Hannah's Chocolate Fudge Cake

Hannah loves to help in the kitchen. She is getting to be a better cook/baker everyday. This week she decided she wanted to make a chocolate cake. So together we searched for a recipe. She chose this one out of Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts.

I did take some really cute pictures for Hannah prepping her pans and melting the chocolate, but I can't figure out how to add more than 5 pictures. So we will start here with sifting the dry ingredients.

Skip ahead again. I didn't think you needed to see the Kitchen Aid at work. Hannah is so much cuter. Here she pours half the batter into her prepared pans.

Wow those cakes baked and cooled fast. We are already to frost them. The frosting recipe was in the same book with the cake. Hannah had never made a frosting like this one. She had to mix it in an ice bath which was cold and fun.

And of course she had to decorate the cake. The missing pictures are of Hannah and Rebekah coloring the frosting. With the amount they ate I was surprised there was enough to decorate the cake.


Steady as she goes. Hannah is using all the skills Mrs. Muria taught her at the Little Explorer's cake decorating class. We miss you Mrs. Muria.

Here is Hannah with her finished cake. She was so proud of herself. and I was proud of her too. She made the cake all by herself. She served it after dinner complete with candles and her rendition of "Happy Family".

Ingredients

• 3 oz unsweetened Chocolate
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour
• 1 tsp double-acting baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 lb sweet butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp white vinegar
• 1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9 inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with wax paper cut to fit, butter and dust with flour. Set aside.

Place the chocolate in the top of a small double boiler over hot water completely melted. Remove from the hot water and set aside to cool slightly.

Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

In the large bowl of your mixer cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat to mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until the egg is thoroughly incorporated after each addition. Mix in the vinegar. The mixture will look curdled - it is OK. Add the melted chocolate and beat only until smooth.

On low speed add the sifted dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat only until smooth after each addition.

Place half of the mixture in each prepared pan and smooth the tops. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the layers begin to come away from the sides of the pans and the tops spring back when lightly pressed with a fingertip.

Remove from the oven and, with a small, sharp knife, cut around the insides of the pans to release. Then let the layers stand in the pans for 5 minutes.

Cover each layer with a rack, invert, remove the pan, peel off the paper lining, cover with another rack and invert again, leaving the layer right side up to cool.

Wait to frost until completely cool.

Frosting

• 6 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 1/4 lb sweet butter
• 2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 Tbsp hot water
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Place the chocolate and butter in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Cover until partially melted, then uncover and stir until completely melted.

Meanwhile, place all the remaining ingredients in the small bowl of an electric mixer. Beat briefly only to mix. Set the small bowl in large bowl and fill the empty space left in the large bowl with ice and water.

Add the melted chocolate and butter, and beat until the mixture thickens slightly. With a rubber spatula stir the frosting over the ice and water until it thickens to the consistency of thick mayonnaise.

Spread a scant third of it about 1/4 inch thick over the bottom layer of cake. Cover with the other layer, placing it right side up. Spread the sides and top with the remaining frosting.