Light & Airy Chocolate Cake
This light and airy chocolate cake is perfect with a chocolate buttercream frosting, a coffee buttercream frosting, or sweetened whipped cream. It has a rich cocoa flavor, with an underlying hint of espresso. It's also fun to put a thin spread of seedless raspberry preserve between the layers, particularly if you are choosing the chocolate buttercream. The lightness comes from incorporating air in both the initial blending of sugar with butter, oil and egg yolks, and the secondary lightness from the egg white meringue. Remember, the lightness of the sugar/butter/egg mixture is made possible by all the ingredients being at room temperature, and beating the mixture for several minutes. Adding cold eggs or cold half & half will greatly diminish the rise and airiness of the layers.
Equipment
- two 8" cake pans
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar (260g)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (114g)
- 1 cup vegetable oil (227ml)
- 1 cup half & half(237ml)
- 3 large grade A egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (4.3g)
- 2 1/2 cup unbleached cake flour (300g)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (42g)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder (6g)
- 1/2 tsp salt (3g)
- 2 tsp instant espresso powder (5g)
- 3 large grade A egg whites
- 1/4 cup sugar (50g) (for the egg whites)
Instructions
THE PREPARATION
- 1. Line two 8" cake pans with parchment paper and lightly butter the sides of the pan2. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees for Convection and 350 degrees for standard bake.3. Set out the butter, eggs and half & half ahead of time, so these three ingredients can come to room temperature. If you keep your vegetable oil in the refrigerator, make certain that is also at room temperature.4. Using a sifter or fine mesh strainer, sift all of the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, salt, instant espresso - and set that aside.
THE MIXING
- Place the sugar, the room temperature butter and oil in the bowl of your mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. . Now add the room temperature eggs yolks, one at a time, completely absorbing each before adding the next. Switch to high speed and beat for another 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture is light and airy.
- Add the half & half and vanilla extract and mix at low speed (to avoid splashing).
- Scoop the sifted dry ingredients into the cake batter and mix at low speed until completely combined. Avoid over mixing. Pour the batter into a large mixing bowl.
- Wash and dry the bowl of your mixer, add the egg whites. Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment and turn on to medium high speed. Beat the egg whites until they start to foam, then slowly add the 1/4 cup of sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks are formed.
- Scoop 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the cake batter, and stir to lighten the mixture. Now, add another 1/3, and gently and quickly fold into the batter. Once folded in, repeat with the remaining 1/3. Not to worry if there are a few remaining streaks of the egg whites. It's preferable to over mixing the batter.
- Divide the batter equally between your two 8" prepared cake pans. Gently smooth the tops to evenly distribute. Bake on the center rack of your preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. When baked, the layers should spring back from a light touch to the center.
- Allow the layers to cool for 20 minutes, then run a knife along the outer rim, and invert the layers on to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting. At this point, you may also wrap each layer in plastic wrap, place each in a zip lock freezer bag and freeze up to one month.