Devil's Food Cake w. Chocolate Mousse Buttercream

Mmmmmmmmm...wait for it...mmmmmm! A moist cake with a ridiculous icing rich enough to make any chocoholic swoon. The icing is a blend between a buttercream and a mousse so it lends a smooth finishing touch to this classic cake. I do think this recipe would be better presented as a cake, but it was delicious enough as cupcakes that I'll be adding it to my cake repertoire.

Devil's Food Cake w. Chocolate Mousse Buttercream

This recipe is adapted from "Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey" by Jill O'Connor

Devil's Food Cake Recipe:

1/3 C Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Instant Espresso Powder

4oz Semisweet or Bittersweet Chocolate

1 C Boiling Water

2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1 C Buttermilk

1/2 C (1 Stick) Butter, @ Room Temp

1/2 C Vegetable Oil

1 C Packed Dark Brown Sugar

1 C Sugar

3 Large Eggs, @ Room Temp

2 1/4 C Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease/flour two 9" cake pans or line 2 cupcake tins.

In a large bowl, combine the cocoa powder, espresso powder and chocolate. Pour in teh boiling water and stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Let the mixture cool, then stir in the buttermilk.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer set at Med speed, beat the butter and oil together until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Alternately add the flour mixture and the chocolate-buttermilk mixture to the batter, ending with the flour mixture.

Divide between the pans evenly and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Let cool completely before icing.

Chocolate Mousse Buttercream

6 Large Eggs

1 1/2 C Sugar

2 Tbsp Dutch-processed Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Pinch of Salt

1 1/2 Lbs (6 sticks) Cold Butter

8-12 oz Semisweet Chocolate, Melted

Whisk together the eggs, sugar and cocoa powder in a metal bowl of a stand mixer.

Fill a large pan with water and bring to a simmer over med-high heat. Place the mixing bowl in the simmering water and whisk the egg mixture constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is thick, fluffy and very hot (3-4 minutes). Use an instant-read thermometer to check the temp of the mixture; it should be between 120-140 degrees F.

Remove the bowl from the simmering water and, using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs at med-high speed until they are tripled in volume and form soft peaks and the bottom of the bowl is completely cool to the touch (about 10 mins). Beat in the vanilla and salt.

While the eggs are mixing, unwrap the butter and place in ziploc bags. Pound the butter until it is soft and malleable but still cool.

With the mixer speed still on Med-High, add the butter (approximately 2 Tbsp at a time) to the egg mixture, beating in each addition until it's incorporated. Don't start to panic if the buttercream seems too liquidy or looks curdled. As you beat in the butter it will almost magically coming into a smooth & creamy frosting. Hold your breath and keep blending!

When the buttercream is smooth and glossy (it will remain SUPER glossy, too) with a subtle brown tint form the cocoa powder, turn off the mixer and carefully fold in about 2/3 of the melted chocolate. Taste the buttercream and add as much of the remaining melted chocolate as you like for an even richer, denser buttercream.

Of course, I ended up adding all of it and then-some since I started off with about 15oz chocolate for my batch... :)