Blackout Cake - This Cake is For You

Happy Birthday, Dan! This cake is for you. I couldn't wait to bake this cake just for you.

On Sunday, we not only celebrated Easter, but we celebrated Dan's birthday. Dan is a very old and dear friend. We only put one candle on the cake, because we didn't want to trigger the smoke alarms. Ha! Ha! Seriously, he is like a brother to me, so it was an honor to bake his birthday cake.

This cake was not a surprise for him, it was a request. No, it was actually a requirement. He was reading The Week a few months ago and stumbled upon the recipe. Immediately, his mouth began watering for a bite of this luscious velvety cake. So, I did what any food lover would do, I immediately offered to bake it for him. Needless to say, he accepted the offer.

I'm a tried and true Southerner, so I wasn't very familiar with this cake. Apparently this cake is iconic with Brooklyn, New York. It was a famous creation from the now closed Ebinger's Bakery.

As you can tell, this cake is all about the chocolate. It is a moist chocolate cake with creamy chocolate pudding in between the layers. The frosting is actually the pudding. You crumble one of the cake layers and smoosh it to the pudding to form the outer layer. If you look at the slice, you can see the yummy pudding between the layers.

This cake was very easy to bake. The recipe was easy to follow and it turned out great. One warning, it is easy to get chocolate everywhere! If you like chocolate, then this is the cake for you. You must try this creation. You will not be disappointed.

What to Drink: Milk!

Until we can visit again, raise a glass and Cheers to You!

Chocolate Blackout Cake

Give the pudding and the cake enough time to cool or you’ll end up with runny pudding and gummy cake.

Pudding
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup whole milk
6 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 tsp vanilla extract

Cake
8 tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick), plus extra for greasing pans
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting pans
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp table salt
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 cup strong black coffee
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract


For the pudding: Whisk sugar, cornstarch, salt, half-and-half, and milk in large saucepan. Set pan over medium heat. Add chocolate and whisk constantly until chocolate melts and mixture begins to bubble, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in vanilla and transfer pudding to large bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.

For the cake layers: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour two 8-inch cake pans. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in cocoa and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Off heat, whisk in coffee, buttermilk, and sugars until dissolved. Whisk in eggs and vanilla, then slowly whisk in flour mixture. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool layers in pans 15 minutes, then invert onto wire rack. Cool to room temperature, at least 1 hour.

To assemble the cake: Cut each cake in half horizontally. Crumble one cake layer into medium crumbs and set aside. Place one cake layer on serving platter or cardboard round. Spread 1 cup pudding over cake layer and top with another layer. Repeat with 1 cup pudding and last cake layer. Spread remaining pudding evenly over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle cake crumbs evenly over top and sides of cake, pressing lightly so crumbs adhere. Serve. (Cake can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.) Serves 10 to 12.