The only trouble, if I can call it that, with baking cakes is having leftovers. A bite with my morning coffee, a sliver post lunch, a nibble with afternoon tea—I am the one at home making sure those leftovers don’t go to taste. To mitigate the leftovers-for-days situation, I bought two small cake pans. They’re round, measuring 6×2 inches, and they’ve been so handy to have on hand. I use them to bake a half recipe of my children’s favorite one-bowl buttermilk birthday cake, and I’ve found I can nearly always halve a recipe and bake off all of the batter in one of the pans or split the batter between the two pans, as I’ve done here. This is Gourmet’s double chocolate cake, which I blogged about several years ago now, and which has been as well received here as at the recipe’s source site. If this cake is new to you, you’re in for a treat. It’s made with buttermilk (magic!), oil (as opposed to butter), lots of cocoa powder, and coffee, if you wish, which intensifies the chocolate flavor. A halved version of the recipe still yields a more-than-decent sized cake—I made a two-layer cake with chocolate ganache for Ben and me, and a two-layered cake with chocolate-whipped cream frosting for the children. The leftovers this time around have been manageable, though I still find myself sneaking slivers morning, noon and night. Next time, a quarter recipe it will be—I’ll keep you posted. Happy Valentine’s Day, Lovebirds. Bake something delicious for yourselves. More desserts here.
As noted above, this is a half recipe. It still yields two thick, round cakes, which can be halved, iced, decorated, etc.
For Ben and me: chocolate ganache + chocolate shavings Kids’ cake: chocolate-whipped cream frosting (see notes in recipe ) + chocolate shavings. 4.7 from 20 reviews Notes: If you want to make a larger cake, you can make the original recipe. Find it here. Here, I’ve made a half recipe and baked it in two 6×2-inch round cake pans. You could also use one standard round or square cake pan (measuring about 10×2-inches). For the first time, too, instead of making my grandmother’s black velvet icing, which I love, but which is a little fussy (calling for eggs and one’s full attention), I made Gourmet’s chocolate ganache, which is delicious. Note: Even if you halve the recipe (as I have here), you may have leftover ganache. If so, let it cool so that it firms up a bit—you can do this at room temperature or in your fridge. Using a small scoop (melon-ball size), scoop the remaining ganache into balls and drop into a plate of sifted cocoa powder. Roll the balls to coat. Chill until ready to serve, but bring to room temperature before serving — truffles! For the chocolate whipped cream frosting (for the kids’ cake), see this recipe: Homemade Angel Food Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting
