At least once a year, I can count on Quinn taking over the baking in the BoB kitchen. That occasion is my birthday. This year, there was much deliberation on what would be my birthday cake. The final decision was pieced together from a few different recipes and Quinn’s insistence that there be frosting involved.
As I didn’t assist in the baking process, I will keep this brief. Quinn says that it was a relatively simple endeavor, although the two different frostings were a bit daunting for him. He chose to make three square cake layers, using 9-inch square baking pans. For that reason, the original recipe from Buttercup Bakes at Home was adjusted to accommodate, thus explaining the odd amounts of some of the ingredients.
Now, about this cake. Honestly, this was perhaps the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had. It is dense and moist and just plain wonderful. I am on record as saying that I don’t like plain chocolate cake much. This is anything but plain. I think it is definitely my new go-to chocolate cake.
On top of (and in between) the cake, there are not one but two frostings. The layers have cream cheese frosting with a touch of Frangelico. We agreed that the flavor of the liqueur didn’t come through very strongly, but it was still delicious. The top and sides are covered with a chocolate cream cheese frosting that I could have eaten all by itself.
This is definitely a special occasion cake. No one could eat this frequently and survive it. It did, however, make a perfect, decadent treat for my day. Thanks, Quinn!
For anyone interested, I have also posted the original recipe for the chocolate cake on BoB’s recipe pages.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 & 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
- 1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 & 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
- 6 large eggs, at room temperature
- 9 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
- 1 & 1/8 cups buttermilk
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/8 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3 & 3/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons Frangelico
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 3 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and lightly flour three 9-inch square baking pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.
Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer on medium speed, mix butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add chocolate, and mix until well incorporated. Add dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in sour cream.
Divide batter equally and pour into prepared pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Then, remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.
To make the cream cheese frosting:
Mix butter and cream cheese with a wooden spoon until blended. Add 2 cups of sugar, half of the heavy cream, and salt. Beat until smooth. Add remaining sugar, cream, vanilla, and Frangelico. Mix until smooth, but do not overmix. If frosting is too thick, add a few drops of heavy cream.
Spread frosting between cake layers. If necessary, place frosting in refrigerator before spreading onto cake layers.
To make the chocolate cream cheese frosting:
Mix butter and cream cheese until smooth. Stir in cocoa powder. Add sugar in three portions, alternating with sour cream. Beat until smooth and creamy. Stir in vanilla extract.
Spread frosting on top and sides of cake. If necessary, place frosting in refrigerator before spreading on cake.
Place frosted cake in refrigerator to allow it to set.
Notes
Cake recipe adapted from Buttercup Bakes at Home. Frosting recipes adapted from Great Cakes.
September 8th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
That looks SO good. My bday’s tomorrow- you think I can get my husband to make me a cake?
Happy Birthday to you!
September 8th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
This looks wonderful. I must try it! Happy birthday, hope it was as spectacular as the cake! – H
September 8th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Decadent, indulgent, amazing! This one is sooooooo going in my “must bake post haste” file!
September 8th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
It takes a lot for chocolate cake to impress me, I generally find it unappealing especially when compared to a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting. I am a chocolate fanatic though, I’ll need to try baking it and the best one you’ve ever had? Certainly can’t be bad.
September 8th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
The frosting looks so oozy and yummy! And the rest of cake looks just as scrumptious! Beautiful photos!
September 8th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
That cake looks wonderful. He did a great job! I’m going to bake that cake during the holidays. Happy Birthday!!
September 8th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
That first picture took my breath away. This looks knee-bucklingly good.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:20 am
That frosting looks the perfect consistency – smooth and slightly sticky. Good job!
September 9th, 2008 at 4:21 am
Wow! What Jessica said…
September 9th, 2008 at 5:03 am
Speak for yourself. I could eat this cake as often as you would like!
This is, hands down…THE BEST chocolate cake I have ever had! I don’t know what was better…the actual cake or the frosting(s).
The best part was helping Q cut the cake when it was time to serve. I think we both consumed about a pound of the frosting just from scraping it off the cake plate! Yum!
September 9th, 2008 at 7:00 am
YUM. That looks awesome! Happy Birthday!! That cake is making me wish that my birthday was soon, I’d gladly take on an extra year for that!
September 9th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Happy birthday, beautiful!
An amazing cake for an amazing baker. Kudos to Quinn!
xoxo
September 9th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Two frostings?! That is seriously decadent. Wish I could think of an excuse to bake it soon.
September 9th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Wow or rather Whoa! What a masterpiece.
September 9th, 2008 at 9:51 am
That looks AMAZINGLY delicious! Great job, Quinn and lucky you!
September 9th, 2008 at 11:12 am
I disagree. I could eat this frequently (easily!)
Happy bday!
September 9th, 2008 at 11:33 am
OH MY GOODNESS! Yum Yum Yum! You are so lucky! HAPPY B DAY!
September 9th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
So glad you had a scrumptious birthday. Mine is week after next and I’m closer than I’ve ever been to making the cake that mom always made for me. It was just Devils Food Cake with Seven Minute Frosting but I just haven’t been able to get up the emotional stamina to pull it together. Brandt’s planning an assigned dish dinner party and asked what kind of cake I wanted him to order from Mis Muff’n. I told him to give me another week to see if I can muster the strength. Looking at Quinn’s great photos I think I have to have chocolate and if it’s going to be chocolate I might as well go for it. Maybe a few tears will act as the pinch of salt. Thanks for virtually sharing your bday with us.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Oh My Goodness!!! That cake looks amazing! Quinn did a great job! It does’nt look homemade it looks store bought! Got to come up with a reason to bake it BEFORE the holidays. Happy Birthday and God bless!!
September 9th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Oh my!!! This looks so deadly delicious! Great photos!
September 9th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
looks absolutely decadent!
September 9th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Happy Birthday! That cake looks divine! I love the chocolate shavings on top of the chocolate frosting . . . on top of the chocolate cake! My kind of cake
I don’t have square pans, but I think I’ll try it in my round 9″ pans — yum!
September 9th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Oh your pictures say it all!! The cake looks amazing, I can’t even imagine how good it tasted! What a lucky girl – hope you had a wonderful birthday!
September 9th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Wow that’s one awesome cake!
Happy Birthday!
September 9th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Will you PLEASE stop making recipes that get me off my diet. hehe…Looks SO GOOD!
September 9th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Woo! I want Annie to make this for me!
September 9th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
That is truly the most gorgeous cake I’ve ever seen. Glad it was lovely for your birthday!
September 9th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Wow! Thanks to everyone of you for making my birthday even better!
Michelle, if you’re using 9-inch round pans, you probably can use the original recipe. Send me an email if you want it. bakeorbreak@gmail.com
September 9th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Happy Birthday – that cake looks wonderful. My two favorite ingredients- chocolate and cream cheese
September 9th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
I would really like to make this but I only have 9″ round pans. How would I adjust the recipe?
September 9th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Quinn is so sweet! The cake looks sinfully decadent, and what is not to love about chocolate + cream cheese? Hope you had a wonderful birthday!
September 9th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
You can so see the work that went into making it. It does mean so much more than a gift card from Best Buy.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Gorgeous. This may be my next birthday cake!
September 9th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
OMG…this blog is the sweetest torture…
Happy Birthday!
September 10th, 2008 at 4:02 am
awesome cream cheese filling and the top decoration is so gorgeous! like how simple the whole cake is and yet how wonderful it all looks..mmm. happy birthday!
x
September 10th, 2008 at 5:12 am
Happy Birthday Jennifer! Wishing you much happiness in the year ahead….Mine was last week and I failed to make my favorite- a 7 layer Coconut Cake; now I wish I did. Though I am not a Chocolate Cake fan this looks like the best I have ever seen. Simply wonderful!
September 10th, 2008 at 10:12 am
I love your blog! I can’t wait to explore it more. I am a Mississippi girl, too.
September 10th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Will he come and make me this cake for my birthday in a week and a half? Delicious!!
Hope your birthday was great!
September 10th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
OMG!!!!!!! My mouth is watering!
September 10th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
WOW!! That is an amazing looking cake. Happy birthday to you and well done to Quinn for this fantastic cake
I always have to bake my own xx
September 10th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Oh my goodness! Your photos are amazing! I want to reach in and grab that slice of cake! It looks so good!
September 10th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
What a gorgeous cake….and it looks so delicious!
September 10th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
All I can say is WOW! I must’ve stared at the cover photo for a good 10 seconds. It’s mesmerizing. Happy Birthday! I enjoy reading this blog for the recipes.
September 10th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
the frosting oozing out of the cake layers looks absolutely amazing! I would definitely be the one sticking my finger in the frosting
September 10th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Oooohhhhh!
I can’t get much more out.
Ooooohhhh!
September 11th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Thanks again! I think Quinn really did an outstanding job. Maybe I should encourage him to take over?
Judy K, I have posted the original recipe using 9-inch round pans on the recipes page. Enjoy!
September 11th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Happy birthday! Now THAT’s a birthday cake – gorgeous!
September 11th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Wow this DOES look amazing! I wish I could get my significant other to make something this delicious.
Both the frostings look delicious, I love that there are 2! And I’ve never been a huge fan of plain chocolate cake either, so I’ll really have to try this recipe!
Happy Birthday!
September 11th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Ohmygod this looks amazing! 2 frosting? You’re quite the overachiever
September 13th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Happy birthday! This cake has me craving a slice. YUM!
September 13th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Oh my, that looks like the holy grail of chocolate cake.
September 13th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
wow. that looks amazing! I’m thinking adding some sort of coffee something would make it even better! I love chocolate, creamcheese and coffee together!
September 15th, 2008 at 3:21 am
I have been looking for a great chocolate cake recipe for ages and this had me hooked from the first photo. I made it for my son’s 11th birthday on Saturday (I left out the Frangelico), and the whole family LOVED it, there’s no doubt I’ll be making this again. Thanks so much for posting this.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Oh my Lord…this is decadent!!!!
Since you seem like a true foodie, I want to share the following with you…I’m promoting a new website that’s about to launch in a month–it’s called http://www.behindtheburner.com
It’s going to provide tips and tricks about anything and everything in the culinary world. Please check it out! Tell your friends.
Thanks!
September 15th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Thanks, y’all!
Ros, I’m glad you enjoyed the cake. Isn’t it just fantastic?!?
September 17th, 2008 at 5:42 am
Did you say… chocolate… cream cheese… frosting?
Ohhhyes.
September 17th, 2008 at 8:29 am
I love chocolate cakes and desserts, so i must tell you just one thing.
DELICIOUS!
September 18th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
This sounds so great! My wedding cake was a dark chocolate cake with a thick cream cheese frosting – best cake I’ve ever had (the day didn’t hurt
. I’ll have to try this recipe on my own now to try to re-create it. Thanks!
September 18th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Happy Birthday to a very, very lucky girl. This looks divine and you are so fortunate to have someone make this for you (and do it so well!)
September 18th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Indigo, that is exactly right. Almost too good to be true!
Thanks, Monica & Lisa!
Catherine, I wish sometimes that I had deviated from the norm for our wedding cake, but I went traditional all the way. Sounds like yours was delicious!
September 20th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Jennifer –
I am pretty sure I can’t get my hands on Dutch -process cocoa powder. Do you think an “average” cocoa powder would work? I have regular and dark, and I was leaning toward trying the dark … but I thought I’d get your expert opinion.
September 20th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Quick follow up … I found a “premium cocoa” by SACO, which is “a special blend of natural and Dutched cocoa.” Maybe that will suffice? http://www.sacofoods.com/premiumcocoa.html
September 20th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Lindsay, Dutch process cocoa will react differently in a recipe, so they are usually not interchangeable. I’ve never used a blend of the two. I’m not really sure what that would do. There is some helpful explanation at Joy of Baking.
September 20th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
The main reason I was wondering if the experimenting might be okay is because the cocoa isn’t in the actual cake — it sounds like the main issue with using Dutch-process versus regular cocoa has to do with leavening agents, which wouldn’t apply to frosting. I’m leaning toward trying the SACO blend but am, of course, a little nervous about it …
September 21st, 2008 at 11:24 am
Lindsay, you’re right. I was thinking that there was cocoa powder in the cake. I’m sure you could use whichever kind you like for the frosting. Enjoy!
September 22nd, 2008 at 3:26 am
I’m just impressed. Not only for the delicious look of the cake itself (so black… Mmmmm) but also for the cream cheese frostenings. I must try tis recipe, that’s for sure.
September 29th, 2008 at 11:41 am
This looks amazing!!!! I had to stumble it.. the whole world needs to see this. Great work. I cant wait to try it
September 29th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Thanks, morgana & zestycook!
October 2nd, 2008 at 8:47 am
oh my! someone better have a birthday fast, ’cause i want to make this cake!
looks stunning, too.
November 21st, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Aww man! I want to comment on everything on this blog! Everything looks good! But, this cake looks soo good I love chocolate.
December 14th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
I baked this cake for my boyfriend’s birthday in 3 9″ round pans. Neither of us care for frangelico, so I flavored the filling frosting with one of our favorite liquors, Amarula (a proven winner with our palates when mixed with chocolate!). I could have just eaten that frosting and stoppe there. Since I couldn’t find the Dutch processed cocoa, and didn’t have time to mail order, I used Ghirardelli’s unsweetened cocoa powder. Topped with mini-chocolate chips, this cake looks wonderful (and the scraps I tasted from leveling the layers taste yummy, too!) if not like Jennifer/Quinn’s pictures. Next time tho, I think I am ditching the chocolate cream cheese frosting and just doing the Amarula flavor. It is just that delicious. Happy baking, y’all! Thanks for the recipe, BorB!
December 15th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
wow,this looks amazing Lindsay ,i was trying to make it now but i couldn’t find the ingredients,could u help me out
January 11th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
hello looks delicious
June 8th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
MMM this looks tasty!! I actually made a layered cake last weekend but it was a red velvet cake and it had some chocolate inside of it. It was really easy to make and didn’t take that long. The only thing I changed in the recipe was the amount of food coloring. Instead of just using red food coloring I mixed in some beet juice as well to get the deep red color. I got the recipe from here http://www.howcast.com/videos/139827-How-To-Make-Red-Velvet-Cake
October 17th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Just clicked on this link sent to me by my friend. Wow! Nice photography. That cake is gorgeous.
March 25th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
Wow!It looks delicious!
I want to bake a cake right now!
August 20th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
This looks delicous but I can’t find recipe. Where do I look for cake recipe and icing? Please help!
August 30th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Wendy, look above the top photo for a link to the recipe.
November 4th, 2011 at 6:41 pm
So, I just put this in the oven and it was a VERY thick batter. I’m hoping all is well. Whether it makes a great cake or not, the batter laden spoon tasted amazing. Thanks!
October 25th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE & FROSTING EVER!Saw the picture (and story) of this cake last week and have been thinking about it continuously since then. Fortunately, yesterday was my friends birthday and I had a reason to make it. It was fabulous. Totally lived up to my fantasy of how it would taste.
Thank you! batter was awesome on its own too!