Chocolate Cake with Brown Butter Frosting
Servings: 12
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 8 ounces (2 sticks; 226 grams) unsalted butter softened
- 14 ounces (2 cups; 400 grams) white sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 ¼ cups (280 grams) brewed coffee room temperature
- 1 cup (250 grams) sour cream full-fat and at room-temperature
- 2 ½ cups, spooned (342 grams) all-purpose flour unbleached
- 1 cup (114 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (3 ½ g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt if using table salt, use about half as much by volume or the same weight
Brown Butter Frosting
- 16 ounces (4 sticks, 452 grams) unsalted butter
- 6 ⅔ cup (832 grams) powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ vanilla bean seeds scraped (or another 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
Brown Butter (for frosting)
- In a 4-6 quart stainless steel saucier (or any medium/large-sized high-sided saucepan), completely melt the butter over medium-low heat. Increase to medium and simmer, stirring with a heat-resistant spatula while the butter hisses and pops. Continue cooking and stirring, scraping up any brown bits that form along the bottom of the pan -- it is important to actively scrape up the milk solids that brown so none of them burn-- until the butter is golden-yellow and perfectly silent. This takes much longer than most recipes state, especially with this much butter; it will likely take at least 20 minutes. Pour into a heat-safe measuring cup, along with all the toasty brown bits, and set aside until ready to make the frosting, or cover and refrigerate up to 1 week; gently melt (until room temperature) before using.
Chocolate Cake
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 350°F (180°C). Lightly grease two 9-inch anodized aluminum cake pans and line with parchment. If you don’t have two 9-inch pans, it’s okay to bake the cakes in 8-inch pans instead.
- Add the softened butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low to moisten, then increase to medium and beat until thick and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl, then add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl after each addition and mixing a medium speed until well-combined. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix at low speed until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl well, ensuring the batter is cohesively mixed.
- In a medium, high-sided bowl, whisk the room-temperature sour cream and coffee together (careful - this splashes!).
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Ensure you've broken up any large clumps with your whisk, or use a sifter if you prefer.
- Add the dry ingredients and the coffee-cream mixture to the mixing bowl in alternate stages on medium-low speed, starting with ⅓ the flour, ½ the coffee-cream, another ⅓ flour, the remaining ½ coffee-cream, and then ending with the last ⅓ flour. After each addition, scrape the bowl well. After the final addition, increase the speed to medium and mix for 1 minute, until the batter is fluffy, smooth, and glossy.
- Divide batter between the prepared cake pans, about ~900 grams each. Bake until cakes they dome slightly and a toothpick comes out clean, about 40 minutes total, rotating them halfway through. The sides should be just starting to pull away from the cake pans.
- Cool cakes directly in their pans for 1 hour, then run a butter knife around the edges to loosen. Invert onto a wire rack, peel off the parchment, and return cakes right side up (covered in plastic, the cakes can be left at room temperature for a few hours). Prepare the brown butter frosting.
Brown Butter Frosting
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the room temperature browned butter on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar in three additions, scraping the bowl well after beating each addition for about 30 seconds. After the second addition, the frosting mixture will likely look very dry and crumbly. Add the vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds (if using), salt, and whole milk to the beaten frosting. Beat on medium speed until mostly incorporated, then add the remaining third of powdered sugar.
- Scrape down the bowl and replace the paddle attachment with a whisk. With the mixer running on low, add the cream very slowly, pausing every 5-10 seconds to scrape down the bowl, until it is fully combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and whisk until light and completely smooth, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary (at least several times) Do not short-change the time you give to this step – the frosting should visibly thicken and lighten in color during this time.
Assembly
- If your cakes domed in the oven, level the tops. (This gives you lots of sampler pieces.)
- To assemble the cake, place one layer of the chocolate cake on a serving platter. Top with a generous 1 cup of the brown butter frosting (or ½ of the frosting if you’re making a naked cake). Spread evenly over the surface, then top with the second layer of chocolate cake.
- Crumb coat the top and sides with a thin layer of frosting, then refrigerate for 10-15 minutes to "set". Finish frosting the top and sides (or just fully frost the top) with the remaining brown butter frosting.
- Chill for 30 min to fully set the cake and frosting before trying to transport this cake! If you aren't transporting this cake, it's still wise to chill before serving to help with meticulous slices. Because the frosting has a cream base, store any uneaten cake in the fridge, letting it come to room temperature before serving.