Grandma's Chocolate Cake

This cake is rich, moist, and delicious – the kind of chocolate cake you dream about when you’re pouring yourself a glass of milk. Donald developed this cake recipe two decades ago when he was the pastry chef for the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. 

As he tells it, “Every hotel pastry chef gets beat up over three things: muffins for the morning, breakfast, American-style cookies, and a classic chocolate cake. Sean Loeffel, the food and beverage director at the hotel, had a clear idea of the chocolate cake he wanted me to make. For two months, I made chocolate cakes – every kind of chocolate cake you can imagine– but none of them worked for Sean. Finally, he brought in a cake that his mother had made, and I understood immediately what he wanted (and wished he’d brought in her cake two months earlier).

Sean’s mom had 8 or 10 children and a bazillion grandchildren, so she’s the grandma that this cake is named for. I tweaked her recipe, using high quality chocolate. As soon as I began of choice for the many, many weddings held at the Four Seasons. It was the most requested item so we would slice off the domed top, save it, and make another dessert – a chocolate pudding with a chocolate custard. That dessert also developed a devoted following. 

Pastry chef friends from other hotels would call me, complaining about their own chocolate cake trauma, and I would e-mail them this recipe (Telling them not to say where they’d gotten it). Without fail, I’d get an e-mail back a few days later singing the praises of this cake”.

It’s not overstating it to say Donald has made this cake thousands and thousands of times. If you love chocolate cake, this recipe is the one you’ll be passing down to your own grandchildren- if they’re lucky!

 

 

Cake: Makes one 8-in (20cm) two-layer cake. 

210ml water
55g Guittard Cocoa Rouge (Dutch- processed unsweetened cocoa powder) 
220g all-purpose flour 
350g sugar
1 ¼ tsp salt 
1 Tbsp baking soda 
210ml full fat buttermilk – if you can’t get hold of buttermilk mix milk with ¾ of a tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar 
150ml vegetable oil
2 Large eggs 
1 tsp vanilla extract 

Ganache:

400g Guittard Semisweet Chocolate Baking Wafers 
300ml double cream 
2 Tbsp light corn syrup – if you can’t hold of light corn syrup then use another syrup such as golden or maple
85g unsalted butter, at room temperature 

White Chocolate Buttercream:

115g Guittard Choc-Au-Lait Baking Chips (white chocolate) 
130g sugar 
3 egg whites, at room temperature 
Pinch of salt 
¼ tsp vanilla extract 
340g unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 –in (12mm) cubes, at room temperature

 

 

To make the cake: 

Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350f (180c). Butter two 8-in (20cm) round cake pans. 

In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil turn off the heat, and add the cocoa powder. Whisk until smooth, then set aside to cool. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. With a hand mixer, beat in the buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the cocoa mixture and blend until combined, about 30 seconds. Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans and let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. 

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and cool for 30 minutes. 
Line a backing sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle lightly with sugar. 

Using a knife, loosen the sides of the cake. Invert a wire rack over the top of the cake pan, and using both hands carefully flip the rack and pan together so the pan is upside down on top of the wire rack. Gently shake the pan until the cake falls out, and set the pan aside. Invert a second wire rack on the bottom of the cake and flip back over so it is right-side up. Repeat with the remaining cake layer, and let the cakes cool for about 1 hour. Place the cakes on the prepared baking sheet and refrigerate until the cakes are completely cold, about 1 hour.

 

To make the ganache:

Put the semisweet chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Set aside. 

In a medium saucepan, bring the cream and corn syrup just to a boil. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate. Let the chocolate mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whist until all the chocolate has melted. Add the butter and stir until combined. Pour the ganache into a shallow, flat glass baking dish and let cool at room temperature for 1 hour, or until it is spreadable. (At this point, you can wrap the ganache tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 1 day.) 

 

To make the white chocolate buttercream:

Melt the white chocolate chips using a hot water bath or the microwave oven (see Note: Melting chocolate page 51). Stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from the water if you used a hot water bath and set aside. Keep the water simmering. 

Place the sugar, egg whites, and salt in a second heatproof bowl and set it over the simmering water (creating a second hot water bath). Whisk the sugar mixture continuously until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is very thing and warm, or until a candy thermometer reads 115f (45c). Remove the bowl from the head and transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitter with the whisk attachment (or to a large bowl if using a hand mixer with whisk beaters). 

Whisk the sugar mixture on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes, then turn the speed to low and mix until cool, about 10 minutes. Add the vanilla and butter on low speed. Add the melted white chocolate, in two additions, continuing to blend on low, until combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the buttercream is smooth and shiny. 

Using a serrated knife, cut both cakes in half horizontally, for a total of four layers. Place one layer on a cardboard circle or a cake platter. Spread one third of the ganache on the cake. Carefully place the second cake layer on the ganache and repeat until you have four layers of cake sandwiching three layers of ganache. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes. 

Apply a “crumb coat” (or first layer) of butter-cream by spreading one-half of the buttercream on the top and sides of the cake. You should be able to see some chocolate crumbs in the white frosting. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up the buttercream. Use the remaining half of the buttercream to apply the final coat. This time you won’t see any chocolate crumbs. It should be completely white. This cake is best eaten the same day it’s bake. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. 

 

Chef Wressell’s Tips:

1.    Let the cake batter rest for 30 minutes before baking. This allows the leavening to settle down and prevents the fast rise and then fall of the centre of the cake in the 
oven. 

2.    Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Place the cooled cake layers on these baking sheets and place them in the refrigerator. The sugar prevents the cake from sticking 

3.    A “crumb coat”, which uses only half of the buttercream, assures that your final frosting will be smooth with no chocolate crumbs showing through.

 

Enjoy!