Yesterday was my birthday! As a kid my mom always made sure that it was a magical day. From the moment I rose out of bed to the last hug of the night I felt like a queen. This wasn’t always easy for her, my father was an alcoholic and times were more than trying. She would endure much suffering in order to keep things together for us kids.
When any of us had a birthday we could request anything for dinner. She would make anything!
I always requested Dobostorte, a fantastically amazing combination of many layers (12) of thin sponge cake, sandwiched between a chocolate buttercream filling. I would ask for Beef Wellington and baked tomatoes stuffed with creamed spinach, or scallops in their own little shells, snails sautéed in garlic, and lobster bisque. She would make fragrant crispy duck, little finger rolls, and the best garlic mashed potatoes. My mom never said no, she would get out her well-worn collection of cookbooks and start searching for recipes. Those were the best memories.
My children are getting older now and each of them is pretty good in the kitchen. My oldest also likes to make me a feast on my birthday. She has created some unforgettable meals over the past few years, each finished with a fantastic and elaborate cake. This year she missed the celebration since she is now in college. When she called to wish me a happy birthday I could hear hesitation in her voice. I think she was finally missing home a little.
My twelve-year-old daughter has since moved into her sister’s apron. She convinced her father to help her create a birthday meal for me. After many text messages back and forth between the two, he at the grocery store, her pouring over my cookbooks, he finally managed to find all of the exotic ingredients she had requested. I was banned from the kitchen, the two of them needed “room”. After a few short hours the house smelled wonderful. They made spirals of salmon stuffed with spinach and feta cheese, ravioli filled with wild mushrooms and a pretty caesar salad. The grande finale involved a chocolate cake that graced the cover of Fine Cooking in their December-January 2010 issue. They choose to cover the cake with raspberries instead of marshmallows which I thought was an excellent choice.
My husband (whom I don’t believe has ever made a cake that didn’t come out of a box mix) warned me, ” this is going to be deadly, you would not believe what is going into this beast”. Butter, eggs, heavy cream, chocolate, the ingredients of food ecstasy! Oh what a delicious concoction they created. Unforgettable.
I have the best family! I hope they continue this tradition of creating memorable meals for the people they love (especially me!). Thank you.
Hot Chocolate Layer Cake
For the cake:
6 oz. (3/4c) unsalted butter, more for pans
13 1/2 oz. (3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour, more for pans
3/4 c. canola oil
4 1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. natural unsweetened coca powder
3 large eggs at room temperature
3/4 c. buttermilk, at room temperature
2 T. pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. kosher salt
For the Frosting:
2 1/2 c. heavy cream
6 T. unsalted butter
1 vanilla bean split lengthwise and seeds scrapped out
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 c. granulated sugar
2 c. natural unsweetened cocoa powder, more for decorating
1/2 c. Lyle’s Golden Syrup
1/4 t. kosher salt
Make the cake:
position racks in bottom and top thirds of the oven and heat oven to 350′F. Butter three 9×2 inch round cake pans ad line each with a parchment round. Butter the parchment, then dust with flour and knock out excess.
In a 3-quart saucepan, combine the butter, oil, chopped chocolate, and 1 cup water. Heat over medium heat until melted.
In a large bowl whisk the flour, sugar, and cocoa powder. Pour the hot chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture and whisk until combined.
Whisk in eggs, one at a time, then whisk in the buttermilk, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans.
Set two pans on the top rack and the third on the lower rack. stagger the pans on the oven racks so that no pan is directly over another. Bake, swapping and rotating the pans’ positions after 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Cool on racks for 10 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the racks, remove the parchment paper and cool completely.
Make the frosting: In a 4-quart saucepan over low heat, combine the cream, butter, and vanilla bean and seeds and stir until the butter is melted. Remove the vanilla bean and whisk in the chopped chocolate until melted. Whisk in the sugar, cocoa powder, syrup and salt until smooth, be sure the cocoa poswer dissolves completely. Pour into 9×13 inch pan and freeze until firm, about 2 hours, or refrigerate overnight.
Assemble the cake- remove frosting from freezer or refrigerator. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes to soften. Change the whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Put a cake layer on a flat serving platter or a cake stand lined with strips of waxed paper to keep it clean while icing. Top layer with 1 1/2 c. of the frosting, spreading it evenly with an offset spatula to the cake’s edge. Repeat with another cake layer and 1 1/2 c. frosting. Top with third layer. Continue frosting the cake and refrigerate until the frosting firms enough to seal in the crumbs, 20 to 30 minutes. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake. If necessary, you can rewhip the remaining frosting to loosen and lighten it.
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