Triple Chocolate Cake
Curtis Young’s from-scratch cake took top prize one year in the Texas State Fair. The rich dates and banana in the cake give it more flavor and texture. While traditional in form, it is a move toward richer, more dense chocolate flavor.
Ingredients
- Cake
- All-Purpose Flour - 2 cups
- Sugar - 2 cups
- Cocoa - 3⁄4 cup, plus extra to dust cake pans
- Baking Soda - 11⁄2 teaspoons
- Baking Powder - 11⁄2 teaspoons
- Salt - 1 teaspoon
- Milk - 1 cup
- Vegetable Oil - 1⁄2 cup
- Eggs - 2
- Vanilla Extract - 2 teaspoons
- Ripe Bananas - 1, mashed
- Dates - 1⁄2 cup, sugar-coated chopped
- Boiling Water - 1⁄2 cup
- Topping
- Sugar - 1⁄4 cup
- Semisweet Chocolate Chips - 1⁄2 cup
- Nuts - 1⁄2 cup, chopped
- Frosting
- Butter - 3⁄4 cup, softened
- Confectioners’ Sugar - 3 cups
- Cocoa - 1⁄2 cup
- Milk - 1⁄4 cup
- Vanilla Extract - 1⁄2 teaspoon
- Filling
- Cream Cheese - 3-ounce package, softened
- Confectioners’ Sugar - 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 cup
- Butter - 2 tablespoons, softened
- Vanilla Extract - 1 tablespoon
- Cocoa - 2 tablespoons
- Garnish
- Nut halves
Instructions
To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and dust with cocoa. In a mixing bowl sift the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl mix the milk, oil, and eggs. Beat the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients. Add the vanilla, then stir in the mashed banana and chopped dates. Pour the boiling water into the batter and mix well. Divide the batter among the prepared pans.
To make the topping: In a small bowl combine the sugar, chocolate chips, and chopped nuts. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the batter, pressing it in lightly.
Bake the cakes for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans, and cool completely on wire racks.
To make the frosting: In a large bowl cream the butter with 1 cup of the sugar. Add the remaining sugar, cocoa, milk, and vanilla, and beat until smooth.
To make the filling: In a medium bowl beat the cream cheese with the sugar, butter, vanilla, and cocoa.
To assemble the cake: Place 1 cake layer on a large plate and spread with the filling. Place the second layer on top, then frost the sides and top with the frosting. Garnish with the nut halves.
