Chocolate Cake

Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse

Rated: 3 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (11)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(11)

Cook Time:
1 hr 0 min
Level:
--
Yield:
Yield: 8-inch cake

Times:

Prep: 1 hr 30 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 1 hr 0 min
Total:: 2 hr 30 min

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Ingredients

CHOCOLATE GENOISE
6 ounces flour
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
4 eggs
3 ounces sugar
2 ounces butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch cake pan, line with parchment or waxed paper. Butter and flour paper.

Combine flour and cocoa and sift 3 times. In a mixing bowl set over a pan of hot water combine eggs and sugar. Whisk until mixture registers 110 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and continue to whip egg mixture until extremely fluffy. Using a large spatula gently fold in sifted flour by thirds and finish by folding in melted butter. Pour into prepared pan and bake until firm, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool cake in pan 5 minutes, turn out on a rack and cool completely.

Note: measurements are given by weight for greater accuracy. Cup measures are as follows: scant 1/2 cup sugar; 6 tablespoons cocoa; 1 1/2 cups flour; 1/2 stick butter.

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM
1 1/3 cups sugar
8 egg yolks
1 cup butter, cut in cubes
8 ounces chocolate, melted and cooled

In a saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer boil sugar with 3 cups water to 120 c. or 240 degrees F. Meanwhile, in bowl of an electric mixer beat yolks until pale. With motor running pour in syrup and beat until mixture forms a ribbon. While mixture is still warm add butter, a piece at a time, then add chocolate, scraping down sides several times. Continue whipping until mixture cools.

Yield: Enough Buttercream to Frost an 8-inch cake

CHOCOLATE DESIGNS AND CAKE ASSEMBLY
1 cup simple syrup
Kirsch
1 pound chocolate, chopped
Chocolate Genoise cake (previous recipe)
Chocolate Buttercream frosting (previous recipe)

Combine syrup and Kirsch, to taste, for moistening cake.

In a bowl set over a saucepan of hot but not boiling water, melt chocolate, stirring frequently. Set aside to cool and thicken to a pourable consistency. Fill a pastry bag fitted with smallest tip with chocolate. Pipe out neat small designs onto waxed paper; let solidify at room temperature.

To assemble cake: slice fully-cooled cake in half horizontally. Using a pastry brush generously brush both layers with flavored syrup. Place bottom layer on a cake stand and spread with a nice even layer of buttercream. Cover with top layer. Using a palette knife spread a nice, even layer of buttercream on top of cake and then ice sides; try to make as smooth a surface as you can. Decorate top with chocolate designs.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Chocolate Cake
craig portland, OR 07-16-2009
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Genoise is difficult
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This is a good recipe but it is an advanced recipe. Genoise and the butercream are very tricky recipes. If you don't... understand the techniques it will not turn out. Even experienced bakers have failures with genoise. The keys to genoise are the temperature of the eggs and the volume that you beat them to. You must get the eggs to the right warm temperature and then beat them until they are triple to four times in volume. Then you must very carefully and lightly fold in the flour and butter. The frosting is also tricky. You have to have the syrup to the right temperature. And then add it to the eggs while beating. This is tricky because if you pour the syrup onto the spinning beater it will fly all around the sides of the bowl and harden. If you pour the syrup into the eggs with the beaters not going it will harden in the eggs and not incorporate. Then you have to beat the syrup and egg mixture until it is cool before adding the butter bit by bit. Read more
recipe Chocolate Cake
Juliet Mundelein, IL 11-13-2008
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Perfect as usual
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This recipe was perfect as is. It is a more difficult process than some other cake recipes, but if you follow the... directions, it comes out fine. I can't be sure, but the low ratings from other users may be from mistakes in reading the recipe. Emeril lists ingredients by WEIGHT, not by volume. So 6 ounces of flour is not 3/4 of a cup. He means that you need to weigh out 6 ounces of flour on your food scale. This type of measurement is MUCH more accurate.Read more
recipe Chocolate Cake
Heather San DIego, CA 10-17-2008
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OMGoodness what the heck?!!!
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

I would give this one star but I only made the cake part so I can't in good conscience do that. OK...so I doubled the recipe... and it STILL did not fill and giant cupcake cake pan. I wasted 8 eggs on this horrible recipe. I baked for the allotted time and even a few more, and the middle of the cake was liquid!!?? I am no expert but can pull off most baked things. I can't believe how hard the cake was, too. It's just sitting there on my counter..I'm too afraid to try it 'cause I don't want salmonella. Read more
recipe Chocolate Cake
TAMMY Radford, VA 09-04-2008
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Why ounces not cups?
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

Why would you give a cake recipe using ounces and not cups???? Chocolate Cake Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse Show: The... Essence of Emeril Episode: Chocolate CHOCOLATE GENOISE 6 ounces flour 6 tablespoons cocoa powder 4 eggs 3 ounces sugar 2 ounces butter, melted It take 8 ounces to make a cup so that means less than a cup of flour?? I don't understand this recipe was there a mistake made? I just would like to have a recipe usung self rising flour and cocoa. Does anyone have one?Read more
recipe Chocolate Cake
Anonymous 05-07-2008
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boom a fantastic creation
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

it is one of the greatest recipes you can have i made it for the at my sons school and they love
recipe Chocolate Cake
null null, null 03-13-2008
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A Serious Flop
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

I adore Emerill, but there must be something missing in the ingredients or directions. It was for my mother's birthday, and... I had a hard as a rock large hockey puck to share with my family. A disaster!Read more