Beatty's chocolate cake by Ina Garten ... chocolate heaven!

I've made this cake a couple of times and it's been such a hit, it's now my favourite special occasion chocolate cake. I was apprehensive at first for two reasons. (1) I love buttery cakes and this one has no butter in it; and (2) that cup of coffee in the batter. But it has rave reviews and has been touted as the best chocolate cake ever so how could I not try it? (And yes, you really cannot taste the coffee).

The first time I made it, it was for a friend's birthday. I used a chocolate custard frosting (ala chocolate dobash cake) because at that time I had had too many buttercream failures and didn't want to risk it. The cake was a hit! It's rich and moist but not heavy and not too sweet.

I'm not very good at decorating cakes so I decided on a simple design. I made the chocolate heart using chocolate candy melts (I don't know how to temper chocolate) and a chocolate transfer sheet and I used strawberries to prop the heart up as well as add a pop of colour. This is how it looked cut but you can't really see the filling as it was quite dark.

The next time I made the cake was for my sister's farewell and early birthday party with friends. I decided to double the recipe because I wanted a tall cake (I had to bake it in 2 batches as my oven is rather small) and I decided to be brave and try making the buttercream. OMG, it was HEAVENLY!!!

I bought the ready made floral spray at Phoon Huat. That is about the limit of my cake decorating skills! Also, that was my first attempt piping words on a cake. Pretty dismal. The sparkler candles were from Australia. Here is the cake cut.

Here is what I used -

~ For the vegetable oil, I used extra light olive oil.

~ I use Nielsson Massey's pure vanilla bean paste and I put more than a teaspoon. More like a tablespoon, maybe more. I highly recommend this. It makes a huge difference!

~ I used good old fashioned Van Houten's cocoa powder but next time I will get a "good quality" one like Callebaut or Valrhona and see if there's a significant difference.

~ For the buttercream, I used SCS salted butter because I like it. Also I left out the coffee because I read some comments that said the coffee flavour was quite strong. I used 56% cocoa chocolate and it tasted fine but the colour was quite light so I cheated and added chocolate colouring *blush*

Of the 2 versions I made, the buttercream version wins hands down because it's slightly salty which complements the cake perfectly. Also, I love the taste of butter. But it's very rich so if you want something lighter, here is the recipe for the chocolate custard frosting -

90g cocoa powder

90g cornflour

1 cup water

3 cups water

350g sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

120g butter

1. Combine first 3 ingredients to make a smooth paste.

2. Bring the other ingredients to a boil.

3. Take off the heat and add in the cocoa paste. Stir thoroughly.

4. Return to heat and stir till thickened. I used a balloon whisk to ensure there are no lumps.

5. Cool, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming on the surface.

Do you know of a better chocolate cake recipe out there? If so, please share it and I'll give it a try.