Flo Braker's Chocolate Buttermilk Cake
August 16, 2012 I recently made my husband an amazing Chocolate Buttermilk Cake for his birthday. The recipe is from Flo Braker, one of my favorite baking authorities. I first discovered it in The San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook Volume II many years ago, but it is sadly out of print. You can still find copies of it on Amazon.
As one of my standby recipes, many friends have asked me to make this showstopper for them. It's such a festive layer cake for any occasion - I recommend using the best chocolate you can find. I got permission from Chronicle Books to feature the recipe, so it's all retyped below. Please let me know your thoughts if you decide to make it!
Credit: Tami Yu, feteafete.com
Chocolate Buttermilk Cake - By Flo Braker
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 cup buttermilk
Chocolate Buttermilk Frosting (recipe follows)
Have all ingredients at room temperature. Adjust the rack to the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a bowl; set aside.
Using an electric mixer, preferably with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, then the chocolate. Beat in the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
Spoon equal amounts of batter into each cake pan, spreading it to level the top.
Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cakes. Cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert and remove pans; cool the cakes completely on racks before frosting. Spread the frosting between the layers, around the sides and on top of the cake. Serves 10.
Chocolate Buttermilk Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
3 tablespoons buttermilk
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
Using an electric mixer, beat together the sugar, salt and butter in a bowl. Slowly add the buttermilk, mixing well until well blended and smooth. Blend in the chocolate and vanilla.
If the frosting is too runny, add more powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; if too thick, add more buttermilk, 1 teaspoon at a time to achieve a spreading consistency. Frosts two 8- or 9-inch cake layers.
Recipe reprinted with permission from Chronicle Books.
Reader Comments (3)