Best Chocolate Cake Ever

By LisaMK

From Best recipes ever, Food & Wine, Marcia Kiesel, F&W Test Kitchen Supv. It is delicious!

Ingredients

• CAKE:
• 2 cups all purpose flour (about 8 1/2 oz) plus more for dusting
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 2 c sugar
• 2 c water
• 4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, roughly chopped (about 3/4 c)
• 6 tbs unsalted butter (3 oz), plus more for greasing
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• CHOCOLATE FROSTING-
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 1 1/3 c heavy cream
• 6 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1/2 c plus 2 tbs unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp fine sea salt

Preparation

Step 1

1. The Cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 8-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with rounds of parchment paper. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
2. Stir together sugar and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high, and cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves, about 2 mins. Transfer mixture to a bowl of a stand mixer. Add chocolate and butter, and let stand, stirring occasionally, until melted and cooled to 150 degrees F. about 15 mins. Stir in vanilla.
3. Add eggs to chocolate mixture; beat on medium speed until combined, about 10 seconds. Add flour mixture; beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 mins., stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven until tops of cakes spring back when lightly pressed and wooden picks inserted in centers come out clean, 24 to 26 mins. Cool cakes in pans on a wire rack 25 mins Invert cakes onto rack to cool completely, about 1 hour. Discard parchment.
4. The Frosting: Stir together sugar and cream in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, and simmer until liquid reduces slightly, about 6 mins. Pour mixture into a medium bowl and add chocolate, butter, vanilla, and salt.
Let stand , stirring occasionally, until melted, about 10 mins.
5. Set bowl with frosting inside a larger bowl of ice water. Using a hand-held electric mixer, beat frosting on medium speed, stopping to scrape down sides occasionally with a rubber spatula, until thick and glossy, 6 to 8 mins. Remove bowl from ice water; immediately proceed to step 6.
6. Place 1 cake on a serving plate. Using an offset metal spatula, spread 1/3 of frosting over top and sides of cake. Top with second cake, and frost top and sides with remaining frosting.