Most of my recipes are saved on my computer, and there are few which really deserve to be written down in a book and be cherished forever. This one is a keeper. I tried few chocolate cakes before and they have always sunk or tasted okay or they get burnt (yes, burnt!). But this one, was just beautiful. The secret to this one I think is the sour milk and the coffee. Coffee really does bring the flavor of the chocolate to life. I had bookmarked this recipe for over two weeks and I finally got around to make this, today. Also, I used a butter paper( I do not get parchment paper here in Chennai, but if you find it, you could use that) and it made a world of difference. It eliminates the problem of the cake sticking to the bottom of the cake tin. But fear not, if you can't get either of them, just butter your cake tin really well, so the cake just pops out of the tin without any stress.
The idea was to make a double-layered caked with a vanilla icing in the middle, but my patience got the better of me, I cut into the second cake and ate it. I am shameless that way. This recipe makes two cakes. Ice the cake as you please. Here is the recipe, enjoy :)
* For sour milk: Use 1 tablespoon white vinegar plus milk to equal 1 cup or 1 tablespoon lime juice.
Frosting:
Ingredients:
- 1/3rd cup milk
- 2/3rd cup icing sugar
- ½ cup cocoa
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Method:
Combine the ingredients together, beat well and allow it to chill. Use as needed on the cake.
Lynn
4/29/2010 4:05:48 PM
Baking a cake and using a box mix? For a fluffier, lighter cake, let the eggs sit at room temperature for 30 minutes and then beat eggs, oil, and water together until eggs are frothy. THEN add the mix and beat as instructed. It makes a light as air cake!
Candice
1/21/2010 6:37:21 PM
When baking cakes, I freeze them after they have cooled and then frost. This makes the frosting spread easier on the cake without picking up any crumbs in your frosting. Plus you can bake the cake a couple of weeks ahead of time and then frost when needed.
Hailey
11/16/2009 8:15:00 PM
Substitute buttermilk for regular milk in a cake recipe! It makes the cake much more moist without affecting the taste.
Penny
9/10/2009 1:22:43 AM
When making a Chocolate Town Special Cake, or any cake calling for Hershey's Cocoa dissolved in water, use leftover coffee instead. Intensifies the taste of the chocolate without adding a coffee flavor.
Vicky
7/8/2009 11:07:09 PM
To enhance any flavor cake mix, use flavored creamers. A plain white cake can be flavored with pumpkin spice creamer for the Holidays as an example. Use half creamer in place of the liquid.
Bakeware
Be sure to use the pan size called for in the recipe. To check the width of a pan, measure across the top from inside edge to inside edge.
Use shiny metal pans for baking cakes. They reflect heat away, producing a tender, lighter-colored crust.
Use caution when using dark nonstick baking pans or glass baking dishes. Read and follow the manufacturer's directions. Since these pans absorb more heat, results may be better if the baking temperature is reduced by 25 degrees F.
Baking
Bake cakes with the oven rack placed in the center of the oven, unless the recipe states differently. Bake only on one rack.
Cooling
Cakes should be cooled completely on wire racks. Cool round cakes in their pans 10 minutes, then loosen by running a thin knife between the cake and the edge of the pan and remove the cakes from pans to wire racks. Rectangular cakes (often in 13x9-inch baking pans) can be cooled completely in the pan or cooled 10 minutes in the pan and then removed to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting
Frost cakes when they are completely cooled, or the frosting will melt or slide off the cake.
Making a Cake Recipe into Cupcakes
Follow cupcake preparation directions in the recipe, but if the recipe does not have specific instructions, be aware that most cake recipes can be made into cupcakes. Use the following guidelines.
Line cupcake pans with paper baking cups; fill cups 1/2 to 3/4 full with cake batter.
Bake cupcakes at the same temperature the cake called required and begin checking for doneness at 16 minutes.
Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.
Expect a yield of about 1-1/2 to 2 dozen cupcakes from a recipe calling for about 2-1/4 cups of flour.
Storage & Cutting
Follow cupcake preparation directions in the recipe, but if the recipe does not have specific instructions, be aware that most cake recipes can be made into cupcakes. Use the following guidelines.
Line cupcake pans with paper baking cups; fill cups 1/2 to 3/4 full with cake batter.
Bake cupcakes at the same temperature the cake called required and begin checking for doneness at 16 minutes.
Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.
Expect a yield of about 1-1/2 to 2 dozen cupcakes from a recipe calling for about 2-1/4 cups of flour.
Troubleshooting
Refer to this checklist to figure out why a cake did not turn out as expected.
If a homemade cake has a coarse texture, the following problems may have occurred:
Too much baking soda or baking powder may have been used.
Not enough liquid may have been used.
The butter and sugar may not have been beaten together long enough. If the recipe calls for creaming butter and sugar, or beating until light and fluffy, this should take at least three to four minutes of beating.
The oven temperature was too low.
If a homemade cake is too dry, the following problems may have occurred:
Too much flour or leavening (baking soda/baking powder) was used.
Flour was not measured properly (see measuring tips).
Not enough shortening or sugar was used.
The cake was over-baked - the oven temperature was too high and/or the baking time was too long.
If a homemade cake fell (the center of the cake sinks), the following problems may have occurred:
The cake was under-baked - the oven temperature was too low and/or the baking time was too short.
The liquid was over or under measured.
The pan was too small - the batter was too deep.
The cake was moved or jarred before it
was sufficiently baked.
Old or expired baking powder was used.
A wooden pick or cake tester was inserted into the cake before it was sufficiently set.
If a homemade cake has low volume or is too flat, the following problems may have occurred:
The liquid was over- or under-measured.
The batter was under-mixed or extremely over-mixed.
Too large a pan was used.
The oven temperature was too low or too high.
If a homemade cake has a peaked center, the following problems may have occurred:
The batter was over-mixed.
The oven temperature was too hot.
If a homemade cake shrinks excessively around the edges, the following problems may have occurred:
The baking pans were greased too heavily.
The baking pans were placed too close together in the oven.
There was too little batter in the baking pan.
The
batter was extremely over-mixed.
There was too little liquid in the batter.
The cake was over-baked - either too long a time or at too high a temperature.
If a homemade cake is soggy, the following problems may have occurred:
The cake was moved or jarred before it was sufficiently baked.
The cake was under-baked - the oven temperature was too low and/or the baking time was too short.
Old or expired baking powder was used.
If a homemade cake has a spotted crust, the batter was probably under-mixed.
If a homemade cake has a sticky top crust, the following problems may have occurred:
The cake was stored while still warm.
The liquid was over measured.
The cake was under-baked - the oven temperature was too low and/or the baking time was too short.
The air humidity was too high.
If a homemade cake has tunnels throughout the layer, the following problems may have occurred:
The oven temperature was too high.
The batter was under-mixed or extremely over-mixed.
If a homemade cake has uneven browning, the following problems may have occurred:
There was uneven heat circulation in the oven.
The baking pans were placed too close together in the oven.
If a homemade cake has uneven layers, the following problems may have occurred:
The oven rack was not level.
The cake pans were warped or bent.
Reviews for Black Magic Cake
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