This is a chocolate lover's dream! Dutch processed cocoa is important in this recipe for a deep, dark chocolate flavor. The coffee brings out even more chocolate flavor!
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups granulated sugar
8 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups cake flour
1 ½ cups Dutch-processed cocoa
3/4 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
2 teaspoon instant coffee or ground espresso powder
1/4 cup boiling water
Preheat oven to 300°F. Prepare Old Country Kitchenware square tube pan by brushing with chocolate pan coat and fitting a parchment paper square between the two pieces. Dissolve instant coffee powder in boiling water and let cool. Beat butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until pale, light and fluffy (about 6 minutes at medium speed). Add vanilla extract and salt, beat until combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl. With the mixer running at low speed, add 1 egg and beat until fully incorporated. Repeat with each egg, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and cocoa powder, beating on low until it just disappears. Add coffee to buttermilk and with the mixer running, slowly drizzle in liquid. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and beat for another 15 seconds. Pour batter into prepared tube pan and gently shake to settle the batter. Place on middle rack of oven with a baking sheet on the rack below it to catch any drips. Bake 1 hour 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool until the pan is cool enough to handle. To unmold, place it over a metal can and push down to remove the outer piece. Once the tube is cool enough to touch for 4 seconds, lift or turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
19 comments
Diana, mine rose just shy of the top of the pan when I made this! Since there is no chemical leavening (baking powder or soda) this cake relies on air being beaten into the butter, sugar, and eggs for the rise. You want to make sure you beat them quite well until they’re fluffy and pale! If you want an even higher rise next time you could add 2 eggs and 1 tsp baking powder to this recipe.
Hi I just made the chocolate cake this morning. It looks great and was fun to make. My cake, however, look smaller than I thought it would. I followed the recipe as it was written. Can you please explain why it didn’t rise as tall as the square pan I was using.
Judith, yes, that will work but the cake might be a bit more acidic tasting. Dutch processed cocoa is treated to remove the natural acidity of cocoa. I haven’t tried it, so take this suggestion with a grain of salt: you could potentially add baking soda (1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon) to the recipe although it will react and make the cake rise – which could be a good thing, unless it rises too much and the cake overflows. I’d make sure to place a baking sheet under the rack with the cake on it to prevent this.
Don’t have
dutch processed cocoa. May I substitute Hershey’s?
Theresa, yes! All our recipes should work with the cold oven method. Just make sure your oven doesn’t preheat with the broiler!