Chocolate Birthday Cake

I just made this for the first time as a practice bake for an upcoming bday (best friend's 50th). I couldn't be bothered with layers for a test cake, so I baked it in a 9x13 light-colored metal pan for 30 min at 325° convection (aka 350°). It rose beautifully and is otherwise exactly as the recipe described it would be.

Watch Eric’s process video on youtube! I’m pregnant and unable to do anything really because of such nausea, and this video was such a nice distraction! I can’t wait until I feel good enough to go to the store and get the ingredients. Chocolate cake is my heart.

I love that. Thank you so much, and hope you feel better! Here's the link, for anyone tackling this recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz3vn2yALnA

Made last night with the kids for my youngest’s birthday. It came out perfect. The batter seemed thin and like it wasn’t enough for three pans, but it was just the right amount. Had to cook and whisk the frosting longer than stated, more like 12 minutes, maybe I had too low temp. The frosting seemed like it would not be enough, but after all the whipping in the kitchenaid it fluffed up and was plenty. Swedish Mother in law said it was best cake I ever made. Not too sweet like the others.

I’d picked out another recipe for my brother’s birthday but then saw Eric’s post about recreating his favorite childhood birthday cake. I switched to his recipe and have zero regrets. The whole family loved it and said “It’s a keeper!” Because I only had 2 nine-inch pans instead of 3 eight-inch pans, I divided 495 grams of batter between the two pans and made 3 cupcakes with the remaining batter. The icing is a revelation! Simple and sophisticated! Love the video! Thanks, Eric!

Hi Lucinda, I do think 3 centimeters is a little short for this cake. It could be the leaveners (try refreshing them) or the bake (did you see a crack when you removed them from the oven?). Though these layers are meant to bake flatter than usual — meaning you don't have to carve them before frosting — I've noticed that underbaking them results in less of a rise. Ideally there's a very slight dome in the centers and a crack or two, signifying that they've been baked through. Eric

Gigi, a cake stand did fit in my fridge (thanks to an adjustable shelf). I suggest you just refrigerate the cake using a plate with a large piece of parchment or a cardboard cake round to help you slide it on to a stand if you want to use that to serve. JB, bittersweet chocolate is about 70% dark. I used Guittard dark chocolate chips (63%) and it turned out great!

I can’t explain how excited I was to open the link to this recipe and see it’s MY birthday cake! For almost 50 years this has been my combo. My mom would bake the cakes and cut and shape them into characters like Snoopy. Ermine frosting was always my favorite. Maybe it’s because my birthday’s coming up and I miss her, but this post made me very nostalgic! Inver never put sour cream in my ermine frosting, but I will give it a shot, because Eric Kim said to. I’m so glad the Times has you, Eric!

Suggest you Google "dairy-free buttercream," or "vegan buttercream," which will yield hundreds of recipes for you to choose from.

It would be fine. What you are going for is the flavor and the heat of the hot coffee to melt the chocolate.

At 1-1/2 oz, the chocolate is there as much for texture as taste, but in general: definitely not the same as unsweetened (and even at 1-1/2 oz, I wouldn't sub unsweetened). Bittersweet is often 70% (semisweet 60%), but there isn't a precise definition.

For gluten-free folks, Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur Flour have “cup for cup” type gluten-free flours that can be substituted for the same amount of conventional all purpose flour in any cake or cookie recipe. They would work just fine here. Both of those products are available in my local grocery store in Vermont.