Rich Cocoa Cake with Double Chocolate Frosting

Rich Cocoa Cake with Double Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients

• 21⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3⁄4 cup natural (not Dutch-processed) cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1⁄ 2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 12 tablespoons (11⁄ 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 13⁄4 cups superfine sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole or low-fat (not nonfat) plain yogurt
• Double-Chocolate Frosting (see recipe here ) 

Cooking Instructions: 

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
2. Lightly butter two 9-inch (11⁄2-inch-high) round cake pans. 
3. Line the bottoms of the pans with rounds of parchment or waxed paper. 
4. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together onto a large sheet of waxed paper. 
5. Place the sieve over a large bowl.  Lift up the waxed paper on both sides, slip the dry ingredients into the sieve, and sift them into the bowl.  Place the sieve on the waxed paper, and sift the dry ingredients again onto the paper, then sift back into the bowl. Repeat once again for a total of three siftings.
6. Using an electric mixer at high speed, beat the butter and sugar in a medium-size bowl until creamy, about 2 minutes. 
7. Over the course of the next 2 minutes, gradually pour in the eggs, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla.
8. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Starting with the flour mixture, add three equal portions of the flour mixture alternating with two equal additions of the yogurt, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
9. Divide the batter evenly among the cake pans and smooth the tops.
10. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until the cake just begins to shrink from the edges of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. 
11. Transfer to wire cake racks and let cool for about 10 minutes. 
12. Invert the cakes onto the racks and remove the paper. Turn the cakes right side up and let cool completely.
13. To assemble the cake, using a long serrated knife, cut each cake layer horizontally in half. 
14. Brush away any stray crumbs from the cake layers. Place a dab of frosting in the center of a serving platter. Place a cake layer, rounded side down, on the platter. Slide strips of parchment or waxed paper under the cake layer to protect the platter from the frosting. Reserve about 11⁄4 cups of the frosting.
15. Using a metal icing spatula, spread the top of the cake with about onethird of the remaining frosting. Top with a second layer, flat side up, and spread with another third of the frosting. Top with the third layer, flat side up, and spread with the remaining frosting. 
16. Top with the fourth layer, rounded side up. Taking care not to get crumbs into the frosting, spread a thin layer of frosting all over the cake. Refrigerate until the frosting is set, about 10 minutes. 
17. Spread the cake with the remaining frosting, creating swirls. Slip the paper strips out from under the cake.