Chocolate Cake

One of the basic and versatile desserts today is chocolate cake. Chocolate cake is the standard birthday cake, typically two or three layers, and iced and filled with a chocolate or buttercream frosting. Cake decorating is a up-and-coming hobby, so chocolate cake is now an experimental dessert as well as continuing to be a classic. Cake's history goes back hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of years. Its simplest form and definition is flour mixed with eggs and fat, sweetened with honey or sugar, and baked. As new flavors were discovered and created, different variations of cake, like chocolate, vanilla, and coconut, arose. Chocolate cake is said to have originated around the same tame chocolate itself was invented (opposed to just cacao beans). Chocolate cake has been the inspiration and base for many other desserts, like a chocolate trifle, fudge brownies, and a chocolate molten cakes. Asking around for the best chocolate cake can provide numerous answers and heated discussions. Many people judge the goodness of chocolate cake differently, such as on moistness, grandeur, quality of ingredients, and other flavorings within the dessert. Chocolate cake can be made from a box or from scratch, which always seems to taste a little bit better. Try the delicious chocolate cake at Bacchanalia, or the Very Good Chocolate Cake at Watershed Inc., both located in the metro Atlanta area. There are so many add-ins and variations on chocolate cake like:

-Add bananas or peanut butter

-Elaborate layer cakes with different icings or ganache

-Adding chopped nuts or coconut

-topping the cake with pieces of hard chocolate or fondant creations

-Adding unique flavors, such as pumpkin, mint, or marshmallow

A basic recipe for chocolate cake is as follows:

Ingredients

U.S.

Metric

Conversion chart

• 1 1/2 cup(s) sifted cake flour
• 1/3 cup(s) Dutch-process cocoa
• 1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
• 1 cup(s) sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1 cup(s) strong brewed coffee, warm
• 1/3 cup(s) light olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon(s) aged balsamic vinegar

---

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly coat an 8-inch round cake pan with softened butter and dust with all-purpose flour. Set aside. Whisk the cake flour, cocoa, baking soda, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside. Stir the coffee, oil, vanilla, and vinegar together and whisk into the flour mixture just until smooth.
2. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the center rack of the oven until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean — 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Serve the cake, iced with about 1 cup Deep Chocolate Glaze. Cake can also be served plain alongside whipped cream or coffee ice cream.