Classic American Chocolate Layer Cake
Recipe from Chef Morand Dare of Ruby Foo's in Times Square in New York

A popular Philadelphia cookbook author, Eliza Leslie, published the earliest known chocolate cake recipe in 1847 in The Lady’s Receipt Book. Unlike chocolate cakes we know today, this recipe used chopped or grated chocolate. Other cooks of the time such as Sarah Tyson Rorer and Maria Parloa all made contributions to the development of the chocolate cake and were prolific authors of cookbooks.

Older recipes that mention Chocolate and Cake were actually referring to cakes meant for serving with chocolate, usually of the hot and drinkable variety. Though cakes containing chocolate as an ingredient date back further—the Marquis de Sade mentions one in a 1779 letter sent to his wife from prison—we have found no written recipe until Eliza Leslies’ 1847 book, The Ladies Reciept Book.

Cake: 1 pound butter, softened, plus extra for cake pans 1 1/2 cups cake flour plus extra for cake pans 3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate (good-quality, preferably Valrhona) 6 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (good quality, preferably Valrhona) 2 3/4 cups granulated sugar 10 eggs, 2 whole and 8 separated 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 14 ounces sour cream 3/4 cup cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon baking powder Pinch salt 4 cups chocolate icing (recipe to right) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Chocolate Icing: 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (good-quality, preferably Valrhona) 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 8 ounces granulated sugar 3/4 cup egg whites (about 6 large eggs) 12 ounces butter, softened

Cake:
Butter and flour three 9-inch-diameter cake pans.

In a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water or in the microwave, melt the two chocolates together, then set the bowl aside. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and 2 cups sugar until they're light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the 2 whole eggs and 8 egg yolks, vanilla, and sour cream and continue beating until well blended.

In another bowl, mix together the cocoa and baking soda, then whisk in 3/4 cup hot water until the mixture is smooth. Add the melted chocolates, then the cocoa mixture, to the batter in the mixer bowl. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and fold into the batter.

Whip the egg whites in a large bowl until frothy, then add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar, a little at a time, until the whites reach soft peaks; do not overbeat. Whisk a little of the beaten whites into the batter until well blended, then fold in the remaining whites.

Pour the batter into the three prepared pans and bake for about 50 to 60 minutes or until the top is springy and the cake begins to separate from the sides of the pan. Unmold onto a wire rack and cool.

Level the surface of each cake; spread a layer of chocolate icing between each layer of cake and frost the outside of the cake with the remaining icing. Decorate with chocolate shavings if desired.

Chocolate Icing:
Place the chocolate in a bowl. Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan and pour over the chocolate, stirring until the chocolate has melted. Set aside in a cool place to set. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar with 1/2 cup water and cook over high heat until the syrup reaches soft-ball stage (240 degrees on a candy thermometer; a spoonful dropped in ice water should form a ball when rolled between the fingers).

Meanwhile, whisk the whites in the bowl of an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually pour in the hot sugar syrup, and continue beating until the meringue cools to room temperature. Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer with the chocolate-cream mixture until it's light and fluffy. Fold in the meringue, and use immediately.

Serves ten