The Yankee Contender Old Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake Recipes

OLD-FASHIONED CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Cream oil, sugar and cocoa.
• Add eggs.
• Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk.
• Add soda and salt. Add vanilla to hot water and fold water into cake. Bake in 9 x 13-inch pan at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until done.
• Icing For Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake: Bring margarine, cocoa and whole milk to boil.
• Remove from heat and add powdered sugar and vanilla.
• Mix until smooth and of spreading consistency.
• This is my favorite chocolate cake.

OLD-FASHIONED CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 8-by-3-inch cake pans. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on medium speed, cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• Sift together flour and baking powder. With the mixer set on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with milk, starting and ending with flour; scrape down sides twice.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites with pinch of salt on high speed until stiff peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in a large spoonful of the beaten whites into the batter to lighten the mixture. Fold the lightened batter into the remaining egg whites. Divide the batter equally among the prepared pans. Bake until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes clean, about 1 hour 5 minutes. Remove the pans to a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire rack to cool completely.
• If cakes are not level, use a serrated knife to trim tops off. Carefully slice each cake horizontally into three equal layers, about 3/4 inch thick. (You will have six layers.) To assemble, place one sliced layer on an 8-inch cardboard cake round. Spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Repeat with remaining layers, placing the final layer bottom side up. Cover cake with remaining frosting. Serve immediately.

OLD FASHIONED MULTI-LAYER CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• 1. Leave butter out for several hours to soften. You can even leave it out overnight.
• 2. CAKE: Cream together butter, sugar then add eggs. Add vanilla then flour, a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Now add food coloring and mix well. Add milk as needed to acheive the consistency cake batter should be.
• 3. Measure out 4-5 tablespoons of batter into each greased & floured cake pans. This will take several bakings until all batter is used up.
• 4. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes or until edges begin to brown. This will take approximately 8-12 minutes. Turn out layers and cover with a slightly damp cloth.
• 5. ICING: In a heavy 4 quart saucepan, stir together sugar, cocoa & salt. Stir in milk, Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until full rolling boil. Now boil without stirring to a soft ball stage.
• 6. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Ice between, on sides and on top of cooled layers. You can stick a few toothpicks into layers to preven layers from sliding.
• 7. Note: I use a skewer or ice pick to poke a few holes in layers as I ice them when putting cake together. Also keep spooning icing back on cake as it puddles in bottom on cake plate.
• 8. **A lot of people like this icing but I particulary like the icing I use on Opel's Chocolate Stack Cake so go over to this recipe and check it out.

THE YANKEE CONTENDER: "OLD-FASHIONED CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350°F; grease two 9-inch-round by 2-inch-high cake pans with softened butter; dust pans with flour and knock out excess.
• Combine chocolate, cocoa powder, and hot water in medium heatproof bowl; set bowl over saucepan containing 1 inch of simmering water and stir with rubber spatula until chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup sugar to chocolate mixture and stir until thick and glossy, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool.
• Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Combine buttermilk and vanilla in small bowl. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whisk eggs and yolks on medium-low speed until combined, about 10 seconds. Add remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar, increase speed to high, and whisk until fluffy and lightened in color, 2 to 3 minutes. Replace whisk with paddle attachment. Add cooled chocolate mixture to egg/sugar mixture and mix on medium speed until thoroughly incorporated, 30 to 45 seconds, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add softened butter one tablespoon at a time, mixing about ten seconds after each addition. Add about one-third of flour mixture followed by half of buttermilk mixture, mixing until incorporated after each addition (about 15 seconds). Repeat using half of remaining flour mixture and all of remaining buttermilk mixture (batter may appear separated). Scrape down sides of bowl and add remaining flour mixture; mix at medium-low speed until batter is thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter once or twice with rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans; smooth batter to edges of pan with spatula.
• Bake cakes until toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes, then invert onto wire rack. Cool cakes to room temperature before frosting, 45 to 60 minutes.
• TO MAKE FROSTING: Melt chocolate in heatproof bowl set over saucepan containing 1 inch of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside. Meanwhile, heat butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat until melted. Increase heat to medium; add sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt and stir with heatproof rubber spatula until sugar is dissolved, 4 to 5 minutes. Add melted chocolate, butter mixture, and cream to clean bowl of standing mixer and stir thoroughly to combine.
• Place mixer bowl over ice bath and stir mixture constantly with rubber spatula until frosting is thick and just beginning to harden against sides of bowl, 1 to 2 minutes (frosting should be 70 degrees). Place bowl on standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until frosting is light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir with rubber spatula until completely smooth.
• TO FROST CAKE: Place one cake layer on serving platter or cardboard round. Spread 1 1/2 cups frosting evenly across top of cake with spatula. Place second cake layer on top, then spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake. Cut into slices and serve.

OLD-FASHIONED CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• For cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour three 9-inch round cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Combine water, chocolate and coffee powder in heavy small saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolate melts and coffee powder dissolves. Remove from heat. Cool.
• Beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in chocolate mixture. Mix flour and baking soda in medium bowl. Add to butter mixture and beat just until combined. Beat in sour cream.
• Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake until cakes begin to pull away from sides of pans and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer pans to racks and cool 10 minutes. Using small knife, cut around sides of pans to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap tightly in plastic and store at room temperature.)
• For frosting:
• Melt butter and chocolate in small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Transfer to large bowl; cool. Add sugar, cream and vanilla; beat until smooth. If necessary, refrigerate until firm enough to spread.
• Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread 1/2 cup frosting over top. Top with another cake layer. Spread 1/2 cup frosting over top. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over sides and top of cake in decorative swirls. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and store at cool room temperature.)

OLD FASHIONED CHOCOLATE BUTTERMILK CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of two 8" round cake pans with parchment paper, or butter and flour the bottom of the pans (don't butter/flour the sides).
• Combine the cocoa and the baking soda in a small heat-proof bowl. Whisk the boiling water into the cocoa, it will foam up a bit from the baking soda. Set aside to cool while preparing the other ingredients.
• Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt, set aside.
• Combine the oil, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and sugar in a mixer bowl. Mix on medium speed to combine the ingredients, continue mixing for 2-3 minutes to emulsify the ingredients.
• With the mixer running on low, add the flour and then add the cocoa mixture. Mix until completely incorporated.
• Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake until the top springs back when lightly pressed or a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
• Cool in the pan for 20 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
• Cool completely before filling and icing.