a very chocolate chocolate cake

this post is very much delayed; i made this cake in february for the birthday of one of my good friends. he is as much a chocolate lover as i have ever seen, and i wanted to do something chocolate extreme. after bookmarking half a dozen chocolate recipes and polling him practically every day on his preferences, he settled on this one. a good choice.

start with a cup and a half of cocoa powder and some buttermilk for the layers. add the secret ingredient: coffee. i'm told it makes chocolate taste more chocolaty, which it did. (note for you decaf drinkers: i'm sensitive to caffeine and there was enough in this cake to give me a buzz, so don't eat before bedtime) the next day, make the filling, which also doubles as the frosting, from a pound of chocolate. you heard me right. a pound of chocolate. assemble into the moistest, richest, most chocolaty cake you've ever had. i promise i'm not kidding you. if you make one thing i've posted, EVER, this cake is it.

double chocolate layer cake adapted from gourmet, via smitten kitchen

for cake layers
3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut(it's at the co-op!)
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not dutch process)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

for frosting and filling
1 pound fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

special equipment: two 10- by 2-inch round cake pans

make cake layers:
preheat oven to 300°F. and grease pans. line bottoms with rounds of wax paper and grease paper.

finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. in another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well.

divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

cool layers completely in pans on racks. run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely. i made these 1 day ahead and kept them, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.

make frosting:
finely chop chocolate. in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan bring cream, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil over moderately low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved. remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted. cut butter into pieces and add to frosting, whisking until smooth.

transfer frosting to a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until spreadable (depending on chocolate used, it may be necessary to chill frosting to spreadable consistency).

spread frosting between cake layers and over top and sides. cake keeps, covered and chilled, 3 days. bring cake to room temperature before serving.

cost:
i'm going to assume you have eggs, sugar, flour, butter, salt, oil, vanilla and baking powder/soda. if not, the total cost of those ingredients in these amounts is probably less than $10.

chocolate: $9.32 at the co-op
coffee: $1.50
cocoa powder: $1.50
buttermilk: $.66
heavy cream: $2.49
corn syrup: $.17

total: $25.64
there were probably 12 slices to this cake for a total of $2.13 per slice. it was probably a little less actually because i buy all my staples in bulk.