Earthquake cake

The day after final ended, I threw my dirty laundry and a cake pan in the trunk of my car, picked my parents from LAX, and headed out to Palm Springs to celebrate my brother's 30th birthday. Here's a picture from Joshua Tree National Park, which looks like it dropped straight out of a Dr. Seuss book:

I told my sister-in-law that I would bake a cake for the occasion, and since my brother recently got interested in chocolate, I settled on a dark chocolate cake with milk chocolate frosting. It's called a midnight cake, but I don't know if that refers to the dark chocolate or the fact that it tastes best at midnight.


So what did I learn from this project? Well, as I make more things that require frosting, I'm discovering that it might actually be a good idea to invest in an electric mixer. I don't mind mixing the vast majority of doughs by hand, but as it turns out, whipping egg whites to a peak is somewhat time consuming (and a good arm workout). 


Additionally, when you rent a vacation home that doesn't have a mixing bowl, you can use a giant ceramic goblet.

And finally, you really should let a layer cake cool entirely before you try to move the layers around. Things actually started out fine for me -- I cut the cake evenly into three parts, and successfully frosted the bottom layer. 

But when I tried to transfer the top layer, it split down the middle. I thought I might be able to hide the crack with a healthy dose of frosting, but alas, gravity had its day. Hence, the earthquake cake.

Tragic, I know. Luckily, you can hide these kinds of faux pas with a bit of crafty cutting. So when I enter that MBA baking contest, I will submit this photo instead:

Happy birthday, Hermano!


And here's the recipe for Midnight Chocolate Cake with Milk Chocolate Buttercream from my favorite baking cookbook.


INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup (60 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 ounce (28 grams) unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup (240 grams) boiling water
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (225) grams cake flour (I used pastry, because that's all the local grocery store had)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups (330 grams) packed light brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces at room temperature
1/4 cup (60 grams) creme fraiche
2 eggs
2 egg yolks


Milk Chocolate Buttercream
12 ounces (340 grams) milk chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup (120 grams) heavy cream
1 1/2 (300 grams) granulated sugar
3 egg whites
3 cups (6 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt


DIRECTIONS
- Position rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch cake pan


- In a small heatproof bowl, combine the cocoa powder and unsweetened chocolate. Pour the boiling water on top, then whisk until the mixture is completely combined and smooth. Let cool to room temperature, about four hours at room temperature or 1 hour in the refrigerator, whisking every 15 minutes if refrigerated. 

 - Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer) (OR YOUR OWN ARM), mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, and brown sugar on low speed for about 10 second, or until mixed. On low speed, add the butter and continue to beat for 30 to 40 seconds, or until the butter is thoroughly combined and the mixture resembles dough.

- In a small bowl, whisk together the creme fraiche, eggs, and egg yolks until well mixed. On low speed, slowly pour the egg mixture into the butter-flour mixture and mix to combine. Turn up the mixer speed to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes, or until fluffy and light. Stop the mixer a few times and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure the egg mixture is thoroughly incorporated. Turn down the mixer speed to low and slowly pur in the cooled chocolate mixture. Mix for about 10 seconds to combine. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and then mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds, or until the chocolate mixture is thoroughly incorporated. Pour the better into the prepared pan. 


- Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes to 1 1/2 hours or until the top springs back when pressed in the middle with a fingertip. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.


- To make the buttercream: While the cake is cooling, place the milk chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, scald the cream over medium0high heat (bubbles start to form around the edge of the pan, but the cream is not boiling). Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit for 1 minut, then slowly whisk the chocolate and cream together until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Let sit at room temperature for about 1 hour, or until cool (Or, refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes, whisking every 10 minutes).

- In a small heatproof bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg whites to make a thick slurry. Place the bowl over (not touching) simmering water in a saucepan and heat, whisking occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the mixture is hot to the touch.


Remove from the heat and scrape the mixture into the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment (or use a hand-held mixer). Whip on medium-high speed for 6 to 8 minutes or until the mixture becomes a light, white meringue and is cool to the touch. Turn down the speed to low and add the butter, a few chunks at a time. The mixture will look chunky and funky and curdled at first, but don't worry. Increase the mixer speed to medium and watch the whole thing come together! It will be smooth and silky in 2 to 3 minutes.


- Change to the paddle attachment and add the cooled chocolate mixture, vanilla, and salt. Beat on medium speed, stopping to scrape the bowl once or twice to loosen any butter clinging to the sides, for 1 about 1 minute, or until the whole mixture comes together in a smooth buttercream.  You should have about 5 cups.


- Remove the cooled cake from the pan. Using a long, serrated knife, trip the top to level it (it will have rounded a bit in the oven). Then split the cake into three layers. Place the bottom layer, cut-side up, on a cake plate or cake pedestal (if you ahve a revolving cake stand, use it). Spoon about 1 1/2 cups of the butter cream on top and use an offset spatula to spread it evenly into the edges.


- Carefully place the second layer on top, spoon about 1 1/2 cups of the butter cream on top, and again spread it evenly to the edges. Place the third layer, top-side down, on top spoon about 1 cup of the buttercream on top, and spread it over the top and down the sides of the cake, smoothing the buttercream as well as you can and covering the entire cake with a thin layer. 


- Spoon the remaining frosting on top of the cake, and spread it evenly across the top and won the sides. This is the finishing layer of frosting. If desired, spoon any remaining frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a small round or star tip and pipe a decorative line along the top and/or bottom edge of the cake.