Brick Street Cafe Chocolate Cake

The Brick Street Cafe is located in Greenville, SC, roughly fifteen minutes from me. I've never actually sat down and had a meal there, but I have had their cake. Sweet potato, chocolate, etc. All delicious, a well deserved cake reputation. When I saw a random blog claiming to have their recipe for chocolate cake, I had to give it a try. I'm not sure it's the same cake but it was a big hit regardless!

If the cake looks a bit squatty, it is completely my fault. I didn't pay attention to the pan requirement and realized too late (for the hundredth time) that I do not HAVE a tube pan, which is what the recipe calls for. The two pans hold similar amounts, but there is a marked difference in how easy it is to get the cake back out in the end. The top of the cake stayed in the pan, and was consumed for breakfast with fresh strawberries. Oh how I suffer.

I brought this to a book club meeting, our annual dinner where we discuss nominations for the next year's list. We had 53 candidates that had to be narrowed to 10! Sometimes when you get a bunch of women together, everyone pretends not to eat dessert, so I was a little nervous about bringing one. But I just couldn't find salad inspiration like I had previously, so I went with my instincts. And some people had two servings! I would consider that success. I had to Julia Childs it a little and still ended up telling about the cake top, but like Julia, poured myself a glass of wine and served it anyway.

I do think if I made it again I'd bake it in 2-3 cake layers and make a rich chocolate buttercream or a ganache mousse combo, because what I love better than a rich chocolate cake is a rich chocolate cake in layers with other rich things.

Brick Street Cafe Chocolate Cake (allegedly)
(as discovered on the Through Her Looking Glass blog)

Ingredients

 

Cake:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 2½ cups cake flour
• 1 cup baking cocoa, sifted
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup instant chocolate pudding mix (small box)
• 2¼ cups buttermilk
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Chocolate Icing:

• ½ cup water
• ½ cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup baking cocoa, sifted
• 3½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream (more or less for consistency)

 Instructions

Cake:

1. Preheat regular, conventional oven to 350°.
2. Beat sugar, butter & vanilla in large bowl.
3. Beat in eggs.
4. Mix in cake flour, baking cocoa, soda, salt, chocolate pudding and buttermilk.
5. Stir in semi-sweet chocolate chips.
6. Pour into greased tube pan.
7. Bake in regular, conventional oven at 350° for 30 minutes.
8. Adjust baking temperature down to 325° and continue baking 30-40 minutes more, until cake tester comes out clean.
9. (Check with cake tester at the one hour mark.)
10. Cool cake completely before icing.

Chocolate Icing:

1. Heat water, butter and vanilla together in sauce pan on stovetop until melted.
2. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in one cup cocoa.
4. Stir in powdered sugar, sifted.
5. Stir in heavy cream, up to 3 tablespoons (or more) until you get the desired consistency.
6. Ice cake by filling the hole in the middle of the cake first, then spread icing over cake top and pour over the sides. Icing will harden as it cools.