4 oz Unsweetened chocolate — dissolved in
2 c Sugar 1 c ;Hot water
1 1/2 c Sifted all-purpose flour 1/2 c Sour cream; at room temp.
3/4 ts Baking soda 1/2 c Vegetable oil
1/2 ts Salt 2 lg Eggs; lightly beaten
1 c Hot strong brewed coffee or — at room temperature
5 ts Instant coffee powder
FUDGE FILLING
2 oz Unsweetened chocolate 6 tb ;Hot water
2 tb Unsalted butter 1/2 ts Vanilla
5 tb Plus 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
-BUTTER CREAM-
8 tb Unsalted butter; room temp. 3/4 c Plus 2 tb. heavy (whipping)
1 1/4 c Confectioners’ sugar -cream; chilled
To make the cake, preheat oven to 345 F. Lightly grease two 8-in.
layer cake pans with oil or butter, or line them with parchment
circles. Melt chocolate in top of double boiler placed over simmering
water, then turn off the heat. Sift sugar, flour, baking soda and
salt together into a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, blend
the hot coffee, sour cream, and vegetable oil with whisk.
With the mixer on low speed, add the coffee mixture in a stream to
the dry ingredients and mix until blended, about 35 seconds. Stop
mixer to scrape the bowl several times with spatula. Add eggs one at
a time and mix on medium-low speed after each addition until smooth,
about 15 seconds. Scrape bowl each time. Add chocolate and mix until
batter is uniform in color, about 10 seconds.
Divide batter evenly between pans and place on center rack in oven.
Bake until cake springs back to touch and tester comes out dry (do
not wait for crust to form), 35 to 38 minutes. Cool layers in the
pans on a rack.
To make the fudge filling, place all ingredients except vanilla in
top of double boiler over simmering water and cook uncovered, stirring
occasionally, until the chocolate is melted and sugar is dissolved,
about 30 minutes. Mixture will be smooth and velvety. Pour fudge
into small bowl, stir in vanilla and refrigerate until the mixture is
thick and of spreading consistency, 2 hours.
To make the butter cream, place all ingredients in a food processor
and process until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop mixer
several times to scrape down sides of bowl. Transfer buttercream to
medium-size mixing bowl and, using the paddle attachment of an
electric mixer, continue to beat on medium-high speed until
buttercream is white and fluffy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stop mixer to
scrape bowl several times. (If you don’t have a paddle attachment,
use whisk.) Use buttercream within an hour or it will need rewhipping.
Assembly: Spread all interior layers of cake with fudge filling and
outside of cake with about 1 1/2 C. of buttercream. Shave 1 oz. dark
chocolate over surface of cake with a fine grater, then use the knife
method of shaving to make darker accents on the top of the cake.
Makes 12 to 16 servings.
Yields
1 cake