inches apart and allowing glaze to drip slowly down sides of cake. Spoon remaining glaze over top center of cake and smooth with offset spatula, covering top completely. Chill cake until glaze sets, at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Tent with foil and keep chilled. Let cake stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of 2 greased 9-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease parchment., In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Pour into prepared pans, dividing batter evenly. , Bake at 350° until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove parchment. Cool completely. , For frosting, in a small bowl, beat butter and vanilla until blended. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. Decorate with sprinkles or nonpareils if desired.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Line bottom with parchment; butter parchment. Stir together boiling water, cocoa, and chocolate; let cool 10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in another bowl.
• Beat butter with sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla, then chocolate mixture. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream, until just combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with an offset spatula.
• Bake until a tester inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs, 35 to 40 minutes (top will not spring back). Let cool in pan 10 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack and remove parchment; let cool completely. Cake can be made up to 1 day ahead and stored at room temperature, wrapped in plastic.
• Spread buttercream evenly over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with chocolate curls. (Leftovers can be refrigerated, wrapped in plastic, up to 3 days; return to room temperature before serving.)

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Oil three 20cm cake tins and line with baking parchment. Weigh out the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarb and sugar into a large bowl, add a pinch of salt and whisk gently to combine. Shake the bowl to bring any lumps of sugar to the surface and squeeze these with your fingertips.
• Measure the oil, milk, vinegar, coffee and vanilla into a jug, then add the eggs and whisk to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a whisk until smooth, making sure there are no pockets of flour at the bottom of the bowl - the mixture will be quite runny. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared tins, then bake on the middle shelf of the oven (or middle and top if they don't all fit on one shelf) for 25 mins. Swap the tins around and bake 5 mins more.
• Check the cakes are cooked by inserting a skewer into the centre of each - if any wet batter clings to the skewer, return the tins to the oven for another 5 mins, then check again. Leave to cool in the tins for 30 mins, then turn the sponges out onto wire racks to cool completely. If making ahead, wrap the cooled sponges well and store in an airtight container for up to three days, or the freezer for up to two months.
• For the buttercream, beat the butter using an electric whisk or in a stand mixer for a few minutes until smooth and creamy. Add half the icing sugar and beat again to combine. Add the remaining icing sugar, the vanilla and 4 tbsp milk and beat again to combine, adding a splash more milk if needed to make a smooth, fluffy buttercream. Divide between three bowls. Add a few drops of different food colouring paste to each bowl, then mix well - we used pastel pink, purple and yellow.
• Spoon the coloured buttercream mixtures into three separate piping bags and snip off the tips. Pipe a dot of buttercream onto a cake stand or board and place a sponge on top to help keep it in place. Pipe small blobs of purple buttercream all over the top of the sponge by holding the piping bag directly above the cake, about ½cm from the surface, and squeezing the bag while pulling upwards to create a small peak.
• Place the second sponge on top, then repeat the process with the pink buttercream. Add the third sponge on top, then neatly pipe blobs of yellow buttercream over the surface. Decorate with edible flowers, sugared almonds or mini chocolate eggs, if you like. Will keep in a tin at room temperature for up to five days.

Steps:

• Make cake layers:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2 (9- by 2-inch) round cake pans and line bottom of each with a round of wax paper. Butter paper and dust pans with flour, knocking out excess.
• Whisk together hot water and cocoa powder in a bowl until smooth, then whisk in milk and vanilla.
• Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in another bowl.
• Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add flour and cocoa mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture (batter may look curdled).
• Divide batter between cake pans, smoothing tops. Bake until a wooden pick or skewer comes out clean and edges of cake begin to pull away from sides of pans, 25 to 35 minutes total. Cool layers in pans on racks 10 minutes, then invert onto racks, removing wax paper, and cool completely.
• Assemble cake:
• Put 1 cake layer, rounded side up, on a cake stand or platter and, using offset spatula, spread top with about 1 cup buttercream. Top with remaining cake layer, rounded side down, and frost side and top of cake with 2 cups buttercream.
• Decorate cake:
• For each color (you can make up to 5), transfer 3 tablespoons buttercream to a separate small bowl and tint with food coloring. Snip off 1 corner of each plastic bag to create a 1/4-inch opening, then spoon each color of buttercream into a bag, pressing out excess air. Twist each bag firmly just above buttercream, then decoratively pipe colored buttercream onto cake. Chill cake until buttercream is set, about 30 minutes.
• Just before serving, arrange 6 to 8 mini cupcakes on top of cake in 1 layer, then stack remaining mini cupcakes on top.
• *Wilton Paste Food Coloring available at wilton.com.