America's Test Kitchen
Season 7 Episode 23 - Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake
We wanted a towering layer cake of childhood, moist and chocolaty and slathered with thick, billowy frosting. Remember old-fashioned chocolate layer cake—the kind moms everywhere baked? Each towering slice had a tender, airy, open crumb and was frosted with silky-smooth wisps of chocolate heaven. These homespun cakes were tall, sweet, and chocolaty, not dense, dark, and bitter, and they were eaten with an ice-cold glass of milk, not a demitasse of espresso. Admittedly, many of those birthday party chocolate cakes were made with a boxed mix. While those mixes deliver a pleasantly spongy, moist texture and guaranteed height, they were also full of artificial flavors—which as kids, we did not find objectionable. But, as adults with grown-up palates, we wanted real chocolate flavor in our cake. Therefore our goals were two-fold: create an old-fashioned chocolate layer cake with the same moist, tender crumb we so fondly remember and infuse this cake with true chocolate flavor—chocolaty enough to please adults, but not so dense that it might scare away the kids at the table. Recipes: Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake Tasting Lab: Chocolate Chips Equipment Center: Revolving Cake Stands Science Desk: Enhancing Chocolate Flavor
Episodes in Season 7
Meatloaf Dinner
25 min
Streamlined Chicken Skillet Suppers
25 min
Best Beef Stew
25 min
Sunday Roast Chicken and Stuffing
25 min
Two Ways with Pork
25 min
Faster Family Favorites
25 min
Lighter Family Favorites
25 min
Fish and Chips at Home
25 min
Chicken Kiev
25 min
Meat and Potatoes for Company
25 min
Staying in For Chinese Take-Out
25 min
Not Your Average Stir-Fry
25 min
More Tex-Mex Favorites
25 min
Even More Italian Classics
25 min
Flambé at Home
25 min
Hearty Eggs for Breakfast
25 min
Summer Cooking
25 min
Barbecued Brisket and Corn Fritters
25 min
Beer Can Chicken Dinner
25 min
Rainy Day Barbecue
25 min
Strawberry Cream Cake
25 min
Dark Chocolate Desserts
25 min
Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake
25 min
Easy Apple Desserts
25 min
Favorite Citrus Desserts
25 min
Lighter Cheesecake
25 min
