Yesterday I got the new issue of Bon Appetit. I flipped through it, dog-eared some of the pages with recipes I'd like to try. They have some good Passover ones I want to try. Thank goodness Passover is after we've moved into our new place. There was an article towards the end about cakes. I thought I wouldn't be terribly interested, since I haven't been feeling cakes lately, but oops. There was a picture of a chocolate cake. A dark, moist, chocolatey cake. It almost blends in with the black background it's set against. Check it out here (although on the website the cake is set against a blue background). I had already started making the cake before I even realized it was a coffee-chocolate cake. I didn't even read what it was called. I didn't care. I needed, needed, that dark chocolate cake. I'm glad I did. I do wish that I had halved the recipe, because this is a huge cake. I made it partly because I needed to, but partly because I'm having friends over for dinner and I like to make cakes when people are coming over. Looking for contest winners? Don't worry, I announced them in the previous post!
Anyone live in the Philadelphia are and want to meet me for coffee and a big hunk of this cake? I don't think I should eat it all. And we certainly won't be eating it all tomorrow at dinner. Leave me a comment if you're interested.
Back to the cake. The finished product looked a bit different from the picture in the magazine. Yes, the cake was dark and rich and moist, just as I'd imagined, but my frosting was light. It was tan. By no stretch of the imagination was it dark, dark brown. Who cares, because it was delicious. I did change it a bit, since I only had one container of mascarpone, but I had to stop myself from eating the frosting by the spoonful. Alex, who's not a big dessert guy, went back for seconds. This is rare. 
Coffee-chocolate cake
Coffee-chocolate cakeFrom Bon Appetit, April 2009.
2 c flour mix
1/2 t xanthan gum
3/4 c cocoa powder
1 1/2 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
2 c packed brown sugar
3 eggs
2 t vanilla
1 c butter milk (I used 1 c milk + 1 t vinegar)
3/4 c very strong coffee
Preheat oven to 325. Grease two 8" round pans (I guess you can use square) and lightly coat with rice flour. In a medium bowl, combine flour mix, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside. Beat butter until softened, then beat in the brown sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Add dry ingredients, alternating with the milk in 3 additions, starting and ending with the milk. Mix only until combined, then add coffee and mix. Divide batter evenly between pans. Bake 35-40 minutes, rotating once. Let cakes cool, then remove from pans.
Mocha whipped frosting
Mocha whipped frosting1/3 c cocoa powder
1 T espresso powder (I used very finely ground strong coffee)
2 c chilled heavy cream
1 c sugar
1 t vanilla
1 8-oz container of mascarpone cheese
Combine cocoa powder and espresso in a small bowl. Heat 1 c cream gently until it just starts to boil, then pour over the cocoa. Stir the hot cream into the cocoa, then add the rest of the cream. Cool an hour or two. Add the mascarpone and mix until well combined, then beat on medium-high with a hand mixer or stand mixer (I love my Kitchenaid) until fairly stiff peaks form (don't overbeat!).
Spread a generous amount of frosting on one layer of cake. Chill 10 minutes, then place the second cake on top. Frost top and sides generously with frosting (you'll have a ton), then chill 10 more minutes. Slop the remaining frosting on top, spread around artistically (if you can, that's not totally my thing), and serve.
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