Go to the Recipe: Ultimate Chocolate Cake
I remember that day clearly, even at this age. The one day I did not need to record my memories in the journal that I've dutifully kept every single day for 37 years since I was 73.
It was a rare sunny day in Seattle. The air was slightly hot with a density that weighed down on the skin like a warm blanket made of air-it would have been uncomfortable save for the continuous light, cool, salty breeze from Puget Sound. My favorite kind of weather.
I was 104 at the time, at that age, your bones start to hurt. A lot. That day was a particularly bad day for my arthritis. But I ignored it. I was happy. I was going to ChefSteps for some chocolate cake. I arrived, body aching, but spirits unbelievably high. The kitchen was everything I imagined it to be. Mountains and mountains of delicious food everywhere; the team happy and passionately doing their work. Grant was peering into the conche (perhaps making A. Orzaye fermented Dark Matter?), Nick was sitting on the couch eating some fried chicken, Karen was frozen, perpetually picking strawberries in the garden; perhaps she was dreaming of a certain foie gras recipe?
And then I saw it. A mountain of chocolate cake. 104 of them. They were meant to be shared for a big party, but they underestimated the size of my stomach-it's as large as the cosmos is wide. A few minutes later, the cakes were gone. As was my arthritis. As well as my wrinkles. I was 24 again and irresponsibly writing a weird story at work and there was still no cake to be seen.
But I was happy.
Far in the background (like in Singapore) a child wept quietly.
First, "daaaaaamn" is an understatement.
Second, I hope the music from the second half of the video makes it to Soundcloud. Because all of the funk.
On a more serious note, would Glycerol monostearate keep donuts from getting greasy/oily when frying?
hi guys
i live in mexico and i cant find buttermilk so how can replace this ingredient, or its better put some butter? Please help me!
Whoa!! I felt slightly dirty watching this. I now have weekend plans for a party, in my mouth.
Looks delicious. I'm curious as to why vodka in the simple syrup? It does not appear that your goal is a vodka-tasting cake; therefore, why vodka and not a coffee or other flavored liquor? Does vodka taste dissipate and the end result is simply moisture (if so, wouldn't the simple syrup without vodka have the same moistening effect)? :-)
There are a couple of references around about glycol monostearate being a banned substance by WADA - it might be worth confirming this and adding a warning note if true.
Amazing. In the food porn censor world, this would get an R-18 for sure.
Any substitutes for buttermilk? We don't have it in Brazil!
you can make your own buttermilk fairly easily! Put some live culture yogurt in some cream. Let it ferment like 10 days or something. Churn. Leftover whey is buttermilk! And now you have butter too.
Milk plus lemon juice.Add one tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup, and add enough milk until it measures 1 cup. Stir, and let sit for five minutes before using. This also works with non-dairy milks.
Add one tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup, and add enough milk until it measures 1 cup. Stir, and let sit for five minutes before using. This also works with non-dairy milks.
Is the salt ratio traditional? Some of the chef step dessert recipes tend to be on the salty side.
You can make buttermilk at home by combining milk with an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice. You can look online for the correct proportions, but it should work for this recipe.
Brown chicken, brown cow!
I've had varying success with souring my own milk, as buttermilk is unavailable/hard to come by in Sweden where I live. It worked perfectly fine as a marinade for fried chicken for instance, but not as good in Buttermilk Pancakes in which the commercial stuff seems to work better as it's a lot thicker, and adding more flour messes with the dry/liquid ingredient ratio. But if it works here I'm stoked!
Oh scratch what I said
You story just made my day....MY DAY!!!!
Hats off for Michael, Ladies and Gentlemen..hats off...show respect for the creative confounds and musings of a gifted thinker....
*In the background there was light and random clapping from few audience members startling the homeless guy awake who happened to be wearing his favorite hat that day. He too joined in, although not certain why.*
PS that cake looks boss. I'm gonna make it at a party and own it!
Ben says he's sad he's not in it!!
It is glycerol monostearate not glycol monostearate. They are not the same thing. GMS is a widely used food additive.
OMG!!! The second half of the video!!! Can not control the smile on my face.
Awesome looking recipe. Cannot wait to try it!
It would be great to get some tips on keeping bubbles out of the frosting. Your photos and video show quite a few, which is generally not desired. For a quick home recipe not a big deal, but I was always taught that the goal is to keep bubbles out of the frosting. The tricks I have found to keep the air out generally involve mixing slow while adding sugar, making enough at once to keep the frosting above the paddle, vibrating/shaking/tapping to encourage bubbles to get out, and pushing the bubbles up and out while the frosting down while piping. Any other tips on how to accomplish this would be amazing.
GMS was banned by WADA because it acts as a plasma expander. Plasma expanders can be used as drug-masking agents. WADA does not want people to mask the fact that they are using other banned substances, even if the item is otherwise innocuous. As a result WADA banned GMS and other plasma expanders.
Other than the WADA ban there does not appear to be data on GMS having a negative health impact, it is even listed as acceptable for children and pregnant women.
Vodka acts a preservative in the syrup. You generally are not going to refrigerate your cake and frosting, which means you should do something to keep bacteria from growing in it. One of the simplest ways to do this is by adding a splash of vodka to prevent spoilage. If you cannot use alcohol, then be sure to eat your cake faster or use a different relatively flavorless preservative!
-- Edited for clarity, I meant syrup, not frosting.
In the small town I live in in Malaysia, I can not find Dutch coco, even at the shop specifically for baking. Can regular cocoa be substituted? If so how? The cake looks ever so yummy.
OMG Michael, I LOVED this. That final image...arresting and haunting, but somehow sweet. Weeping with joy at the prospect of cake? Up to us.
This cake looks awesome! Would red wine work as my favorite booze for the syrup?
No idea if it'll work for this but I've used 3 parts yogurt to 1 part milk as a substitute for plenty of applications, cake and baked goods haven't been one of them though. But give it a try! I'm pretty sure it'll be different, but not necessarily bad.
Oh come on, The Ultimate Chocolate Cake is a sponge with buttercream??? What year is this, 1980?
I think it's from the How to Prep Geoduck video or something, pretty sure I've heard it before!
OMG --- Food Porn from the Dark Chocolate Web! Nice touch on the simple syrup; reminds me of soaking the lemon pound cake, great tip. And piping on the frosting is a nice tip as well. Leaves an even layer of goodness!
Check this out for giggles, as @Christopher Anderson stated: the substance in the recipe is glycol monostearate. Glycol monostearate is not on any WADA banned permanent, sport specific, or in-competition list. no warning needs to be issued. however, as they say in the recipe, as no one is forcing anyone to do anything on this website, it's the viewers' responsibility to ensure they aren't feeding people ingredients that could cause issues for them down the road. The WADA banned substance is glycerol monostearate. This is the masking agent.
There are 2 different substance that the abbreviation you're assigning: GMS could apply to. The banned substance is glycerol monostearate. The substance the recipe calls for is glycol monostearate.
If it works, it works, regardless of the year
They have a video on how to pipe or something along those lines!
Buttermilk is a byproduct of making your own butter. Very easy to make. Start with 1 Liter of crème fraîche. Let it sit at room temp until the crème fraîche warms to 10C (50f). Using a food processor, let it run on high until the crème fraîche whips into firm peaks. Now use the Pulse button until the whip separates into butter curds and the liquid byproduct : BUTTERMILK. This will take roughly 3 mins.
The butter will form small granules floating in the buttermilk. Line a large strainer with damp cheesecloth and set the strainer over a large bowl. Pour the mixture into the strainer and let drain. Alternatively, you can refrigerate the butter in its liquid for UP TO 48 HOURS to allow the flavor to develop.
Once most of the liquid has drained off, twist the top of the cheesecloth to contain the butter and gently squeeze it over the strainer to remove excess buttermilk. Once it seems dry, rinse it under cool running water, squeezing it gently, to remove any remaining buttermilk.
Transfer the butter to a cool cutting board or marble slab and knead gently. Wrap the butter tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 weeks.
The buttermilk can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Putting plants and animals over heat to make the calories more available? What year is this, 400,000BC?
HAHA "although not certain why"
Thanks, just trying have some fun!
Plot twist: It's Ben narrating!
Jk that's weak. Next one will feature Ben.
YES! I'm glad. It was weirdly fun to write.
Perhaps the baby was sad because the narrator ate all the cake? We'll never know but the possibilites are endless.
I'm from Malaysia too. Van Houten's cocoa powder is dutch processed.
What's the brand of the metal cake turner? Been looking for a decent one
Those little light bulb tips are awesome, keep 'em coming. The "why" part is often even more interesting than the "how".
What would be the best approach for us mere mortals who don't have three cake pans lying around? Can the whole batter be dumped into one pan with baking time adjusted or would it be better to use the same pan three times (and if so, store the remaining batter in fridge or counter)?
Also I wonder what would happen if you'd use a siphon for the frosting... 3ft tall cake or a disaster.
How does the GMS help when you've already got 150g of egg, packed with lecithin and other emulsifiers?
One thing that don't understand. How do you know how much of a particular ingredient to use. Especially with an ingredient like glycerol monostearate. Why do you use 11g why not 12 or 10. Are they ratios or something or is it all just found by experimenting? Or both?
Pretty much all cacao/cocoa powder is dutched. Quite hard to find stuff that isn't.
Hi World, as said in the ingredients pop-up Cake Flour (bleached) is not available in the EU. I've read we can make an alternative by using plain flour and substituting some with corn flour. My question is - does Cake Flour also contain raising agents? Cheers.
I would agree with you. For this quantity, I would use 5g of salt rather than 15g stated in the recipe.
Also, I don't know if this is an American thing, but the amount of sugar in the recipe seems excessive and I would suggest it would be better with more cocoa and less sugar. Personally, I would alter the dry quantities given above to sugar 490g, flour 490g, cocoa 190g rather than the recipe's figures of sugar 620g, flour 420g, cocoa 130g.
Also, don't forget that you are also coating the cake with sugar syrup as well which has a very high sugar content.
Perhaps it is an American thing, but I really am surprised about the amount of sugar going in to this recipe. There are plenty of other methods of keeping a cake moist rather than coating it with sugar syrup.
Hi. Cake flour is low in protein (gluten) and gives a more delicate texture to cakes than all-purpose flour. There's no raising agents in cake flour.You can also find it in the EU, for example if you order flour directly from mills or special baking shops. In many cases it'll also be fine to use regular flour and add some starch (e.g. corn flour).
First I did not say anything is banned, I simply said Glycerol Monostearate is a very commonly used food additive. Secondly the recipe actually does call for Glycerol Monostearate. Perhaps it is time for a new pair of reading glasses. Finally who cares about WADA? Are there a bunch of professional athletes eating home made chocolate cakes and subsequently failing their drug tests.
Not all emulsifiers are the same. GMS is proven to add body and prevent staling in baked goods, even those that contain eggs.
I too thought the sugar amount was exceedingly high. I prefer my desserts less sweet personally and American stuff seems to be over sweet. However sugar plays a big role in how the batter turns out so maybe there's a reason for it (?) Still, at almost a 2-3 ratio flour to sugar and with more added I would imagine it'd be cloyingly sweet .
I've seen several folks write that they cannot get buttermilk in their areas. If you can get whole, unprocessed milk, you can make your own. You'll need a gallon-sized container (empty milk jug? Commercial-sized mayonnaise jar?) with a screw-on lid. Find a farm somewhere and buy a half-gallon of raw milk--not pasteurized, not homogenized--straight from the cow. Let it sit on the kitchen table until it "clabbers," i.e., until it looks like the stuff you'd make cottage cheese with. When you tilt the container, the milk appears semi-fluid and shows small cracks in the surface. This takes about 24 hours in a temperate environment (70°F/20°C).
Now, sit down and churn it. Just put the lid on firmly, turn the vessel horizontal, and waggle it back and forth across your leg at about march time. (Just sing "God Save The Queen," with the lid of the jar coming down on each beat.) Pretty soon, you'll start seeing little fingernail-sized gobs of butter floating on top of the white liquid. Keep churning. This takes about 30 minutes, maybe more.
When churned, remove the butter with a slotted spoon. Save it. Salt it if you wish. Use and store it like you would, um, butter.
What remains in the jug is buttermilk. It's full of bacteria, some of which can kill you. So go to Google and read up on pasteurization. Set your sous vide outfit to the proper temp (should be about 145-150°F/63-65°C), bag your buttermilk in zipper-top freezer bags, and put it in the sous vide bath. Don't bring the bath to temp before putting the bags in. Instead, let the sous vide bath bring the water and the buttermilk to temp. Hold at your selected temp for 30 minutes. If you aren't sure, give it another 15 minutes. Return to clean container, store in the refrigerator as you would any other perishable.
Good for recipes, drinking, or for mixing leftover cornbread with. That's how Granny used to make it. She didn't have a pasteurization setup, so we drank it raw. As far as I can remember, it didn't kill me. YMMV, though, so pasteurize it.
Wow from Italy! Not so easily made at home, but definitely an inspiring cake... I love you :-)
That perfectly engineered cake and then a sad American-style frosting to accompany it? *tsk*
Its a new age Ateco. http://www.amazon.com/Ateco-613-Revolving-Cake-Stand/dp/B00099I15I/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1454602828&sr=8-8&keywords=revolving+cake+stand
Cocoa powder should be counted in a ratio calculation here along with flour as it acts as a drying and structuring agent as flour does. Really the sugar content of this batter isn't out of the ordinary for cake at ~90% dry to sugar.
It's all testing. Ben's been testing and refining this recipe for several months—he plays with different quantities of different ingredients until he lands on the formula that he (and most of us in the office) likes best.
You can cook it all in one large pan-- your cook time will be longer, but as long as you still reach the core temperature of 205 F, you'll get a similar outcome. You could also definitely just bake each layer one at a time, if you have the patience to do so! You want each layer to cool off before you stack and frost them anyway, so as long as you're not baking each layer over several days you'll be fine! (Or you could borrow a couple cake pans from your neighbors? )
Glad you like the lightbulb tips! Thanks!
Here's a quick little video on piping with no air bubbles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0ZXPtjjezQ
But lots of the tips you mentioned above will work great!
I want to be a guinea pig too T.T
Also the story died. Idk what happened.
What remains in the jug used to be known as buttermilk. It's know known as traditional buttermilk; what the recipe calls for is cultured buttermilk.
I'm a ganache fan myself, Timmy. Feel free to use that or icing instead, of course.
Wow Jim, thanks for this. Great stuff.
I see the vodka being used in the simple syrup, not the frosting. Not sure how that helps preserve the frosting at room temp, unless you're claiming it migrates to the frosting from the cake? I think not!
@Tatu This recipe: http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/07/smores-cake-ideas-in-food-marshmallow-chocolate-dulce-de-leche-dessert.html yields one 3 layer 9 inch round cake, and is cooked in a single half sheet pan for 30 minutes at 350, prolly a good place to start.
If that video isn't food porn, I don't know what is.... Great job!
Here is my slice worth of a tip:
Step 11: If there’s a large dome or “crater rim” on a layer,
you can shave it off with a long, serrated knife...
If you take a length of sewing thread, (or new fishing line or unwaxed unscented floss) and wrap it once around your cake, give the ends a gentle pull and your cake will perfectly slice horizontally. The great part of this is it is quick easy and relatively crumb free. After all you don't want crumby frosting. Also no need for a long knife.
Stacked embroidery hoops make good cutting guides.
I would bake in a sheet pan as suggested by Joe. Batters that get their leavening by the acid/base reaction of the buttermilk and baking soda don't tend to hold very well as they react immediately when mixed. The baking powder in the recipe helps as it's double acting, but you probably won't get the same amount of leavening after the first bake.
Will the product work for GMS? LiveLong Nutrition Glycerol Monostearate Supplement, 3.5 Ounce
Can we replace the Canola Oil with Butter? If so, what amount of butter and should we reduce the water in the batter?
Thanks for the info. It doesn't specify that on the package as I am used to from the US.
I would think so. Depending on where you live, butter is around 80 to 85 percent oil, with the rest being water and milk solids. So you might try 425 g butter and reduce the amount of water by 85 g. But the easiest method would probably be to clarify the butter and use that to replace the oil.
What's the significance of the Vodka in the syrup? Cheers! Great job!
Made this yesterday. BEST DAMN CHOCOLATE CAKE EVER, PERIOD.
It is so dark I kept expecting to see an event horizon somewhere near it. And the taste and texture is outstanding.
Didn't use the GMS either.
Kudos to ChefSteps for this recipe!
I agree. I've always found heavy butter and sugar frosting to be incredibly overwhelming. I'm a huge fan of the lighter, whipped cream frostings. Would love if Chefsteps would have an alternative frosting recipe!
event horizon! LOL best comment ever!
Hi Alex! It primarily functions to make it less sweet, but it is absolutely optional!
I'm guessing in addition to flavor/taste, the syrup makes for a glue?
You sir, are a true connoisseur
Yep.
Robert: Good catch. I meant syrup not frosting. This is what I get for posting while tired.
According to Stella Parks at Serious Eats kefir is the best substitute for buttermilk in baked recipes - much better than acidified milks. https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/04/how-to-substitute-buttermilk.html
