LOUISE DARLINGTON’S CHOCOLATE CAKE
½ Cup solid Crisco shortening
1 ¾ Cups granulated sugar
2 Cups all-purpose flour
¾ Cups unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 cup hot coffee
1 Cup milk (any type from skim to whole milk), room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8inch or 9inch round cake pans.
Sift together the dry ingredients into large bowl. With an electric mixer add the Crisco, coffee, and milk. Mix well. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes (toothpick inserted in center of pan will be free of crumbs when cake is done).
Let cake rest in pans for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and cool completely before frosting.
(seriously chocolate, worth the effort!)
8 ounces good quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (use food processor or hand grater or knife—the goal is to get the chocolate chopped as finely as possible so it melts very quickly.) ( I prefer Callebaut brand chocolate from Belgium)
Set the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to barely a simmer and pour over the chocolate. Let this mixture stand for 30 seconds, then whisk the ingredients together until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is perfectly blended.
The best way to get this mixture cooled to the right temperature is to set the bowl of chocolate in a larger bowl filled with ice cubes. Whisk every now and then until mixture feels cold, about 15 minutes. Do not do this initial chilling in the refrigerator as the chocolate mixture will “seize”!
Once the mixture is cold, beat with an electric mixer on low speed until it becomes a little lighter in texture. Increase speed to medium and whip until color turns lighter and the mixture holds soft peaks. (I find a hand mixer does a good job—my stand mixer tends to overmix this.)
Refrigerate the whipped ganache for 15 minutes before spreading on your cake.