My Chocolate “Touchdown” Cake
My Chocolate "Touchdown" Cake
It's Super Bowl Sunday! When it comes to the food, there's so much focus on the appetizers and savory food and I find that people end up going store bought for the dessert. Not only are store bought desserts laden with sugar, they often lack flavor. They look pretty and that's about it. This Chocolate Football Cake, aka my "Touchdown" cake is definitely very festive. Shaping it is very easy, you bake the cake in a round pan, and then cut out an inch of the center (reserve for eating, of course), and then push the two halves together to get a perfect football shaped cake! By now you know I don't like using water in recipes (for the most part) since water dilutes flavor. Instead I use very hot freshly brewed coffee as the liquid. Also, I make buttermilk (rather than buying a large container and wasting most of it). What makes this recipe "just right" are the additions of the freshly brewed coffee and espresso powder (which enhance the chocolate flavor) and the homemade buttermilk (which provides a great texture to the cake).
Equipment
- 1 round cake pan 8" or 9"
- unbleached parchment paper
- large bowl
- medium bowl
- whisk
- sift / sieve / fine mesh strainer
- wire rack
- stand or hand mixer
- offset spatula
- piping bag or zip lock bag
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 3/4 cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup organic unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 3/4 cup organic raw cane sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp Kosher salt Diamond Crystal https://amzn.to/3ZRuGXG **
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- 1 cup organic whole milk room temperature
- 1 tsp distilled white vinegar not white wine
- 1/2 cup organic avocado oil
- 2 organic large eggs room temperature
- 1 tbs pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup very hot coffee
Buttercream
- 1 cup organic unsalted butter room temperature
- 3 cups organic powder / confectionary sugar
- 1/4 cup organic heavy cream room temperature
- 2 tbs pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt Diamond Crystal
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- 1/2 cup organic unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 or 9" round cake pan with parchment paper and grease with butter wrappers.
- Add the 1 tsp of vinegar to the milk. You are making homemade buttermilk. Let it stand on the counter for 10 minutes, until it curdles.
- In a medium bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and espresso powder. Add the salt. Whisk to combine.
- In a large bowl, whisk sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and homemade buttermilk.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 additions and mix until just combined. Then add the very hot coffee and mix until just combined. The batter will be very thin.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Let it cool for 30 minutes in the pan. Invert onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.
Buttercream
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium with the paddle attachment until smooth, 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and beat on very low until smooth. Add the heavy cream, vanilla (yes 2 TBS, I like flavor ;-)) and salt and mix until combined.
- Reserve 1/2 cup of the buttercream for the lines, set aside. To the remaining buttercream add the cocoa powder and espresso powder. Beat until combined.
Cake Assembly
- Make a slight indention along the diameter of the cake. Cut 1/2" on either side of the indention. Remove the center piece. Save for another use or serve along with the cake!
- Take a little bit of chocolate buttercream and spread it on the insides of the cake. This will help them stay together. Press the two halves together.
- Frost the outside of the cake with the chocolate frosting and smooth with an offset spatula.
- Place the white buttercream in the piping bag (or ziplock bag) and pip lines and laces on the cake.
Notes
** Amazon Affiliate - I may receive compensation.
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Zig Ziglar
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Zahavalox
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