Recipe: Maida Heatter's Devilish Cake with Chocolate Icing

DEVILISH CAKE

"This is a dark, two-layer sour cream cake with a thin layer of deliciously bittersweet chocolate filling and icing. It is a very old recipe from New England where it has been made by a Maine sail-making family for generations."

1/2 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process cocoa)
3/4 cup boiling water
1/4 lb (1 stick) sweet (unsalted) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs (graded large or extra-large)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
Chocolate Icing (recipe follows)

Adjust rack to the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two (9-inch) round layer-cake pans. Dust them with flour, invert over a piece of paper and tap to shake out excess. Set pans aside.

In a small bowl mix the cocoa and boiling water until smooth. Set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Add the vanilla, salt, and sugar and beat to mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.

In a small bowl stir the baking soda into the sour cream. On low speed add the flour to the egg mixture in three additions alternating with the sour cream in two additions, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until smooth after each addition. Then add the cocoa and beat only until smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Shake the pans a bit, and rotate them slightly to level the tops.

Bake for 30 minutes until the layers barely begin to come away from the sides of the pan, or the tops barely leave an impression when lightly pressed with a fingertip. Do not overbake or the cake will be dry. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes.

Cover each layer with a rack and invert, remove pans, cover with another rack and invert again, leaving the layers right side up on the racks to cool.

Place four strips of wax paper around the outer edges of a cake plate. Place one layer of cake upside down on the plate; check to see that the papers touch the cake all around. If you have a cake-decorating turntable or a lazy Susan, place the plate on it.

Prepare the Chocolate Icing.

Pour about one-third of the Chocolate Icing over the bottom layer and spread it smoothly-it will be a very thin layer. Cover with the second layer of cake, placing it right side up so that both bottoms meet in the center. Pour the remaining icing over the top. Spread it over the top and sides. Remove the wax paper strips by slowly pulling each one toward a narrow end.

CHOCOLATE ICING

4 ounces (four 1-ounce squares) unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup minus 1 tbsp milk
1 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Place the chocolate in the top of a large double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Cover until the chocolate is melted. Add the butter, milk, and sugar, and stir until the butter is melted. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.

Beat the egg in a small bowl only to mix. Very gradually stir a few spoonfuls at a time of the hot chocolate into the egg. Stir constantly until you have added about one-third to one-half of the chocolate. Then stir the egg into the remaining hot chocolate. Add the vanilla and salt.

Transfer the mixture to the small bowl of an electric mixer. Place the small bowl in the larger mixer bowl. Fill the remaining empty space between the two bowls about halfway with ice and water. (If you are using a mixer on a stand it should be adjusted to the setting for the small bowl.)

Beat at high speed, scraping the bowl constantly with a rubber spatula, for only 1 to 2 minutes until the mixture thickens very slightly-do not let it harden.

Makes 1 (9-inch) 2-layer cake
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts by Maida Heatter