Chocolate Cake And Chocolate Buttercream
Instructions
Some people use parchment paper to line the bottoms of their pans, but I've always used wax paper. This cake for some reason ALWAYS sticks to the bottom, right in the middle, no matter how well I grease the pans. The wax paper keeps this from happening.
You really don't need to sift to make this cake soft or fluffy, but I tend to have lumps from either the flour, or the cocoa powder, sometimes even the sugar.
I LOVE those candy bottles, I currently use them for corn syrup, oil, and vinegar, no drips, they're wonderful! And yes of course, they are all labelled so there's no confusion :D
I've used coffee in place of the boiling water with some REALLY delicious results. I recommend a flavored coffee, something that would complement the chocolate. And actually, the hot liquid part is why I like to do it by hand, sometimes I'll use a mixer up to that point, otherwise it splashes back out.
To melt the chocolate I put a glass (you could also use metal) bowl over a little pot with water in it, let the water come to a boil, then turn the heat down. You don't want to let the water boil at a really high heat, then there's the chance of some of the steam getting into your chocolate. Melting chocolate seizes when it comes into contact with water. Also don't let your chocolate cool past room temp, you'll end up wih chunks of chocolate in your buttercream. I actually have had this happen to me so now I pour it in while it's a tad warm.
I actually used 1/2 and 1/2 as my liquid, but you can use heavy/whipping cream, light cream or whole milk, just keep an eye on your consistency.
