Devil's fudge cake

Cake:

2½ cups cake flour
1¾ cups sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1½ cups warm water
1 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted

Devil's fudge icing:

1½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup hot water
2¼ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9-inch cake pans lightly with cooking spray, and dust lightly with all-purpose flour.

Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. On low speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition. Add the butter, and blend until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the water, and blend until a smooth batter forms, another 2 minutes. Add the cocoa powder last, mixing on medium speed until evenly blended, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed while you mix.

Divide the batter evenly between the pans. Bake until a skewer inserted near the center of each comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool the layers in the pans before turning out onto wire racks. Cool before icing.

To make the icing: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cocoa and butter on low speed until very smooth, about 2 minutes (scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed). Add the corn syrup, vanilla extract and salt, and continue to mix until evenly blended, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the hot water, and mix on low speed until well-combined.

Add the confectioners' sugar, and mix on low speed. Once completely blended, increase the speed to medium and whip until the icing is very smooth and light, 2 to 3 minutes.

(If you'd prefer the icing to be thicker once it is mixed, add more sifted confectioners' sugar in ½-cup increments until you reach the desired consistency. Blend well between additions. I added 1-cup more)

Spread between layers, on top and sides. Serves 16.

Nutrition data: 400 calories, 17 grams fat, 5 grams protein, 63 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams fiber, 240 milligrams sodium.

Baking at Home With the Culinary Institute of America" cookbook =>: Courier Journal 6April05