Vetted Recipes

Decadent Dirt Cake: Signature Groom's Cake or Special Occasion Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 1/3 cups good quality dark chocolate (recommended: Guittard)
  • 2 tablespoons extremely strong coffee
  • 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa
  • 2 cups very hot water
  • 3 large eggs, beaten
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla (recommended: Nielsen-Massey)
  • 1/4 cup coffee-flavored liqueur (recommended: Kahlua)
  • Whipped Chocolate Buttercream, recipe follows, optional
  • 1 cup good quality dark chocolate (recommended: Guittard)
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) room temperature salted butter
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla (recommended: Nielsen Massey)
  • 1 tablespoon coffee-flavored liqueur (recommended: Kahlua)
  • 1 pound sifted confectioners' sugar

Instructions

  1. Grease and lightly flour a large Bundt pan or alternatively use a vegetable release spray.
  2. Place the rack at the center of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees F.
  3. Melt, do not boil, butter, sugar, chocolate, and coffee in a medium-sized saucepan with the hot water, until the sugar is dissolved. Cool completely and pour into a large mixing bowl.
  4. Set the mixer on slow to medium speed.
  5. Sift together the combined flours and cocoa. In a separate bowl, combine the beaten eggs, vanilla, and coffee-flavored liqueur.
  6. Add the flour mixture alternately with egg mixture to the basic chocolate mixture. This is a thin mixture do not over beat. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and place into the preset oven.
  7. Bake for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours at 300 degrees F.
  8. Check with a skewer to be sure the cake is cooked through.
  9. Cool the cake for 20 minutes before removing it from the pan.
  10. Barely melt the chocolate in a double boiler over gentle heat. Remove from the heat source and pour into a large mixing bowl then cool for five minutes. Add the butter, cream, vanilla, coffee-flavored liqueur, and mix on medium speed until the mixture thickens. Finally add the confectioners' sugar in small batches until the mixture holds a medium peak. If the kitchen temperature is warm, and the icing is not of spreading consistency place the bowl in the refrigerator for a few minutes, then recommence mixing. Slather the icing over the cake with an offset palette knife.
  11. Yield: icing for 1 cake

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