The Great Scratch-Off...chocolate Cakes!
Decorating By artscallion Updated 18 Aug 2009 , 11:22pm by CakesByLJ
I, too, always add coffee to my chocolate cakes. You cannot taste the coffee. Even people that HATE coffee do not notice it one bit. It just makes the cake taste richer and chocolate-ier....ha ha....
You can do your own taste test. Make the same recipe 2x, once with the called for coffee and once with the same amt of water instead. You will really notice the taste difference.
You can always use decaf, like dkelly siad, if you like, and if you really don't want to add coffee, just sub in an equal amt of water......... but it won't taste as good as mine. 
Oh grrr! 
I'm having a really hard time attaching those photos! I've tried a bunch of times. I'm not sure if it's me or my internet. We have satellite and don't let anyone tell you it's better. I'll try again and if it doesn't work maybe I can post it to galleries and give you a link.
dkelly, I baked Sylvia Weinstock's Chocolate Fudge Cake at 300 degrees just like the recipe said.
I have to try it again. I am a perfectionist and I can't let this stop me. I will put less batter in the pan, put in a core and bake it longer.
Funny, turned out of the pan (upside down) it looks perfect! I could ice it that way and you wouldn't know until you cut into the cake.
I know what I was doing wrong... I needed to compress the photos. 2MB max... mine were 2.5! 
dkelly, I baked Sylvia Weinstock's Chocolate Fudge Cake at 300 degrees just like the recipe said.
I have to try it again. I am a perfectionist and I can't let this stop me. I will put less batter in the pan, put in a core and bake it longer.
Funny, turned out of the pan (upside down) it looks perfect! I could ice it that way and you wouldn't know until you cut into the cake.
OK great thanks..........I had forgotten that the recipe recommended it be baked at 300 deg. I know how you feel, I hate when something doesn't turn out the way I want it to. Especially when it's costly as this cake is.
Why don't you try the flower nail trick in the center -- that should help some with the dipping and you won't have to fuss with a cake plug.
I have used the flower nail trick twice before (thanks to the tip of another CC'er!) and had pretty good success with it. Only I learned to poke the nail through the parchment paper from the bottom b/c the first time I set it on top and it fell over and I had to pull it out of the cake sideways! 
It turned out not to be a huge deal but I'll do it the right way from now on. 
I have used the flower nail trick twice before (thanks to the tip of another CC'er!) and had pretty good success with it. Only I learned to poke the nail through the parchment paper from the bottom b/c the first time I set it on top and it fell over and I had to pull it out of the cake sideways!
It turned out not to be a huge deal but I'll do it the right way from now on.
Thanks for the tip, CountryCakery4! I've only used the heating core for large cakes but I'll try the flower nail-through-parchment trick next time.
If it is not too late, I would like to try the Giant Chocolate Cake.
Tracy
SCW Fudge Brownie(original/egullet) - artscallion/notapro
Planet Cakes Chocolate Mud - artscallion/ahuvas / AKA_cupcakeshoppe
Wicked Wanda's(AKA Hershys/black magic/deep dark choc) - GATUPR /Echooo3
Deluxe Chocolate Cake (Softasilk) - GATUPR / vicki3336
Chocolate Coke- notapro/moreCakePlz
Giant Chocolate - moreCakePlz/ mommytmk
maryjsgirl's Double Chocolate Layer-jaefamous
Toba Garett, Chocolate fudge - Lita829/notapro countrycakery4/ vicki3336
Sylvia Weinstock's Chocolate Fudge - Lita829/notapro/dkelly/jaefamous/ Echooo3
Whimsical Bakehouse's Chocolate Butter - ahuvas/dkelly/
Guinness Stout Chocolate countrycakery4/ mkolmar
Lily's Chocolate - artscallion/mkolmar
Kerry Vincents Decadent Dirt Cake - mkolmar
dkelly, I baked Sylvia Weinstock's Chocolate Fudge Cake at 300 degrees just like the recipe said.
I have to try it again. I am a perfectionist and I can't let this stop me. I will put less batter in the pan, put in a core and bake it longer.
Funny, turned out of the pan (upside down) it looks perfect! I could ice it that way and you wouldn't know until you cut into the cake.
Other than that temporary cake disaster, how did it taste?
Wow no one is signing up for the double chocolate layer cake??? You guys are really missing out. It is one of the top rated recipes over on Epicurious. It has over a thousand reviews with a four fork rating.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Double-Chocolate-Layer-Cake-101275
Oh well, I will be making it tomorrow for an order so I will be posting a review.
Giraffe, I can truly taste the coffee in recipes. It gives cakes almost a burnt taste to me, it grosses me out. When making it for my family I do not add the coffee and for customers I only use half of the instant coffee crystals.
Giraffe, I can truly taste the coffee in recipes. It gives cakes almost a burnt taste to me, it grosses me out. When making it for my family I do not add the coffee and for customers I only use half of the instant coffee crystals.
I wouldn't recommend using instant coffee only the real brewed thing. As a coffee drinker I don't even consider instant coffee to be coffee. Try brewed it's not as "artificially strong" as instant.
I haven't signed up for this but I just had to say that today was the second time I made the SW Chocolate Fudge cake and AGAIN it was so dry. I know many people who love this cake so I must be doing something wrong.
I haven't made her chocolate fudge cake but I have made her yellow cake with that same problem. Unfortunately that seems to be the common complaint with her recipes.
maryjsgirl, I love that recipe.....I had printed it off of epicurious long ago, but don't usually make it. It seems a little pricey to me. Pricey, but tasty!
I still haven't figured out if I will make a chocolate cake scratch-off cake. I am studying for the MCATs which are August 5th. I have to bake cupcakes tomorrow for my son's 2nd birthday on Tuesday, but I'm not sure I'll be baking anything else this month. I've been using my study breaks to surf the net. Next month I'm in the clear for baking up a storm!
maryjsgirl, I have baked that recipe a couple of times. the first time it was awesome but the second time i don't remember what happened but I decided to keep looking for a chocolate cake recipe. The one I use (Wanda's) is cheaper to make but tastes good. I haven't found someone who doesn't like it yet.
Alright I am being bad and not following the rules, but I made the Black Magic Cake. I was out of chocolate so I wanted something that just called for cocoa.
I am very pleased with this recipe! So far I think I will be converting to it.
The recipe was super simple. No melting chocolate. No creaming. It is also cheap since there is no real chocolate or butter.
I made cupcakes and they baked up nicely with a slight dome.
Of course I can't comment on carving or cutting due to this.
I really liked the flavor and texture of this cake. It has a nice fudginess to it and is quite moist. My husband said that it was his favorite chocolate cake to date. He really liked the flavor of it. I hadn't even told him I tried a new recipe, he just knew. When I delivered the cupcakes to my customer she commented on how good they smelled and that she could actually smell the chocolate. I am not too into chocolate cake, but I ate my entire cupcake.
Sorry, I have no pics they were ate before I thought about it.
I will give the recipe a 9 out of 10.
That has been my only chocolate cake for years. It is so completely no-fail! But I am still kinda hoping that the results of this scratch-off will get me to try something new......just for the novelty of it. Then again, you are right. It is less expensive to make than many, so maybe I'll have to keep it.
Arrgh, I haven't been getting notifications since last Thursday! 
I want to do 2 cakes but will prob. only have time for one until after I make my daughter's bd cake in early August. Now I am going to go catch up on 4 pages of posts and see what cake still needs to be baked 
giraffe11, is the Black Magic cake exactly the same as the Wicked Wanda cake?
Black magic has 1.3 oz more oil.....
Wanda's calls for 1/3 c
Black Magic calls for 1/2 c
That is the only difference.
Given that difference (slight though it may be) are there any opinions on which is better? My curiosity is definitely piqued on this one!!
I don't know. I assume the Wicked Wanda variation was an attempt to make the cake less moist. (or maybe just save some calories? but why would you bother? 
)
Sometimes it is so moist it is almost wet (not quite, but almost). However, one of the things I like about the black Magic cake is that it is nearly impossible to overbake. And yes, I have baked it too long a few times, just by accident, but it still always comes out great.....moist and tasty. So....I wonder if the extra tiny bit of oil gives me a bigger buffer zone for baking time......
If that's the case then that's a very good point! I have overbaked my choc,. cakes on several occasions b/c I have a hard time gauging what an appropriately baked choc. cake looks like. 
I find it's different than a white or yellow cake. Possibly b/c of the denseness? But at the end of the prescribed baking time they always seem a little jiggly still. Then I worry that it'll fall if I take it out now, then I let it bake for like 10 or so more minutes (sometimes even more!) then I find it's dry. Long story short: any tips on what a choc. should look like when it's done? (aside from the clean skewer or toothpick of course) I would probably bake more chocolate cake if I felt confident that I wasn't going to dry it out!!!
[quote="maryjsgirl"]Alright I am being bad and not following the rules, but I made the Black Magic Cake. I was out of chocolate so I wanted something that just called for cocoa.
maryjsgirl. I was just curious if you could taste the coffee in this recipe? I read earlier that you did not like coffee. I do not either and have been scared to try it in a chocolate cake. I just wanted to get you opinion. TIA.
[quote="dhccster"]
Alright I am being bad and not following the rules, but I made the Black Magic Cake. I was out of chocolate so I wanted something that just called for cocoa.
maryjsgirl. I was just curious if you could taste the coffee in this recipe? I read earlier that you did not like coffee. I do not either and have been scared to try it in a chocolate cake. I just wanted to get you opinion. TIA.
In the epicurious recipe I posted I made a cup of coffee with instant crystals and yes I could taste it. I've been told by coffee drinking members here that it may be the instant coffee's fault though.
When I made the Black Magic cake I used half the crystals called for to make a cup of coffee and I couldn't taste it.
If that's the case then that's a very good point! I have overbaked my choc,. cakes on several occasions b/c I have a hard time gauging what an appropriately baked choc. cake looks like.
I find it's different than a white or yellow cake. Possibly b/c of the denseness? But at the end of the prescribed baking time they always seem a little jiggly still. Then I worry that it'll fall if I take it out now, then I let it bake for like 10 or so more minutes (sometimes even more!) then I find it's dry. Long story short: any tips on what a choc. should look like when it's done? (aside from the clean skewer or toothpick of course) I would probably bake more chocolate cake if I felt confident that I wasn't going to dry it out!!!
I don't go by toothpicks or looks, but by touch. I lightly touch the top. When there is still the slightest "mush" to the top and it's not sticky I take my cake out. In my opinion if the cake is springy when you take it out, it's overcooked. Remember that your cake will still bake for a couple of minutes after you take it out of the oven.
I kind of know by touch how many more minutes things have to cook.
I am not a coffee drinker, but still can not taste the coffee in the cake. I usually use brewed coffee, but sometimes use instant crytals too.
I get my caffeine from Diet Coke! (bad, I know) and sometimes tea.....oh, and chocolate! 
I never did like the taste of coffee.
[quote="maryjsgirl"]
Alright I am being bad and not following the rules, but I made the Black Magic Cake. I was out of chocolate so I wanted something that just called for cocoa.
maryjsgirl. I was just curious if you could taste the coffee in this recipe? I read earlier that you did not like coffee. I do not either and have been scared to try it in a chocolate cake. I just wanted to get you opinion. TIA.
In the epicurious recipe I posted I made a cup of coffee with instant crystals and yes I could taste it. I've been told by coffee drinking members here that it may be the instant coffee's fault though.
When I made the Black Magic cake I used half the crystals called for to make a cup of coffee and I couldn't taste it.
Thank you! i have never even made a cup of coffee. 
My husband drinks it at work, so i will get him to make some at home! Thanks again!
CountryCakery4: I found this information online. The normal internal temperature of a cake when done is between 195F and 205F.
I have never tried this method but if you are not sure when your cakes are done it might help using an instant read thermometer.
I think you should aim for the 195F, since like maryjsgirl said it will continue to cook for a few minutes once out of the oven.
I will try it with the cakes I am baking and let you know if it works.
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