So, I accidentally made this for Our Lady's Birthday. We had this quart of coconut cream cheese frosting in our fridge that seemed to be growing, and I didn't want it to go to waste. Also, I hate red velvet cake. Hate it. I do not understand the appeal of red number 40 and sugar flavored cake with a sad, minuscule afterthought addition of cocoa powder. So, I thought I could use the technique only with chocolate in it for real. It turns out there are other recipes for this out there, but they still only had a tiny amount of chocolate, and that was unacceptable. Should I call this Brown Velvet Cake? So, this is what I came up with Monday, and then I realized that Tuesday was the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, so I thought birthday cake was a perfect idea.

The method on this is simple, but you do want to pay attention to the order ingredients are put in the bowl. If your Kitchen Aid broke this week like mine did, it is completely doable in a bowl with a whisk.

Chocolate Velvet Cake

2 1/2 cups pastry flour
1 cup dutch process cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups oil (I use safflower)
1 tablespoon vanilla paste or vanilla extract

2 cups buttermilk

1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease the bottom and sides of three 9 inch cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment, then grease the parchment. Set aside

In a medium bowl, whisk together the pastry flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Make sure you have sifted through any lumps of cocoa if there are any. Set aside.

Place sugar in a large bowl. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until the sugar and eggs are thick and pale yellow. Slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture while whisking well. Add the vanilla paste and whisk in completely.

Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk alternately, whisking well after each addition, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Stir the vinegar and baking soda together and mix well. Add to the cake batter and mix thoroughly.

Divide the batter between the three pans. You do not want to fill them more than half way.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until the center springs back.

Cool in pans on a rack for 5 minutes. Turn out of pans on to the rack and cool completely. Frost and fill with whatever frosting you like. The coconut cream cheese frosting went extremely well with it.

Labels: Blessed Virgin, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen, Theotokos