Judith Olney’s Chocolate Buttermilk Cake
Description
A decadent chocolate buttermilk cake featuring a moist crumb enhanced with instant coffee. The cake is layered with a light sour cream filling and a rich chocolate sour cream frosting. This multi-step dessert requires chilling between stages to ensure the layers hold together perfectly.Directions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).
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Grease 3 round, 9-inch cake pans and line bottoms with greased wax paper.
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Sift together the flour, 3/4 cup of the cocoa, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the cinnamon.
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Dissolve the instant coffee crystals in an equal amount of hot water, then mix into the dry ingredients along with the buttermilk.
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Cream 1 1/2 cups of the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy.
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Add the eggs one at a time, beating until thick.
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Beating on low speed, slowly mix in the buttermilk mixture until well blended.
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Bake about 35 minutes, or until a straw comes out clean.
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Remove to racks to cool, then refrigerate until completely cold.
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After 1 hour in the fridge, split each cake in half. If the tops rose during baking, slice the excess off after chilling but before splitting.
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Wrap each layer in wax paper or plastic wrap and freeze immediately.
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For the Sour Cream Filling: Beat 3/4 cup of the heavy cream, gradually adding 3/4 cup of the powdered sugar until stiff. Gently fold in 3/4 cup of the sour cream. Set aside in the fridge, covered.
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For the Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting: Melt the remaining butter. Add 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar and the remaining cocoa. Stir with a wire whisk over low heat until smooth, then cool.
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Beat the remaining heavy cream; add the remaining powdered sugar until soft peaks form.
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Add the cooled chocolate mixture and beat until stiff.
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Fold in the remaining sour cream.
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For Construction: Build layers from the bottom up. Place a cake layer, then 1/3 of the filling, then another cake layer, then 2/3 cup of frosting.
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Repeat this sequence twice more for a total of six layers.
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Put the remaining frosting on the sides.
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Chill for two hours before serving.
Nutrition Facts
Servings 4 cups
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 1028kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 54g84%
- Saturated Fat 33g165%
- Cholesterol 179mg60%
- Sodium 363mg16%
- Total Carbohydrate 141g47%
- Dietary Fiber 9g36%
- Sugars 87g
- Protein 15g30%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.