Today is Saturday, February 4th. It is the day before the Superbowl, the first time our Seattle Seahawks have ever gone to play in what some consider the nation’s top sporting event.
Almost everyone I know is cooking today, for tomorrow’s parties. Sharon and I are shoulder-to-shoulder in the kitchen, as she prepares her blue cheese spread, flavored nuts, and dip. In far-away Florida, my Dad is making olive oil dip to serve with homemade buttermilk bread. My big brother Steve, in North Carolina, is thinking about taking homemade chili to a party tomorrow. And me? I put together my most decadent chocolate cake recipe ever! Recipe follows…
The Cake
2/3 C butter, softened
1-2/3 C sugar
3 eggs
1/2 t vanilla
2 C flour
1/3 C Hershey’s European style cocoa
1/3 C Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa
1-1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t baking powder
1-1/3 C milk
4 T creme de cacao
Cream butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in large bowl until light and fluffy. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and baking powder, add alternately with milk to creamed mixture, blending until just combined.
Pour into two greased, floured, and if possible, parchment-lined 9-inch layer pans. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and then remove from pans. Sprinkle each layer with 2 T creme de cacoa.
The Chocolate Cream Filling
1-1/3 C sugar
4 T cornstarch
1/4 t salt
2-1/2 C milk
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
1/4 C Kahlua
1/4 C + 1 T creme de cacao
Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan, stir in the milk and egg yolks. Add the baking chocolate. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils. Boil and stir 1 minute, until the chocolate flecks disappear and the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in liqueurs. Pour into a bowl and press plastic wrap or waxed paper on the surface. Chill in refrigarator.
The Super-Dark Chocolate Frosting
1 stick of butter, softened to almost the melting point
2/3 C Special Dark cocoa
3 C powdered sugar
1 T Kahlua
1 T creme de cacao
1/3 C milk
Cream together the butter, cocoa, and sugar. Mix in the Kahlua and creme de cocoa. It will be super-stiff. Add milk gradually until it has a nice spreading consistency.
The Assembly
Using dental floss, thread, or a long serrated knife, split each layer in half horizontally. Place one layer on serving plate and spread with 1/3 of the chocolate cream filling. Repeat with remaining layers. Frost top and sides with the dark frosting.
The Decoration
For the average football game, a 4-layer chocolate cake made from scratch is enough. But for the Superbowl, we had to go all out. We cut out a stencil of the Seahawks logo and put it on top of the cake. We then sifted powdered sugar over the stencil. Go ‘hawks!