Chocolate Layer Cake

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cupsAll Purpose Flour
• 3/4 cupUnsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoonBaking Soda
• 1 and 1/4 teaspoonBaking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoonSalt
• 3/4 cupUnsalted Butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cupGranulated Sugar
• 3/4 cupBrown Sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup Unsweetened Applesauce
• 1/2 tablespoonApple Cider Vinegar
• 1 and 1/2 cupsButtermilk
• 1 teaspoonVanilla Extract

INGREDIENTS FOR FROSTING:

• 1 cupUnsalted Butter, at room temperature
• 225-gUnsweetened Chocolate, chopped and melted
• 1 tablespoonVanilla
• 1/4 teaspoonSalt
• 6 cupsIcing Sugar
• 1/2 cupMilk
• 1/4 cupwater/Milk/Strong Coffee

PROCEDURE:

1. Preheat oven to 325F/160C for 15 minutes. Line two 9 inch round cake pans with parchment paper and grease it lightly with non stick cooking spray.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl. Stir until mixed.
3. Beat butter with sugars in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium for about 3 minutes.
4. Add the applesauce in two additions, beating well and scraping down sides of bowl after each addition. Mix in the vinegar too. The mixture will look curdled but don’t worry.
5. Beat in vanilla.
6. Reduce speed and beat one third of flour mixture into butter mixture, then add half the buttermilk.
7. Repeat additions, scraping down sides until well mixed.
8. Divide batter evenly between pans and smooth tops. Tap the pans lightly to burst air pockets if any.
9. Bake in center of oven until a tooth pick inserted in center of cakes comes out clean, 25 to 30 min. If using two racks, move the pan from the top rack to the bottom and the vice-versa in about 15 minutes.
10. Cool in pans on a rack for 10 minutes.
11. Run a knife around inside edge of each pan and then turn cakes out onto rack.
12. Remove parchment. Let cool completely, about 1 hour. I actually left it overnight before I could frost the cake.

FOR ICING:

1. Beat butter for icing in a large bowl, using an electric mixer/hand beater on medium, until creamy, 1 min.
2. Add melted chocolate, vanilla, salt and 1 cup icing sugar. Beat for 1 minute.
3. With mixer on medium-low, add remaining sugar in 3 parts, alternating remaining liquids (milk and coffee) and ending with sugar.
4. Beat on medium-high, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until fluffy and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.

FROSTING THE CAKE:

1. Be extremely careful while slicing each cake into half because its very delicate. One of my layers actually split in half and I somehow managed to patch it up and used it as the bottom most layer and covered it with the frosting. I think shrink wrapping the 2 cakes with plastic wrap once it has cooled completely and storing it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours will harden it up a little bit and slicing it into half won’t be much of a trouble. 

Source:http://www.egglesscooking.com/