Midnight Chocolate Cake

This is my Midnight Chocolate Cake. It’s an extremely dark, rich and moist chocolate sponge paired with a classic chocolate cream cheese frosting.

For this cake, I really wanted the sponge to have an extremely dark, almost black color so there would be some contrast between the cake and the chocolate frosting. This is why I chose to use a midnight cocoa powder, but you can definitely use regular cocoa powder if that’s what you have.

While chocolate on chocolate is not my most favorite pairing, my boyfriend Cody loves it and requested it so I thought I’d give it a try. And if I’m being totally honest, this is actually my second attempt at a chocolate cake with a chocolate frosting. My first attempt looked gorgeous and was even decorated with Coco Puffs, but I overbaked the cake so it was pretty dry. But if there’s one thing I love about cake, it’s that a scoop of ice cream will always make it better!

I hope you enjoy this cake!

xo,
Courtney

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30-35 minutes plus ~1 hour for cooling
Total time:  2 hours
Yields: One quarter sheet pan (9-by-13 inches) or two 8-inch round cake pans

Ingredients for the Cake:

• 55 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
• 60 grams vegetable shortening
• 250 grams granulated sugar
• 50 grams light brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 65 grams vegetable oil
• 110 grams buttermilk
• 8 grams vanilla extract
• 155 grams cake flour
• 90 grams midnight or black coco powder
• 6 grams baking powder
• 3 grams kosher salt

Ingredients for the Frosting:

• 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature (full-fat brick cream cheese)
• 113 grams unsalted butter at room temperature (1/2 stick of butter)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 4 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1-3 Tbsps. of milk (if needed)

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350° F
• Add the butter, shortening and sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream together on medium-high for 1-2 minutes, just until it all comes together.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs one at a time, making sure each is fully incorporated before adding the next. After adding the last egg, mix on high for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once more. The mixture should look homogenous. If there are any streaks of ingredients that aren’t fully incorporated, cream for another 2-3 minutes.
• On low speed, stream in the vegetable oil. Then stream in the buttermilk just a little at a time. Then add the vanilla. After adding the vanilla, increase the mixer speed to medium-high and mix for another 4-6 minutes until the mixture is twice the size and completely homogenous.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients into the wet all at once and mix on the lowest speed for 45 to 60 seconds, just until the batter comes together. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl thoroughly to ensure the batter is fully mixed. If not, use a spatula to mix any pockets of dry ingredients until fully incorporated.
• Spray your pan(s) with baking spray, line the bottom with parchment and spray the top of the parchment and up the sides of your pan. Pour the batter into your pan(s) and spread into an even layer.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes, making sure to rotate the pan(s) at 15 minutes to ensure an even bake. At 30 minutes, use your finger to gently poke around the outside and center of the cake. It should bounce back very slightly and not be jiggly at all.
• When baked through, remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. If using a quarter sheet pan, you can cool the cake in the pan completely. If using round cake pans, I recommend cooling the cakes in the pan for 15-20 minutes and then removing them from the pan to continue to cool.
  • Depending on your pan, you can use an offset spatula or bench scraper to cut around the sides of the cake to loosen the edges and invert it onto a plate. Then remove the parchment paper and invert again onto the wire rack to finish cooling.
• While the cake is cooling, make the frosting. Combine the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and beat until creamy and lump-free. Add vanilla extract and salt and stir well to combine. With mixer on low, gradually add powdered sugar until completely combined. Add cocoa powder and beat until well-incorporated into the frosting. Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so that all ingredients are well-combined. If the frosting is too thick, feel free to add milk one tablespoon at a time.
• Once the cake is cooled, frost it, decorate it and enjoy!
  • Note: I used two 8-inch pans to bake my cakes and unfortunately had a bit of trouble getting them out of the pans. I ended up using a cake ring to cut out the center of the cakes so I could get at least something out of the pan. As you can probably tell in the photos, my edges were then a bit crumbly which made frosting the sides of a cake even more messy and difficult. But I actually like the disheveled look and the cake tasted great, so who cares!