Velvet Underground Cake

Preheat oven to 345. 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.

Fudge Filling

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate 2 T. unsalted butter 5 T. plus 1 1/2 tsp.
sugar 6 T. hot water 1/2 tsp. vanilla

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 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.

Buttercream

8 T. unsalted butter, room temperature 1 1/4 C. confectioner’s sugar
3/4 C. plus 2 T. heavy (whipping) cream, chilled

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.

Enjoy!