1 ¾ cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. salt
3½ cups sugar
14.5 ounces unsweetened chocolate (4 oz. coarsely chopped and 10.5 oz. finely chopped)
15 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon size pieces and chilled
¼ cup plus 2 tbl. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and ½ tsp. salt.
2. In a saucepan, dissolve 2 cups sugar in 2 cups water over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat, add the coarsely chopped chocolate and 6 tablespoons butter and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder. Beat in the eggs, then stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Add the flour mixture, whisking until incorporated. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake until the cakes are springy to the touch and have pulled away from the sides of the pans, about 30 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and place on the racks. Let cool completely.
3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the finely chopped chocolate and the remaining 9 tbl. butter, 2 tsp. vanilla and 1/8 tsp. salt. In a medium saucepan, bring the cream and remaining 1 ½ cups sugar to a boil. Pour the cream mixture over the chocolate and let stand for 2 minutes, then stir the mixture until smooth. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until thickened to a spreadable consistency, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
4. Lay 4 strips of parchment paper around the border of a cake stand. Remove the parchment from 1 of the cake layers and place the layer on the cake stand. Place about 1 cup of the chocolate frosting in the center of the layer and spread. Remove the parchment from the second and place on top of the first. Apply frosting. Top the cake with the remaining frosting and spread around entire cake. Discard the parchment paper strips.
*** You need to read this recipe 2-3 times just to make sure you understand everything. It is quite simple, but there’s a lot to read.
*** If you need to take a break, as I do, you can rest while the cake is baking. Make the frosting later.
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