Youngest Hawthorne's Birthday Cake.

August 7 was Youngest Hawthorne's birthday.

I always have cookbooks lying around the house

and he happened to come across

Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home To Yours.

I told him he could pick out any item

in the book and I would make it for him.

He left markers on all the cakes he liked.

Seems he had a bit of a problem

narrowing his choices down

so I made the final decision.

Picture from Greenspan's book:

 One of Youngest Hawthorne's many picks

was this triple chocolate three-layer chocolate cake

called Devils Food White Out Cake.

 I decided to go with this one.

Ingredients for cake:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 sticks (10 TB) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

1/2 cup boiling water

4 oz semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter 2 8-inch round cake pans.

Greenspan's directions say to dust the insides with flour,

but since this is a chocolate cake, 

I'm dusting the insides with cocoa powder.

Line the bottoms with parchment or wax paper.

Place on baking sheet.

Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Beat butter on medium speed until soft and creamy.

Add sugars.

Beat 3 minutes.

Add eggs one at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition.

Beat in vanilla.

Reduce speed to low.

Mix in melted chocolate.

Add the dry ingredients in three additions

and the buttermilk in two,

starting and ending with the dry ingredients.

Mix in boiling water.

Scrape sides of bowl with spatula

and stir in the chocolate chips.

Divide batter evenly between the two pans.

Bake for 25 - 30 mintues,

until tester comes out clean,

rotating at the halfway point.

Transfer to rack and cool for about 5 minutes,

then run a knife around the sides,

unmold, and peel off paper liners.

Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

When you're ready to frost,

use a long serrated knife and cut  both layers

in half horizontally.

Rosie Tip # 641:

When baking a chocolate cake,

instead of buttering and dusting with flour,

butter and dust with cocoa powder.

Sifted dry ingredients.

Beat sugars into creamed butter.

Add in eggs one at a time,

beating for one minute after each addition.

 Add in vanilla.

 Mix in melted and cooled bittersweet chocolate.

 Add in dry ingredients in 3 additions.

 Add buttermilk in two additions.

 Begin and end with dry ingredients.

 Add in boiling water.

Stir in chocolate chips.

 Action shot!

Look at those beautiful chocolate chips.

Ready for the frosting.

 Frosting Ingredients:

1/2 cup egg whites (4 large eggs), at room temperature

1 cup sugar

3/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 cup water

1 TB pure vanilla extract

Put the whites in a clean, dry mixing bowl.

Have a candy thermometer ready.

Put the sugar, cream of tartar, and water

in a small saucepan and stir to combine.

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high,

cover the pan, and boil for three minutes.

Uncover and allow the syrup to boil 

until it reaches 242 degrees.

When the syrup is at about 235 degrees,

start beating the egg whites on medium speed,

until firm, shiny peaks form.

When the syrup reaches 242 degrees, 

carefully pour in the hot syrup

with the beater on medium speed.

Add vanilla extract and keep beating whites

at medium speed until they reach room temperature,

about 5 minutes.

 Rosie Tip #642

To get the whites to room temperature quickly,

set them in a bowl of warm water.

Rosie Tip #643:

Be sure to wipe off the container

holding your egg whites.

You don't want any water to drop into the whites.

Any moisture and whites won't beat to stiff peaks.

 For the sugar syrup:

 Combine the sugar and cream of tartar.

 Add in water.

Stir to dissolve.

 When mixture comes to a boil,

cover and boil for three minutes.

Uncover and boil until temperature reaches 242 degrees.

 At approximately 235 degrees ...

 ...  start on the whites.

 

 When the syrup reaches 245 degrees,
carefully and slowly pour in syrup.

 Add in a tablespoon of vanilla.

 

 For the assembly,

put a bottom layer cut side up on cake platter.

Cover generously with frosting.

Top with a second layer, cut side up, and frost.

Finish with the third layer,

cut side down,

and frost sides and top of cake.

 Take the fourth layer,

crumble it up,

and press into frosting.

 TA DAA!

 Keep refrigerated.

Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes

or longer before serving.

 Happy Birthday, Youngest Hawthorne.

 May all your wishes come true.

 

 This is a most excellent cake.

You've got three layers

of lovely dark chocolate from

cocoa, semisweet, and bittersweet chocolates.

 This billowy, sweet marshmallow-like frosting is divine.

 The flavors and textures are perfect.

Stay tuned for Youngest Hawthorne's birthday dinner.