Is there such a thing as a foolproof chocolate cake recipe? for Questionland Seattle

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Is there such a thing as a foolproof chocolate cake recipe?

I am looking for a basic but solid and reliable chocolate cake recipe. Easy and crowd pleasing. Any thoughts?

Jessie Oleson asked in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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This is a nice one, on Farmgirl Fare's blog - really simple and really good! http://foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com/2005/08/chocolate-cake-emergency.html

Her blog is fun to read, too.

If you want to get more serious, David Lebovitz is a total chocolate addict, and he has tons of good recipes. Here's a link to his Devil's Food Cake recipe: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2007/08/devils_food_cak.html

Patti answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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(Well, the world keeps producing better fools, so ultimately the answer is no).

However, the solution I prefer is the old sitcom standby: I go to north hill bakery or some such, buy a lovely premade cake, smudge some frosting on my apron, and pass it off as my own. Easy AND crowdpleasing.

Rev.Enant answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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Karla Pacheco

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Y'all shouldn't be too hard on Kristin Bell's response - I'm a huge fan of Cook's Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen, but even they have said it's really difficult to make a cake from scratch that as is fluffy and moist as a box mix. It can be done, but the science (and yes, chemicals) behind box mixes are hard to top.

That said, the key to serving a really exceptional cake is freezing the cake after it has been baked. Especially when you're doing layers. Once the cake has been removed from the pan and is totally cool, slice off (use a large serrated bread knife) the rounded top, so the cake is nice and level - you can chop up the excess and mix with whipped cream and fruit for a parfait, or just munch on it as a well deserved treat for making a motherfucking cake.

Wrap the cake layer in saran wrap, and then freeze. It makes frosting the cake much easier (no crumbs) and when the cake is served it's incredibly moist and dense.

I like to use a box mix for the cake itself, and use a homemade buttercream frosting (the canned stuff is indeed a bit too cloyingly sweet and thick), but when pressed for time a dusting of powdered sugar or whipped cream topped with fresh seasonal fruit is equally good.

We don't all have stand mixers, or the time and indgredients to make stuff from scratch, but the freezing trick with a simpler topping can make even a box mix feel pretty elegant.

Karla Pacheco answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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Nigella's old fashioned chocolate cake recipe from Feast has never failed me yet. I've made it my staple birthday cake due to how easy it is to make and eat! It also happens to be the most delicious, rich darkly chocolate cake ever!

Nicola Gwyneth Burgess answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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The best oen I have found is from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking:

http://www.ochef.com/r181.htm

It it's a fairly easy recipe to follow and the results are amazing.

Dan Williams answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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This one was amazing... I always read through the reviews and get an idea for what people did to "tweak" the recipe. Love this website too: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Buttermilk-Chocolate-Cake-with-Fudge-Icing/Detail.aspx

baybay73 answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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Do not make it from a box. They are idiot proof, but all those processed ingredients are crap, and that canned frosting tastes so chemically compared to buttercream or other homemade frosting.

That said, the recipes in Rose Levy Beranbaum's books The Cake Bible and Rose's Heavenly Cakes are perfect. If you follow the directions as written, the cakes ALWAYS turn out great. You ought to be able to find them at Elliott Bay Books, if time isn't too short for you. They are not complicated - all you need for chocolate cake is cake flour (Softasilk is widely available, but seek out King Arthur's unbleached if you can - both come in boxes, not bags), eggs, cocoa powder, sugar, and baking powder, while buttercream requires butter, sugar, and baking chocolate. If you have a stand mixer it's ridiculously easy.

Matt from Denver answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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Yes! Get the cake in the box from the store. It is virtually idiot-proof. Mix in some ingredients, bake and slap on some frosting from one of the container frostings in the store. Seriously. It will be delicious.

Kristin Bell answered in Food & Drink about 1 year ago | Report

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