Kev - I don't know if this will help -
Butter, for coating cake pans
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups cake flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa, preferably Dutch process
1 teaspoon instant coffee
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large egg whites, at room temperature (you may want to save yolks to use in the frosting)
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, but not hot
Soft and Creamy Double Chocolate Frosting:
1/2 cup egg substitute, or 4 egg yolks (left over from cake), with enough milk added to equal 1/2 cup, plus additional milk, if necessary
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
3 cups confectioners' sugar (sifted if it contains hard lumps)
4 teaspoons light corn syrup
Directions
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease the cake pans with butter and dust with flour.
Whisk sugar, flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; set aside.
Place cocoa and coffee in a medium bowl. Whisk in 3/4 cup boiling water to form a smooth paste. Stir in sour cream and vanilla and set aside.
With a hand mixer in a medium bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Without cleaning beaters, mix melted butter into dry ingredients until mixture is smooth. Immediately add cocoa mixture, and beat until batter is smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully fold egg whites into batter until just incorporated.
Divide batter evenly between pans and bake until a skewer inserted into center comes out with wet crumbs, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cakes sit in pans to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Invert each cake onto a plate, then onto a cooling rack and split each cake to make 4 layers. Frost with Chocolate Frosting and serve.
Soft and Creamy Double Chocolate Frosting:
Mix egg substitute or yolks, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, and salt in a small bowl with a whisk.
Beat butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add melted chocolate and cocoa mixture; continue to beat until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating slowly at first, until sugar has been incorporated into mixture, then at medium speed until frosting is light and fluffy. Add corn syrup, and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy. If frosting is still stiff, add droplets of milk until it is of spreading consistency. (Frosting can be refrigerated for up to 1 week and microwaved for a few seconds until just spreadable).
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2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Raspberry Filling*
Dark Chocolate Frosting*
Garnish: fresh raspberries
Raspberry Filling*
1 cup fresh raspberries
Milk
1/2 cup butter, softened
5 cups sifted powdered sugar
Preparation
Process raspberries in a food processor until smooth, stopping once to scrape down sides. Pour puree through a fine wire-mesh strainer, pressing with the back of a spoon; discard seeds. Add enough milk to equal 1/2 cup.
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar alternately with raspberry mixture, beginning and ending with powdered sugar. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition.
Yield Makes 2 2/3 cups
Dark Chocolate Pudding*
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2 2/3 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa
6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Combine powdered sugar and cocoa; gradually add to butter alternately with milk and vanilla, beginning and ending with powdered sugar mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition.
Tip: To prevent a white dusting on your chocolate cake layers, dust cakepans with cocoa instead of flour.
Yield Makes 2 1/4 cups
(I robbed this recipe from someone - only partial instructions - sorry)
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Dry Ingredients:
1 and 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
2 cups brown sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 and 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla essence
1 cup milk
1 cup boiling water (or coffee)
Method:
1. Add all dry ingredients together and mix well
2. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla and mix well.
3. Add boiling water/coffee at the end and mix well. (Batter will be a bit runny).
4. Pour into a greased 8-inch tin and bake for approx. 50 - 60 minutes at 300 F. (We used a Bundt cake pan when we made this cake and it worked very well).
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2-1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
1-1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup sour milk
1/2 cup cocoa
1/3 cup hot water
Sift flour once, then measure and mix with baking soda, baking powder and salt. Sift again.
Cream shortening; add sugar gradually, beating thoroughly after each addition.
Add vanilla then well beaten eggs. Beat until fluffy.
Beat in flour mixture alternately with sour milk.
Mix cocoa and hot water to form a smooth paste. Beat into batter.
Pour into 3 small (8") or 2 large (9") prepared layer pans.
Bake in moderate oven (350) for 30-35 minutes. Cool and spread with any chocolate icing.
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1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1 cup sifted cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon plus 3/4 teaspoon cocoa
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons margarine, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons cocoa
1 cup boiling water
Whipped cream
Sift together 3/4 cup sugar, cake flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 tablespoon plus 3/4 teaspoon cocoa in a large bowl. Add milk, melted margarine, and vanilla to dry ingredients, beating at medium speed of an electric mixer until mixture is smooth. Stir in chopped nuts. Pour batter into a well-greased 9-inch square baking pan.
Combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, 1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons cocoa, and boiling water in a medium bowl, stirring well. Pour sugar mixture evenly over cake batter. Bake at 350F for 40 minutes. Serve cake warm with a dollop of whipped cream.
let me know how close I am - I've got more
