Bella Riccioli

The MASTERPIECE!

The BAKER

STEP ONE

The Batter

ALL BAKED!!!

In celebration for my roommates 20th birthday I made an Oreo Chocolate cake! she has yet to get a chance to eat it but I am sure she will soon.. All the time and love that went into this cake was meant for someone special! Literally a 5 hour+ cake! All done by hand and all homemade! Please try! So so so worth it!

It combines a bunch of different recipes that I have tweaked (as always) to make it my own!

Martha Stewart's Devil's Food Cake:

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pans
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, plus more for pans
1/2 cup hot coffee
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange two racks in center of oven. Butter three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans; line bottoms with parchment. Dust bottoms and sides of pans with cocoa powder; tap out any excess. Sift cocoa into a medium bowl, and whisk in boiling water. Set aside to cool.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on low speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down sides twice. Beat in vanilla. Drizzle in eggs, a little at a time, beating between each addition until the batter is no longer slick, scraping down the sides twice.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk milk into reserved cocoa mixture. With mixer on low speed, alternately add flour and cocoa mixtures to the batter, a little of each at a time, starting and ending with flour mixture.
Divide batter evenly among the three prepared pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center of each layer comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes, rotating the pans for even baking. Transfer layers to wire racks; let cool, 15 minutes. Turn out cakes, and return to racks, tops up, until completely cool.
Remove parchment from bottoms of cakes. Reserve the prettiest layer for the top. Place one cake layer on a serving platter; spread 1 1/2 cups chocolate frosting over the top. Add the second cake layer, and spread with another 1 1/2 cups frosting. Top with third cake layer. Cover outside of cake with the remaining 3 cups frosting. Serve.

Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups butter, at room temperature (4 sticks)*
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
6 Tbsp heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract (use clear if desired)

Directions:
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, using the paddle or whisk attachment whip butter on medium high speed until nearly white and very fluffy, about 7 - 8 minutes, frequently scrapping down the sides of the bowl. Add in powdered sugar, heavy cream and vanilla extract and mix on low speed until blended, then increase speed to medium and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 - 6 minutes, frequently scraping down the sides of the bowl. Immediately spread over cooled cake or cupcakes.

Note: if you want an alternate flavor of frosting, coconut or almond extract would be a great substitute for the vanilla extract, just add it to taste.

FATTY WANTS SOME CAKE

Ganache

1 c heavy cream

1/4 c butter

1 cup dark or semisweet chocolate

For the ganache:

Heat cream and butter in a saucepan until melted and remove before it starts to boil.
Place chocolate morsels in a small bowl and pour cream on top. Let sit for a few seconds and whisk by hand until completely incorporated and smooth.
Let cool until thick and pourable.
The ganache can take a bit to thicken. You can make it before the buttercream, to save time. Just use a wire whisk to stir it every few minutes and keep it smooth