Rich Chocolate and Mixed Nut Cake
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(0 votes)
Difficulty:
moderate
Difficulty
Preparation:
1 hr
Preparation
ready in 1 hr 20 min.
Ready in
Ingredients
for
8
- Ingredients
- 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 0.333 cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup best-quality cocoa powder
- 2 tsps Baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup Sour cream
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1.333 cups chilled water
- ½ cup Pistachio (chopped)
- ½ cup almonds (chopped)
- ½ cup Walnut (chopped)
- 1 ¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 ¾ cups powdered sugar (sifted)
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Preparation steps
1.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line the bottom of 2 (8-inch) cake pans.
2.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugars, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl or wide-necked measuring cup whisk together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla until blended.
3.
Using a standing or handheld electric mixer, beat together the melted butter and vegetable oil until just blended (you'll need another large bowl for this is using the hand mixer; the standing mixer comes with its own bowl), then beat in the water. Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix together on a slow speed. Add the egg mixture and 1/4 cup of each of the nuts and mix again until everything is blended and then pour into the prepared tins.
4.
Bake the cakes for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a cake-tester comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes, and then turn the cakes out on the rack to cool completely.
5.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave - 2 to 3 minutes on medium should do it - or in a bowl sitting over a pan of simmering water, and let cool slightly.
6.
In another bowl beat the butter until it's soft and creamy using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and then add the sifted confectioners' sugar and beat again until everything's light and fluffy. Then gently add the vanilla and chocolate and mix together until everything is glossy and smooth.
7.
Sandwich the middle of the cake with about a quarter of the icing, and then ice the top and sides (slightly), spreading and smoothing with a rubber spatula. Garnish the top of the cake with the last 1/4 cup of each type of the chopped nuts.
