Mother's Day is Sunday and it's a time when families get together to honor their mothers. At Easter, we made this delicious chocolate cake, but I have been waiting for a special occasion to highlight the recipe. I wanted to give people the opportunity to have time to make the cake and truly enjoy it.
For Mother's Day, I am highlighting the Bon Appetit's Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake. It was featured in the April 2010 edition of Bon Appetit's monthly magazine. They had run an article on classic cakes and we actually made two of their featured recipes. One being the chocolate cake, the other was the New York-Style Crumb Cake which I made with blueberries.
The cake came together easily. Beating the eggs and sifting the dry ingredients together were the most time consuming parts of the cake. (If you don't know, I'm not a big mayonnaise fan and I kept smelling strong scents of mayonnaise and kept thinking, "I hope I can get beyond this." And I know, mayonnaise is oil and eggs...what's the big deal!) I didn't have three 8 inch cake pans to bake the layers so I used my two 10 inch pans. Assembly was easy and the frosting was easy to make. I will comment of the frosting... INCREDIBLE. Choco-holics delight! The beaters were covered in frosting when we were done and yes, people did fight over them.
The cake was a big hit, very moist, very chocolaty and the frosting was fugdy but not overpowering. Making the frosting with the bittersweet chocolate brought a richness to the cake. We had coffee ice cream to serve with it. Coffee accentuates chocolate so it was a nice combination.
If you are looking to do something nice for Mother's Day, rather than buying a cake, make this classic Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake. I can guarantee you will make one special person very happy. Happy Mother's Day from Friends Food Family.
- 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 3/4 cups boiling water
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- 1 1/3 cups mayonnaise (do not use reduced-fat or fat-free)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Preparation:
- Three 8-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour three 8-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Combine chopped chocolate and cocoa powder in medium metal bowl. Add 13/4 cups boiling water and whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
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Sift flour, baking soda, and baking powder into another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat both sugars and mayonnaise in large bowl until well blended, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 4 additions alternately with chocolate mixture in 3 additions, beating until blended after each addition and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Divide batter among prepared cake pans (about 2 1/3 cups for each).
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Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 30 to 32 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 20 minutes.
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Run small knife around sides of cakes to loosen. Carefully invert cakes onto racks and let cool completely.
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Place chopped chocolate in medium metal bowl; set bowl over saucepan of simmering water and stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Carefully remove bowl from over water; let melted chocolate cool until lukewarm, stirring occasionally.
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Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth and creamy. Sift powdered sugar over butter and beat until well blended, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add melted chocolate and beat until well blended and smooth, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl.
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Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread 3/4 cup frosting over top of cake layer to edges. Top with second cake layer; spread 3/4 cup frosting over. Top with third cake layer. Spread remaining frosting decoratively over top and sides of cake. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and let stand at room temperature.
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Cut cake into wedges and serve.
