After three years of cooking, testing recipes, writing, and sending out proposals; I’m elated to tell you that I have signed a book deal! My cookbook, Deliciously Organic, will be coming out in the fall of 2010! AND, as if it couldn’t get any better, Helen from Tartelette will be doing the photography! I can’t even tell you how thrilled I am to work with her.
To celebrate, I thought it fitting to whip up a chocolate cake with dreamy, light as air, chocolate frosting. The cake is moist, dense, full of rich chocolate, and topped with the dreamiest chocolate buttercream frosting. It’s the kind of cake you’ll want to eat alone, so you can close your eyes and enjoy every little morsel.
Adapted from “The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook” by Ina Garten
For the batter:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup cocao powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons brewed herbal coffee
3/4 cup butter at room temperature
2/3 cup organic whole cane sugar or sucanat
2/3 cup muscovado sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch cake pans and then dust with flour, knocking out any excess. In a medium bowl sift the flour, cocao, baking soda and salt. (There will be about 2 tablespoons of bran left in the sifter, discard.) In a small bowl mix together buttermilk, sour cream and herbal coffee, set aside. In bowl of mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter, whole cane sugar and muscovado. Start on low speed and then increase to high. Beat for about 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Scrape down bowl. With mixer on low speed add a 1/3 of the buttermilk mixture followed by 1/3 of the flour mixture. Repeat twice ending with the flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a cooling rack, for about 10 minutes, and then remove from pans and cool completely.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
4 large eggs
1 cup organic whole cane sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt
1 pound unsalted butter, softened, each stick cut into tablespoons
In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine eggs, whole cane sugar, vanilla and pinch of salt. Set bowl over pot of simmering water. Whisk constantly until the mixture reaches 160 degrees, about 5 minutes. Beat egg mixture on medium-high with whisk attachment until light and billowy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and add butter one tablespoon at a time. When all of the butter is added turn off mixer and add chocolate. Whisk entire mixture for 1 minute on high until light and fluffy.
To assemble: Place one cake layer on cake stand and top with about 3/4 cup of icing. Place second layer on top and front the top and sides.
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I rave about myself every night at the dinner table, “Honey, can you believe I made this??” And it’s all thanks to you!! (and teaching me that organic butter is welcomed and embraced! No more fat free, yay!!
{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
LOOKS DELICIOUS! I could use a big piece of this for breakfast right about now
That is so exciting about Helen too – you are going to have soooo much fun!!
I can't even begin to tell you how much I would like a piece of this light, fluffy chocolaty cake right now. And congratulations on your book. Helen is an outstanding choice. I can't wait to buy the book when it's done!
what a gorgeous blog you have! so lovely! Cant wait to see the book as working with Helen will be amazing!
I can't wait to get started Carrie! It's going to be an awesome journey!
So yummy looking! I am excited for you!! Congrats!!
that is so exciting about your book! i'm going to buy a bunch and send them to you to sign. that cake looks AMAZING!!! i am trying to loose some weight right now so i'll wait to make it later…keep putting recipes on your blog. i love being able to try new things!!!
Congratulations! I can't wait to see the final product – I'm sure it will be fantastic!
A good reason to celebrate, no doubt! Pass me a piece of that cake, please…
Congratulations! That has to be every blogger's dream. Sounds like it will be a blast.
Congratulations! That has to be every blogger's dream. Sounds like it will be a blast.
I will take a slice (or three) of that anytime. Looks heavenly! Congratulations on your book and your collaboration with Helen! It's something a lot of us can look forward to.
CONGRATULATIONS!! What an exciting time for you, and what a delicious-looking cake!
congratulations on the book…that's very exciting.
Finally!!! Yeah!!! Way to go! So excited! Can't wait to have a copy…but, you already knew that, didn't you?!?!
Oh I hope I can get mine autographed! VERY happy for you and I know all your readers are just so excited! It's like we get a look into your secret world of delicious cooking…-jes
Carrie that is soooooo exciting!!!! Congrats!!! Can't wait to see it!
Congratulations!! And this cake looks like the perfect way to celebrate.
I am so excited to find a whole wheat chocolate cake recipe but need some help. What is rapadura and muscovado. Is there something I can substitute if either is sugar? I have Splenda and agave syrup. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Rapadura (also known as sucanat) is evaporated cane sugar that has been very minimally processed. You can find it at almost any health food stores. Also, if you search "rapadura" on the blog you will find a post on "Butterscotch brownies" where I wrote about it. Agave should work as a substitute in the frosting but probably won't do as well in the cake. Muscovado is a very dark brown sugar that has been minimally processed..that can also be found at most natural food stores. Let me know if you need any more help!
Congratulations, Carrie! Also, it was great to see a smiling Pete in the AF Times!
this cake looks amazing! Congratulations on your book deal! I'm excited for you =)
Congratulations on your book, what wonderful news, you must be so excited!! The cake looks absolutely divine too, I wish I had a slice.
I just made this last night! My sister must've stolen my round cake pans so I threw it into a bundt pan. I sooo wanted to do the frosting, but didn't know if it would work so well on a bundt, so just whipped up a chocolate ganache to drizzle over it. Yum, yum, yum! The cake is to die for! Can't wait to do your original version!
Congrats from one (formerly) Dallas girl to another, that is SO exciting about your cookbook, I have been subscribing to your blog for a while now and love it, cant wait for the cookbook!!
Congratulations on your book deal! I'm so excited for you and even more excited to get the first copy. Oh! and this cake looks delicious! Again, congratulations!!
This cake looks sensational! I am at work and I am basically drooling all over my keyboard. I might try to make these into cupcakes
Congratulations on your book! I will certainly recommend it to patients, friends, and family.
Congratulations!! And that cake looks fabulous!
I am going to make your chocolate frosting on a cake for next weekend's goodbye party for a good friend. I have a trusty chocolate cake recipe, but I have never had a good frosting. Can't wait to try! Hope you all are enjoying your family weekend. Sounds like a great time…
I was wondering- how sweet is this cake? Since eating the Nourishing Traditions way, I found western sweets much to sweet for me. The sweetness level I desire is 'bittersweet' This cake seems to have a lot of sugar!
Chad: I also eat the way Weston Price teaches and I personally don't think it is "too" sweet, but if you don't use sweeteners very often then you could add a bit less of the sugars. I would try going down to 1/2 a cup of each. The frosting balances this cake out nicely, doesn't overwhelm, and is nice and buttery. I'd love to know what you think if you try it! I hope that helps!
Hi Carrie,Thanks so much for getting back to me. I did make this cake! Phew, what a mission! I didn't have an electric mixer so had to do it all by hand. I really struggled to get the sugar and butter nice and light by hand. But it turned out okay- definately dense, but that's the style of the cake I take it : ) I reduced the sugar by 1/3cup and it was still plenty sweet. The frosting went a bit strange whilst whisking the butter in- it looked like it was all seperating out? When I added the chocolate in however it sort of fixed itself somehow! I used 70% cocoa chocolate. All in all the cake turned out beautiful! My partner loved it. I am storing it in the fridge which hardens the icing which is a shame! Thanks for this recipe! Will definately by making it again.Kylie (on partners account!)
Kylie: I laughed when you said you whipped the frosting by hand. You definitely got an arm workout!
I've also found that the frosting looks like it's curdling and then it magically fixes itself. It's kinda fun to watch. I'm so glad you found all of the work worth the effort!
oh yum! I've a litre of buttermilk in my fridge I need to use and I think this will be perfect!
Hey Carrie,
Do I need to refrigerate this buttercream? How long can it sit on the counter?
Thanks girl!
Molly
I will be making this very very soon. Thanks for reminding me
Do you think making this recipe as cupcakes would dry it out for any reason? How long should I cook as standard size cupcakes?
Is there something else I could use besides muscovado sugar? I haven’t been able to find it here and I wanted to try this cake for my son’s birthday party on Saturday.
You can use a very dark brown sugar as a substitute.
Hi,
This looks delicious! Did you grind your whole wheat pastry flour or is it store bought? I find if I grind my wheat I have to add 25% more if the recipe I’m using uses store bought wheat. Just needing a little clarification. Love your site!
Thanks!
I grind my own and use soft wheat berries for this recipe (also known as whole wheat pastry flour). So if you grind your own, then the measurements are just right. Enjoy!
What do you mean by herbal coffee? Would it work with just a breakfast bend or some other sort?
Thanks!
Herbal coffee is a coffee free of caffeine that is make of a blend of chicory, dandelion, etc. You can substitute the herbal coffee with regular coffee. A dark coffee would be best.
Hi Carrie – I want to make this into mini cupcakes for a school bday party. How long would I bake them?
I haven’t tested them as mini cupcakes, but I’d try 11 minutes and then check them. You might need to add a minute or two more to the baking time if they aren’t done at 11 minutes.
Thanks! I have twins turning 4 this weekend. One wants chocolate and one wants carrot for school
I want to try your carrot cupcakes also. I don’t have almond flour so I want to substitute whole wheat – are there any adjustments I should make if I do?
Happy Birthday to your twins! Can you clarify a bit more as to what you are needing? This chocolate cake recipe uses whole wheat flour, so I’m not sure what your question is. Thanks!
Here’s my recipe for gluten free carrot cake cupcakes. I would use this recipe and omit all of the flours and gelatin and replace with 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour. http://deliciouslyorganic.net/carrot-cupcakes-with-maple-cream-cheese-frosting-recipe/
I would bake them for 11 or so minutes for mini cupcakes. Sorry for my delayed response. We were in Yosemite last week without any internet access.
Sorry – I saw your recipe for grain free carrot cupcakes on another site. It called for
almond and coconut flour.
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