This This truly spectacular
looking and tasting southern chocolate cake recipe is from Belle
Cook of North Carolina. Belle is the mother-in-law of
Andra Cook, co-author of my first cookbook called
What's Cooking America.
Click here for
Basic Rules For Baking
or here for
Secrets
of a Successful Cake. Check out more
of Linda's wonderful
Cake Recipes
and
Chocolate Recipes.
Belle's 8-Layer Torte
Recipe Type:
Cake,
Chocolate,
Torte
Yields: 16 servings
Prep time: 30 min
Bake time: 30 min
Ingredients:
6 eggs, separated and room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated
sugar
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed
lemon juice, divided
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup all-purpose
flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Chocolate Frosting (see recipe below)
Chopped nuts
Preparation:
Make the above cake recipe twice
(two times).
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two 14- x
10-inch rimmed pans with wax paper. Grease wax paper with butter or margarine.
In a large bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and
creamy. Gradually beat in sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
In a small bowl, sift cornstarch, flour, and salt
together; add to egg yolk mixture. Add remaining lemon juice and beat until smooth.
In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold into
already prepared batter
mixture.
Spread batter evenly onto the prepared baking sheets.
Bake 10 to 15 minutes; remove from oven. Remove from baking sheets immediately
and remove wax paper. Let cakes cool on wire racks.
Prepare and bake the 2nd batch of chocolate cake
batter.
To assemble, cut each layer in half widthwise.
NOTE: After making this recipe twice, you will end up
with a total of eight (8) layers.
Place each layer, one by one, onto a cake plate and frost
each layer with Chocolate Frosting. After frosting the top layer, sprinkle with
chopped nuts.
Makes 16 servings.
Chocolate Frosting:
3 (1-ounce) squares
unsweetened chocolate
3 (1-ounce) squares
semi-sweet chocolate
6 egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup
heavy cream
1 3/4 cups butter, room temperature
Melt chocolate (unsweetened and semi-sweet
chocolate) in the top of a double boiler over hot water. In a medium bowl,
combine egg yolks and sugar. Stir in heavy cream; add to the melted chocolate.
Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool.
In a medium bowl, cream butter until light and
fluffy; beat into chocolate mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time. Chill until
frosting is of spreading consistency.
