THE Ultimate Chocolate Cake - a Robert St. John recipe

This is an amazing cake: a genuine eyes-rolling-back-in-your-head, excuse-me-I-need-some-alone-time AMAZING cake! It lives up to its name of The Ultimate Chocolate Cake... from a cookbook by Robert St. John, I give you the cake... See The Celebrity Chef event on my other blog.

CAKE

1 3/4 c. cake flour

3/4 c. cocoa

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

2 c. sugar

3/4 c. melted butter

1 c. buttermilk

1 c. brewed coffee, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter 2 8-inch cake pans and line with parchment. Butter the parchment and flour the pans, shaking out the excess.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Reserve.

Using a mixer with a whip attachment, beat eggs and sugar until thick and lemon colored. Beat in the melted butter. Alternately add dry ingredients with buttermilk, scraping the bowl once or twice. Add the coffee and vanilla to form a think batter. Divide batter between prepared cake pans.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Cool in pans 15 minutes. Invert onto cooling racks, peel off paper and cool completely.

When cool, split each cake in half with a serrated knife to form four think layers. Freeze 1 hour before assembling the finished cake.

Make the fillings and icing and assemble.

FILLING:

1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate pieces

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

3/4 c. powdered sugar

Place chocolate in a double boiler and heat until completely melted. While chocolate melts, use an electric mixer with whip attachment to beat together the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Beat until mixture is light and fluffy. Allow the melted chocolate to cool slightly, then drizzle it into the cream cheese mixture and continue beating until the filling is cool. This spreads best if used immediately.

ICING:

6 oz. unsweet chocolate

1/2 c. unsalted butter

4 c. powdered sugar

1 c. sour cream

1 Tbs. vanilla

Melt chocolate over a double boiler. Use and electric mixer with a whip attachment to cream together the butter and powdered sugar. Add the melted chocolate, sour cream, and vanilla extract and beat until light and fluffy. As with the filling, this spreads best if used immediately.

Can you say YUMMY?? Cake GOOOOD. Okay, so I don't get points for the best assembled and iced cake, but the taste... bring it on! =) This definitely falls under the category of Living the Good Life!