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Three-Layer Chocolate Cake
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| What You Need: |
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Six 1-ounce squares of unsweetened chocolate
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ quarter-pound sticks), softened
2¼ cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ level teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ cups milk
CHOCOLATE SOUR-CREAM FROSTING
Three 6-ounce packages semisweet chocolate bits
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ cups sour cream
12 to 15 shelled walnut halves
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| How To Cook: |
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1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Break the chocolate into small pieces, place in a small saucepan and melt over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a spoon. Do not let it boil. Cool to room temperature. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together by mashing and beating it with a large spoon until it is light and fluffy.
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2. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the melted chocolate and vanilla. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together into another bowl. Beat ¼ cup of the dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture, then beat in ¼ cup of milk. Continue adding the flour and milk alternately in similar amounts, beating until the batter is smooth.
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3. Butter and flour three 9 ½-inch circular cake pans. Invert the pans and rap them on the edge of the table to knock out any excess flour. Divide the batter equally among the three pans and bake them in the center of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cakes come slightly away from the edge of the pan and are firm to the touch. A knife inserted in the center of the cakes should come out dry and clean. Turn the cakes out on cake racks to cool.
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4. Spread the top of each cake with about ¼ inch of the chocolate sour-cream frosting and place the layers one on top of another on a cake plate. With a long metal spatula or knife, thoroughly coat the sides of the cakes with the remaining frosting, and add more frosting to the top of the cake if you wish. Decorate the top with the halved walnuts.
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5. CHOCOLATE SOUR-CREAM FROSTING: In the top of a double boiler, melt the chocolate over boiling water. With a whisk or spoon, stir into it the salt and the sour cream. Ice the cake while the frosting is still slightly warm.
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