The picture doesn't do it justice -- this is a perfect Birthday Cake. Three layers of dark, moist, chocolatey cake, held together with thick firm homemade frosting.
Some tips:
- Buy a big-ass jar of Nutella if you're gonna make this frosting. You need just over 500g, which is more than is in a standard jar.
- All-purpose flour is surely fine, but I used a fluffy 405 Weißmehl and it was delightful.
- Don't forget to pull out the butter first to get it to room temperature.
- Make the chocolate simple syrup! It's easy and is key to moist cake.
You're gonna make three things: 1) the cake layers, 2) chocolate simple syrup, and 3) the frosting. Let's gooooooo!
Cake layers
- 2 cups (260g) flour
- 1¾ cups (350g) white sugar
- ¾ cup (75g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup (240 ml) warm water
- 1 cup (250g) full-fat plain yogurt or sour cream
- ½ cup (110g) vegetable oil
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp instant coffee powder
Whisk together the dry in one bowl, whisk together the wet plus instant coffee powder in another bowl. Then whisk them both together and pour evenly into three round, greased (!) cake pans. You could measure it out with a cup measure or weigh the pans to ensure evenness. Bake at 170C / 350F until they pass the toothpick test, 23-25 minutes. Set them aside to cool.
Chocolate simple syrup
- ½ cup (120ml) warm water
- ½ cup (100g) white sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
In a small saucepan, stir together the water and sugar and heat until it juuuust starts to bubble. Take off the heat and stir in the cocoa powder.
Frosting
- 1¾ cups (525g) Nutella
- 1 cup (230g) butter, room temperature
- ½ powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
In a big mixing bowl, beat all ingredients with a mixer until you've beat enough air in there to increase the volume and fluffiness. Something like 3-5 minutes is good. You can just eyeball it: If it looks and feels like frosting, it's good.
The Assembly
Use a pastry brush to "paint" the chocolate simple syrup onto the cooled cake layers. This will soak in and make the cake dark and moist. Apply the frosting to the first layer by dolloping blobs of it evenly over the top. Then use a knife to "connect" the blobs and paint the frosting down the sides. Be careful not to drag the knife too close to the cake surface, or the tension will tear the cake. (It's not like buttering a piece of toast.)
Set the next layer on top and treat it the same, then the third. Then use the remaining frosting to fill in any gaps on the side and make nice swirl patterns.
Shake some adorable rainbow sprinkles on top for the happiest classic Birthday Cake look. Don't forget the cute candles.
It's mighty -- you can get 12 thick or 16 moderate slices out of this one!
Will keep outside the fridge for a couple days, but after that, it keeps better in the fridge.
