Organic Dark Chocolate Cake

Deep Dark Chocolate Cake Recipe Using Organic Dark Chocolate

There’s nothing like a deep, dark chocolate cake, and the best way to get it is to start with the right chocolate. Many cakes call for cocoa powder, but using bittersweet chocolate as well as cocoa powder makes for an extra-decadent dessert.

Here in the Santa Barbara Kitchen we like using our Organic Dark Chocolate Chips: their small size makes them easy to work with, and they taste fantastic. Sometimes it’s hard not to sneak some for tasting instead of the mixing bowl!

A Winning Cake Recipe approved by a King

Here in the kitchen we have made this dark chocolate cake a few times, and brought it into the admin office, to great fanfare each time. It’s delicious with homemade buttercream frosting (which is exceedingly easy to make). This unusual cake recipe was given to us from a famous chef who was trained in France. His career as a chef catapulted to a position of fame when he was appointed as head chef for the King of Iran (The Shah: Mohammad Reza Shah) in 1970s Tehran. The chef told us The Shah Mohammad Reza Shah loved this cake when served with black tea. Traditionally the cake was presented to dignitaries visiting the Iranian Palace in an afternoon tea ceremony. One side note, the chef lived in quarters on the palace grounds and had all necessities covered as one of the Shah's (King's) acclaimed servants. The chef told us he was paid a small weekly income that was supplemented with a 2 kilo (4.4lb) bag of saffron (grown in the Iranian highlands). Saffron is one of the most expensive spices in the world and according to our calculations 4.4lbs of it today is worth around $7,000.00! That's a nice extra weekly income addition. Anyhow, the chef also advised that saffron tastes wonderful with dark chocolate and he recommended using it as a secret ingredient when crafting specialty confections our organic cakes.

Chocolate Cake Recipe Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 egg whites
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream or plain yogurt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 pound Organic Dark Chocolate
• 2 tbsp. Red Cocoa Powder

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans.
2. Mix the butter, brown sugar, and powdered sugar with a mixer until fluffy. Beat in eggs, including extra yolk, one at a time, followed by vanilla.
3. Mix flour with baking soda and baking powder in a separate bowl, then take turns mixing small amounts of the flour mixture, sour cream, and milk until all ingredients are mixed into the main bowl.
4. Place Organic Dark Chocolate and Rainforest Red Cocoa Powder into food processor and run for 10 seconds or until finely chopped. Mix into batter.
5. Pour evenly into cake pans. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Wait until cakes are cooled, then frost with our favorite recipe (see below):