Getting lost in the city is rather fun.
In Malaysia, it is well known that Kuala Lumpur is one of the places to go for a shopping spree. While I don't normally splurge on clothes and shoes and bags, I love walking around in the enormous malls with their polished floors and glass window displays (is that what window shopping is ? Until now I'm still not very sure). Which was why I decided to drive alone to the heart of the city and walk and walk until my feet were red and sore.
I don't shop much and I don't actually eat that much. I guess the reason why I love KL so much is because I used to go there all the time during my lunch breaks when I was interning. It was a totally new experience for me then because I had never been to those malls before and it was a big break from having to slave away in the kitchen for hours at an end.. Not that it was a bad thing, it's was just that I didn't have time to shop much during those months. Plus the people I went there with really meant something to me. So today when I traversed the streets by myself, I kept remembering the group I went with. It didn't feel so long ago but in reality, it's been a year.
And while I mightn't have the world's biggest stomach, I do love looking at desserts. It's physically impossible for me to walk pass a glass display of cakes without pressing my nose up to the glass. I'll peruse macarons and cakes and cupcakes the way people browse handbags or accessories. And the mall I went to had a dessert shop around every corner so I had plenty of chances to ogle my eyes out and ended up buying a few cookies the size of my face to nosh on.. Not too long after eating the biggest piece of brownie I've ever had. Hey, this girl needs her sugar.
I ended up buying nothing. Other than the cookies, I spent zilch. I think the parking ticket cost me more than my total purchases. I think it annoys my parents because I tend to buy more books and random knickknacks than clothes.. Hi my name is Viyern and my impulse buys include cookbooks and cake pans with a side of cheese.
What does all this have to do with today's recipe ? Absolutely nothing. I made this chocolate cake because my mom had some guests coming over and a sheet cake seemed like the easiest thing to put together while baking another sheet of cookies. The recipe came from one of the cookbooks I stockpiled and while it's called a 'midnight chocolate cake', it isn't as dark as the name suggests. It's a fluffier cake and lighter in both taste and color. It's a chocolate cake for when you want some chocolate but don't want to be knocked out after eating a slice. Or when you have a hoard of teens coming over and the idea of baking twenty five cupcakes doesn't appeal. The frosting is on the sweeter side though, since I haven't actually come across a buttercream recipe that doesn't call for a ridiculous amount of sugar, I just went with it. I did try reducing the amount once but that just made the frosting too liquid and it oozed off the cake into the pan - not pretty. I also halved the amount of frosting for the cake but it still swathed the entire surface and stood around half an inch tall. Unfortunately, the said teens weren't fans of frosting so they found it a tad too rich, which is a puzzle to me because I adore frosting and think of it more as a dipping sauce than an adornment, but then again, that's just me. By all means halve the frosting recipe again if you're not a fan, it'll still be enough to cover the cake.
Midnight Chocolate Cake (adapted from ChocolateChocolate by Lisa Yockelson)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cups plus 3 tablespoon boiling water
2 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
210g unsalted butter
30g shortening
1 2/3 cups superfine sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup yogurt
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 13 by 9 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized bowl and pour over the boiling water and let stand for five minutes. Using spatula, slowly stir the mixture so the chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside, but use it while it is still slightly warm.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
4. In a mixer, cream the butter and shortening until lightened, then add the sugar in two batches, beat well after each addition. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 45 seconds after each egg has been added. The mixture should be light yellow and very fluffy. Slowly blend in the melted chocolate and vanilla.
5. On low speed, add the sifted mixture alternately with the yogurt, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Remember to scrape down the bowl every once in a while. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.
6. Bake the cake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan completely before frosting it.
Creamy Chocolate Frosting:
90g unsalted butter, softened
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups icing sugar, sifted
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp cocoa powder, dissolved in 2 tbsp hot water
1. Beat the butter on low speed until creamy. Beat in the salt, vanilla and 1 cup of the icing sugar. Beat in the heavy cream, then add another cup of icing sugar.
2. Beat in the dissolved cocoa mixture, making sure to scrape down the bowl so it is evenly blended in. Beat in the remaining icing sugar. Beat the frosting on medium speed for 3 minutes until smooth and very creamy. Adjust the texture by adding more cream if it's too stiff, or more icing sugar if it's too soft.
3. Use an offset spatula to spread the frosting over the cooled cake. Chill the cake for half an hour to set the frosting before slicing and serving.
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