I just thought of this last night when I was baking some cupcakes and ran out of my normal cocoa, which is Barry dutch processed. When reviewing recipes and mentioning their "chocolateyness" we might want to indicate which kind we used, if the recipe does not specify. For example, for the SCW cake it just says "cocoa" but I ALWAYS use dutch process. Well when I ran out last night I had to substitute 1/3 of my cocoa with regular old Hershey's. I thought it made a difference in the chocolateyness of the cake and realized that major ingredient was worth a mention as we cake-off!

I know I'm supposed to post the final working list of submissions today that we sign up on. But I've been out all day and just got home and am too exhausted. I'll post it first thing in the morning. Good to see you've all been hard at work!

Now, off to bed...zzz.zzz.

guys let's wait for artscallion to finalize the list of recipes and then do that copy/paste thing again so we can keep track easily.

ceshell, i ALWAYS use dutch-processed too. But it's a local brand I can't really afford to buy Hershey's cocoa. I like Dutch-processed a lot. Nice color and depth of flavor.

I totally agree; I am fortunate in that I live near a restaurant supply store. The Barry DP cocoa is actually cheaper to buy than plain old Hershey's off the shelf, since I can buy it in bulk. Yay for DP cocoa!

I totally agree; I am fortunate in that I live near a restaurant supply store. The Barry DP cocoa is actually cheaper to buy than plain old Hershey's off the shelf, since I can buy it in bulk. Yay for DP cocoa!

Here's the working list of submitted recipes. When we've had variations I've included them in parentheses. It is preferred that we all use the main recipe listed so we are comparing apples and apples, rather than apples and oranges. But we aren't God, and don't command you do it our way. So, if you prefer to use one of the variations, just indicate so in your review.

I'll repost the list of actual recipes/links in a separate post after this one with all the corrections.

Once you have chosen which recipes you will be testing, copy this list (INCLUDING THE FIRST LINE THAT DIRECTS FOLKS TO THE RECIPES) from the most recent posting of it, add your name beside those recipes, and re-post the list. If you see that everyone is choosing the same recipes, try and pick something else so that we get a broad range of reviews. Who knows? the best recipe may end up being an unknown!



RECIPES FOUND ON PAGE 5 OF THIS THREAD
SCW Fudge Brownie(original/egullet) - artscallion/
Planet Cakes Chocolate Mud - artscallion/
Wicked Wanda's(AKA Hershys/black magic/deep dark choc)
Deluxe Chocolate Cake (Softasilk)
Chocolate Coke Giant Chocolate
maryjsgirl's Double Chocolate Layer
Toba Garett, Chocolate fudge
Sylvia Weinstock's Chocolate Fudge -
Whimsical Bakehouse's Chocolate Butter
Guinness Stout Chocolate
Lily's Chocolate - artscallion/

RECIPES FOUND ON PAGE 5 OF THIS THREAD
SCW Fudge Brownie(original/egullet) - artscallion
Planet Cakes Chocolate Mud - artscallion/ahuvas
Wicked Wanda's(AKA Hershys/black magic/deep dark choc)
Deluxe Chocolate Cake (Softasilk)
Chocolate Coke Giant Chocolate
maryjsgirl's Double Chocolate Layer
Toba Garett, Chocolate fudge
Sylvia Weinstock's Chocolate Fudge -
Whimsical Bakehouse's Chocolate Butter - ahuvas
Guinness Stout Chocolate
Lily's Chocolate - artscallion/

THE RECIPES


Scott Clark Woolleys Fudge Brownie Cake (original book version)
13 ounces flour
5 ounces cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
2 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter
3 eggs
1 c. buttermilk
2/3 c. veg. oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups boiling water (or coffee)

1.  Preheat oven to 300°. (275° if using an electric oven)
Raise oven shelves as high as possible.
Prepare pans (grease and flour).
(General instructions at beginning of book state all recipes fill two 10 or 11 round pans. Ive heard his recipes are designed to come out very thin because he hates torting.)

2.  Combine dry ingredients in mixer bowl and stir evenly.

3.  Add eggs, buttermilk, butter, oil & vanilla at once and stir to mix.
Beat for two minutes, scraping bowl once.
Stir in water.

4.  Pour into prepared pans up to 1 to 1 1/2" deep and bake 1 hour until firm to touch.
Cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes only.
Cover with plastic wrap and flip cake out.
Bring plastic wrap up and completely seal cake.
Cool.
Freeze.





Scott Clark Woolleys Fudge Brownie Cake (egullet forum version)

"Fudge Brownie Cake, yield: 2, 9" rounds [or appx 36 cupcakes]

sift together:
3 c. flour
1 1/2 c. cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
reserve.

Cream:
3/4 c. butter
with
2 c. sugar

Then add: until creamy
3 eggs
1 c. buttermilk
2/3 c. veg. oil
2 tsp. vanilla

Then mix in you dry ingredients from above.

To this you add:
1 1/2 c, boiling water or hot coffee


Dirrections: The author recommends 275-300F oven and NOT hotter. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, anywhere from 35min to 1 hour. They are allowed to cool in the pans for ONLY/exactly 5 minutes and then you turn them out and wrap them in plastic wrap, sealing them. This step can't be omitted, it does steam the cake and that does make the cake better then if you air cooled it.

Be forwarned this cake does not rise high in the pan, it will be pretty close to the level of batter when finished. This cake can be baked in any size pan with-out changes.







Planet Cakes Chocolate Mud Cake (Lindy Smiths version)

2 cups water
20 oz sugar
8 oz dark good quality chocolate
13 oz butter unsalted
11 oz plain flour
2 oz self raising flour
1 1/3 oz cocoa powder
3 eggs lightly beaten
1.  Preheat oven (320°F)
2.  Grease an 8in square or 9in round cake tin, line the base and sides with baking paper.
3.  Combine water and sugar in a large saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved.
4.  Remove the saucepan from the heat and add in the chopped chocolate and the butter. Stir until all ingredients are combined and melted. I found that the chocolate although melted is suspended in the syrup rather than being combined into it.
5.  Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
6.  Sift the flours and cocoa powder together, with a balloon whisk, carefully incorporate into the syrup
7.  Add the eggs in one at a time and whisk until smooth.
8.  Pour the mixture into prepared pan.
9.  Bake in a moderately slow oven for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. To test, insert a skewer into the cake when it comes out clean the cake is ready. I use a fan oven at 320°F and found that my cake was baked in 2 hours.


Wicked Wanda's Chocolate Cake

Sugar 2 cups
Flour 1 and 3/4 cups
Cocoa 3/4 cup
Baking soda 2 teaspoons
Baking Powder 1 teaspoon
Salt 1 teaspoon
Mix together well, then in same bowl, add the following:
Eggs 2 (just put them in, mix later)
Buttermilk 1 cup ( or 3/4 cup milk with 1/4 cup vinegar )
Strong Coffee 1 cup ( can be hot or cold, but cold is better because hot might scramble the eggs!)
Oil 1/3 cup
Vanilla 1 teaspoon

I usually double the recipe, one batch in a 10" round pan and I get a tall cake.

Deluxe Chocolate Cake - Softasilk
2 C sugar
1 C butter
3/4 tsp almond extract
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
2 1/2 C cake flour, sifted
1 C cocoa powder ( I use Hershey's Special Dark)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 C buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in extracts and combine. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add combined dry ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk, in 4 additions, beginning and ending with the dry. Beat at medium speed for a minute longer. Bake 9" layers 45-50 min and cuppies 26-30 min.


Chocolate Coke Cake
  2 cups sugar
  2 cups flour
  1 cup butter
  1 cup Coke
  3 tablespoons cocoa
  1/4 cup buttermilk
  1 teaspoon baking soda
  2 eggs
  1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Place the sugar and flour into a mixing bowl and set aside.
2 Bring the butter, coke and cocoa to a boil.
3 Add the boiled mixture to the sugar and flour.
4 Blend in the remaining ingredients.
5 Place into 3 8 or 9 inch cake pans.
6 Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.


Giant Chocolate Cake
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
  2 cups flour
  1 teaspoon baking soda
  1 teaspoon baking powder
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  1 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  1 cup boiling water
  2 cups sugar
  3 large eggs
  3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces
  1 cup buttermilk
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 12-inch round cake pan with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper round. Spray parchment paper with nonstick spray. Dust pan with flour, tapping out any excess. Sift 2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Sift cocoa into another medium bowl. Pour 1 cup boiling water over cocoa; whisk to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add butter to egg mixture and beat until blended. Beat in cocoa mixture. Add buttermilk and vanilla; beat to blend. Add dry ingredients and beat on low just to blend. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top.
Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 38 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan on rack. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.

Double Chocolate Layer Cake - maryjsgirl

* 3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut


* 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

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. Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.

Toba Garett, Chocolate fudge cake
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups (285 g) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (170 g) dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup (110 g) Dutch processed cocoa powder
2 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups (18 fl oz or 540 ml) buttermilk
1 cup (230 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 oz (168 g) melted semisweet fine quality chocolate


1. Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and parchment line two 8x2-inch (20x5-cm) baking pans.

2. Measure all ingredients (except the chocolate) into a large mixer bowl.

3. Blend for 30 seconds on LOW speed, scraping bowl constantly.

4. Blend in the melted chocolate and beat 3 minutes on HIGH speed, scraping the bowl.

5. Spoon into the pans and level them well with an offset spatula.

6. Bake layers for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Storage: Double wrap the cake in plastic wrap. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Yield: two 8-inch (20-cm) cakes


Sylvia Weinstock's Chocolate Fudge Cake
A hint on making this fudge cake a hit: Make sure the cocoa powder mixture is at room temperature before you add it to the rest of the recipe.

2/3 cup water
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup brewed coffee
1lb (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temp
2 1/3 cups sugar
12 large eggs
11 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tablepoon baking soda




1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Butter two 8 x 3 inch baking pans or one 12 x 3 inch round or square pan and line with parchment.

2. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Pour the boiling water into a bowl and add the cocoa powder, vanilla, and coffee, whisking vigorously until the mixture is smooth and no lumps remain. Set aside and let the mixture cool to room temperature.

3. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add the sugar and mix for another 3 minutes, or until the batter is light in color and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.

4. Add the melted chocolate and mix on medium speed for 1 minute, until all the chocolate is well incorporated.

5. Sift the flour and baking soda together. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and place the pans in the center of the oven. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes until the sides of the cake pull away from the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

This cake is dense and bakes more evenly in a slow oven.

Serves 12 - 15

Note: For a richer cake, you can substitute coffee for the 2/3 cup water



Whimsical Bakehouse Chocolate Butter Cake

Grease and flour two 10 x 3" round pans. Preheat the oven to 350deg.

In a bowl, combine and whisk until there are no lumps

1cup hot coffee
1cup cocoa powder

Add and whisk until smooth

1cup cold water

On a piece of wax paper, sift together

3 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat at high speed until light and fluffy:

8 ounces (2 sticks)unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups sugar

On medium speed, add slowly and cream well:

4 lg eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Add the dry ingredients alternately to the butter and egg mixture with the cocoa, mixing until smooth.

Pour 3 cups of the batter into one 10 inch pan and the remaining batter into the other 10 inch pan. Bake the less full pan for 20 to 25 minutes and the fuller pan for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cakes on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes before turning them out of their pans.

Yield 9 cups of batter



Chocolate Stout Cake
2 cups stout (such as Guinness)
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
4 cups all purpose flour
4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 large eggs
1 1/3 cups sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line with parchment paper. Butter paper.

Bring 2 cups stout and 2 cups butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in large bowl to blend.

Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer cakes to rack; cool 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto rack and cool completely.

Lily's Chocolate Cake

250 grams (9 ounces) margarine/butter
3 cups sugar
2 cups water
5 Tbs cocoa
1 tsp baking soda

4 eggs
3 cups self-raising flour

Bring to boil first 5 ingredients and put on a low simmer for for a minute or two. Keep a careful eye on the pot as it can very quickly rise and pour over the sides!

Let cool


Beat eggs and add to the cooled mixture. Whisk in self-raising flour. Make sure to use a whisk otherwise you will get lumps of flour. If you get lumps you can always use a stick blender to make a smooth consistency - it doesnt harm it.

Bake 350°F for 45 minutes 1 hour or until done in the center.

RECIPES FOUND ON PAGE 5 OF THIS THREAD
SCW Fudge Brownie(original/egullet) - artscallion,
Planet Cakes Chocolate Mud - artscallion/ahuvas
Wicked Wanda's(AKA Hershys/black magic/deep dark choc)
Deluxe Chocolate Cake (Softasilk)
Chocolate Coke Giant Chocolate
maryjsgirl's Double Chocolate Layer
Toba Garett, Chocolate fudge Lita829
Sylvia Weinstock's Chocolate Fudge - Lita829
Whimsical Bakehouse's Chocolate Butter - ahuvas
Guinness Stout Chocolate
Lily's Chocolate - artscallion/

RECIPES FOUND ON PAGE 5 OF THIS THREAD
SCW Fudge Brownie(original/egullet) - artscallion/notapro
Planet Cakes Chocolate Mud - artscallion/ahuvas
Wicked Wanda's(AKA Hershys/black magic/deep dark choc)
Deluxe Chocolate Cake (Softasilk)
Chocolate Coke- notapro
Giant Chocolate
maryjsgirl's Double Chocolate Layer
Toba Garett, Chocolate fudge Lita829/notapro
Sylvia Weinstock's Chocolate Fudge - Lita829/notapro
Whimsical Bakehouse's Chocolate Butter - ahuvas
Guinness Stout Chocolate
Lily's Chocolate - artscallion/

RECIPES FOUND ON PAGE 5 OF THIS THREAD

SCW Fudge Brownie(original/egullet) - artscallion/notapro
Planet Cakes Chocolate Mud - artscallion/ahuvas
Wicked Wanda's(AKA Hershys/black magic/deep dark choc)
Deluxe Chocolate Cake (Softasilk)
Chocolate Coke- notapro/moreCakePlz
Giant Chocolate moreCakePlz/
maryjsgirl's Double Chocolate Layer
Toba Garett, Chocolate fudge Lita829/notapro
Sylvia Weinstock's Chocolate Fudge - Lita829/notapro
Whimsical Bakehouse's Chocolate Butter - ahuvas
Guinness Stout Chocolate
Lily's Chocolate - artscallion/

RECIPES FOUND ON PAGE 5 OF THIS THREAD

SCW Fudge Brownie(original/egullet) - artscallion/notapro
Planet Cakes Chocolate Mud - artscallion/ahuvas
Wicked Wanda's(AKA Hershys/black magic/deep dark choc) - GATUPR /
Deluxe Chocolate Cake (Softasilk) - GATUPR /
Chocolate Coke- notapro/moreCakePlz
Giant Chocolate - moreCakePlz/
maryjsgirl's Double Chocolate Layer
Toba Garett, Chocolate fudge - Lita829/notapro
Sylvia Weinstock's Chocolate Fudge - Lita829/notapro
Whimsical Bakehouse's Chocolate Butter - ahuvas
Guinness Stout Chocolate
Lily's Chocolate - artscallion/

sorry for the extra post

again sorry

RECIPES FOUND ON PAGE 5 OF THIS THREAD

SCW Fudge Brownie(original/egullet) - artscallion/notapro
Planet Cakes Chocolate Mud - artscallion/ahuvas
Wicked Wanda's(AKA Hershys/black magic/deep dark choc) - GATUPR /
Deluxe Chocolate Cake (Softasilk) - GATUPR /
Chocolate Coke- notapro/moreCakePlz
Giant Chocolate - moreCakePlz/
maryjsgirl's Double Chocolate Layer
Toba Garett, Chocolate fudge - Lita829/notapro
Sylvia Weinstock's Chocolate Fudge - Lita829/notapro/dkelly
Whimsical Bakehouse's Chocolate Butter - ahuvas/dkelly
Guinness Stout Chocolate
Lily's Chocolate - artscallion/

Review - Giant Chocolate Cake

1. Flavor- nice fudgy flavor with a little tang from the buttermilk.
2. Texture/Crumb somewhat dense, not light and fluffy like a box mix
3. Moistness I found it a little dry, but I probably overcooked it. The original Epicurious recipe calls for one 12 pan cooked for 38 minutes at 350. I cut the recipe in half and cooked one 9 pan for 30 minutes. I think 30 minutes was a little too long, so watch the cooking time like a hawk.
3. Ease of Recipe relatively easy, no beating egg whites so that is a plus
4. Cost of Recipe: average, the most expensive part was the buttermilk
5. Ability to convert into cupcakes: didnt try

Notes: I used regular Hershey cocoa. The cake domed slightly and cracks formed on the top, but I just smooshed it down so I wouldnt lose any of it to the leveler. The cake had a good flavor and nice fudgey texture, but the ganache icing was the best part. Sorry I know were not supposed to judge with the icing on it, but I just couldnt stop eating the stuff.

Overall Id give it an 8 out of 10. I deducted points for the slight dryness.

RECIPES FOUND ON PAGE 5 OF THIS THREAD

SCW Fudge Brownie(original/egullet) - artscallion/notapro
Planet Cakes Chocolate Mud - artscallion/ahuvas
Wicked Wanda's(AKA Hershys/black magic/deep dark choc) - GATUPR /
Deluxe Chocolate Cake (Softasilk) - GATUPR /
Chocolate Coke- notapro/moreCakePlz
Giant Chocolate - moreCakePlz/
maryjsgirl's Double Chocolate Layer-jaefamous
Toba Garett, Chocolate fudge - Lita829/notapro
Sylvia Weinstock's Chocolate Fudge - Lita829/notapro/dkelly/jaefamous
Whimsical Bakehouse's Chocolate Butter - ahuvas/dkelly
Guinness Stout Chocolate
Lily's Chocolate - artscallion/

Thanks for posting that MoreCakePlz. It looks really good!

I'm interested to find out about the recipes which has a little amount of chocolate in it, like the chocolate coke cake and Lily's cake. Is it chocolate-y?

I am afraid of the Coke cake for just that reason.....lack of chocolate-y flavor. I can not comment on this recipe at all, b/c I have never made it. I just know that my MIL makes a Coke Cake and I don't think it has much flavor at all.....mostly just sugar. It is dark like a chocolate cake, and the texture is good, but no chocolate flavor. I am curious to find out if anyone has better luck with this recipe.

RECIPES FOUND ON PAGE 5 OF THIS THREAD

SCW Fudge Brownie(original/egullet) - artscallion/notapro
Planet Cakes Chocolate Mud - artscallion/ahuvas
Wicked Wanda's(AKA Hershys/black magic/deep dark choc) - GATUPR /
Deluxe Chocolate Cake (Softasilk) - GATUPR /
Chocolate Coke- notapro/moreCakePlz
Giant Chocolate - moreCakePlz/
maryjsgirl's Double Chocolate Layer-jaefamous
Toba Garett, Chocolate fudge - Lita829/notapro
Sylvia Weinstock's Chocolate Fudge - Lita829/notapro/dkelly/jaefamous
Whimsical Bakehouse's Chocolate Butter - ahuvas/dkelly/AKA_cupcakeshoppe
Guinness Stout Chocolate
Lily's Chocolate - artscallion/

***I've only decided on one for now. Will try to make another recipe if I could. It's just that some of the ingredients are not available where I'm from.

Hi everyone,

I'm baking my first recipe now (WBH choc but cake). At what point are we doing the review............same day as baking, next day?

OK cool. I also like to freeze over-night, so I'll torte, fill, and ice tomorrow and serve to family for dessert.


The batter was yummy! CAN YOU TELL I'M PMS'ING?

thanks to artscallion for sharing these recipes.Will surely try them someday.

Special tx to all those trying these cakes & sharing their reviews

Results for Whimsical Bakehouse Chocolate Butter Cake.......followed recipe exactly........made one 10" with 3 cups of batter and the other 10" with the rest (6 cups) as instructed.



Judging Criteria
1. Flavor....disappointing......not as "chocolate" as I like, (didn't need a glass of milk to wash it down) to me this was pretty tasteless alone, a little better with the filling and icing.
2. Texture/Crumb....fine to medium
3. Moistness....on the dry side, kind of reminded me of a mix cake...fluffy but dry
3. Ease of Recipe....easy, pretty typical
4. Cost of Recipe....average
5. Ability to convert into cupcakes....didn't try

Overall rating 3 out of 10, only because it did bake up nice and level and rose well....probably won't even bother trying to improve this one.......there's nothing special about it.

I'm disappointed with this.......(I also made WBH's yellow butter cupcakes last week and they too were very dry. I'm wondering if it's their recipes. )

My family and 2 of my son's friends also just had a piece of this cake and they politely told me to use my OLD recipe.....which is the tried and true Hershey's perfectly choc cake.

awww I'm disappointed that you're disappointed. I was really looking forward to trying this out...

Okay, here are my results for Planet Cake's Chocolate Mud Cake and Scott Clark Woolley's Fudge Brownie Cake. I haven't made my third cake (Lily's) yet. But I'm running out of room in my freezer and will test that later in the month.

And my camera's on the fritz so I don't have pics.

Scott Clark Woolley's Fudge Brownie Cake.

I used the original book version method. I used Hershey's cocoa. I used hot coffee. The book says that all of his recipes make enough for two 10 or 11" thin rounds (he hates torting.) But since I actually prefer torting, and think that any 'best' recipe HAS to be versatile enough to be used in more general ways. If I can't use it to make a tortable 6", 8" or 9" round, a recipe is of little use to me. So I decided to make this in two 8" square pans to see what happened. I ended up with 1.5" tall cakes.

Judging Criteria
1. Flavor... This cake had a decent chocolate flavor, distinct but not a really strong aspect of the cake. I mean I knew it was chocolate. But I didn't say, "Oh wow! Chocolaty!"

2. Texture/Crumb... a very fine crumb. Several of my tasters noted that it had the texture of a flourless chocolate cake. Despite this fine, almost flourless-like texture, the cake was sturdy enough to be torted, filled, stacked and fondanted with no problems at all. This is an important feature for me with chocolate cakes, whose workable structure often suffers in the desire to achieve a dense fudgy texture, which can fall apart or squish too easily.

3. Moistness... This was the one major flaw with this cake. Despite its dense texture, without filling/frosting this cake had a really dry mouth feel. I mean, peanut butter, stick to the roof of your mouth, pass the milk dry.

After trimming the sections I tested unfilled, I did fill/frost/fondant the rest for my July 4th cake. I used caramel filling and ganache under the fondant. This overcame the dryness and brought the cake to life, making it nearly perfect with raves from myself and my tasters.

However, I think this is a problem with this cake in that you really need to torte and fill this well. You can't just stack this cake, untorted, or fill it lightly, or with just butter cream, because it really needed that extra moisture.

4. Ease of Recipe... very easy. basic sift and dump chocolate cake.

5. Cost of Recipe... My prices directly reflect my costs. So if it costs me $1.00 more to use buttermilk, that's reflected in my prices. When I'm charging $100+ for a 9" cake, I'm not really thinking about whether the entire recipe costs me $4.20 or $6.00 when choosing which recipe I should use. So I'm not sure what this category is about.

6. Ability to convert into cupcakes....didn't try

Overall rating...7.5 / 10 ...losing points mainly for the dryness factor and lack of a notable chocolate flavor.



Planet Cake's Chocolate Mud Cake

I followed this recipe exactly, except for baking time. The recipe says to bake for 2-2/12 hours until a toothpick comes out clean. It had lightly, but fully domed, and my toothpick came out clean after an hour. So that's when I took it out. It didn't seem to hurt it as tasting showed that it was completely cooked. The top did crack early on in the baking process, resulting in a crunchy uneven top. But I always torte and trim my tops off anyway. So no issue for me.

Judging Criteria

1. Flavor.... Really good. Very distinct and complex chocolate taste. It wasn't a strong, intense...bittersweet... flavor like some cakes have. There was a very present note of cocoa. But it wasn't oppressive. It was light and almost refreshing, something unusual in a chocolate cake. I keep wanting to refer to it as the chocolate version of menthol. It just seemed to fill my head. And it got some complexity from a deeper after note, coming from the melted chocolate. Very, very nice.
I tested this first without fillin/frosting, and then again with lemon curd and lemon butter cream. Not my usual pairing with chocolate, but I had it prepared for another order. Even with the intensity of all that lemon, I was still hit with that very nice note of the cocoa.

2. Texture/Crumb.... I'd never made a mud cake before. And I can see now why it is called such. This cake had a very dense, fudgy texture. At first I wondered if, perhaps, an hour hadn't been enough. But it was definitely cooked through, because a fine crumb was evident throughout. There was nothing uncooked about it.

3. Moistness.... Very moist. These two cakes were a perfect illustration of how the crumb/texture is a very different thing from the moistness of a cake. Dense does not mean moist. And my big problem with box mix cakes is that oiliness coating the crumb is misinterpreted for moistness. True moistness in a cake, comes not from the structure. It comes from inside the structure. And you can't add it to the structure later with syrups and liqueurs. That only makes a dry cake wet/soggy, not moist.

This cake and the SCW had a very similar texture and crumb. Yet SCW stuck to your mouth and seemed to pull the moisture out of you in order to facilitate even being able to swallow it. The mud cake, had just the opposite effect. It dissolved in your mouth and melted away. Not in a thick, heavy way. But it just seamed to dissipate, leaving your mouth clean and ready for more.

4. Ease of Recipe.... Pretty easy. Though I hate recipes that involve heating, then cooling ingredients to room temp before you can add them. That, in addition to the potential for a 2 1/2 hour cook time, could be an annoyance when you're in a crunch.

One note...I thought I had completely screwed this recipe up, maybe in my conversions from metric. There seemed to be soooo much liquid (2 cups water, almost a pound of melted butter, half a pound melted chocolate, 3 eggs.) to a really minimal amount of dry ingredients. The batter was like soup. But I double checked my conversions and plunged ahead, to great success.

5. Cost of Recipe.... See above

6. Ability to convert into cupcakes....didn't try

overall rating... 9 / 10...losing a point for the prep time factor.

artscallion, that review is really good. I'm reading it and I can feel my mouth watering. I think am gonna go and do the mud cake. It's exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks so much!

This is such a fantastic thread!!! Thank you so much artscallion for starting it. I needed a chocolate cake for this weekend and it was very good timing! I decided to try Toba Garret's chocolate fudge cake b/c I've had very good success with her Moist Yellow cake. I also see that no one has put their name down for the Choc. Stout Cake so I think I'll try that as I have a bit of beer aficionado in the house. I'll try and do it properly in the next post. I hope it's not too late to throw my name into the cake-off hat! Happy baking everyone!!

[quote="AKA_cupcakeshoppe"]RECIPES FOUND ON PAGE 5 OF THIS THREAD

SCW Fudge Brownie(original/egullet) - artscallion/notapro
Planet Cakes Chocolate Mud - artscallion/ahuvas
Wicked Wanda's(AKA Hershys/black magic/deep dark choc) - GATUPR /
Deluxe Chocolate Cake (Softasilk) - GATUPR /
Chocolate Coke- notapro/moreCakePlz
Giant Chocolate - moreCakePlz/
maryjsgirl's Double Chocolate Layer-jaefamous
Toba Garett, Chocolate fudge - Lita829/notapro countrycakery4
Sylvia Weinstock's Chocolate Fudge - Lita829/notapro/dkelly/jaefamous
Whimsical Bakehouse's Chocolate Butter - ahuvas/dkelly/AKA_cupcakeshoppe
Guinness Stout Chocolate countrycakery4
Lily's Chocolate - artscallion/

I'll put my name in for these two for now and if I can justify another choc. cake before the end of the month then I think I'll try planet cake's Choc. Mud Cake. artscallion, your review of this cake makes it sound like the cake of my dreams![/b]