I’ve been making my way through Ina Garten’s recipes to become a better home cook, so naturally, I’ve tried many of her desserts to satisfy my sweet tooth.
From a blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake that won over my mom on Mother’s Day to the iconic mocha icebox cake that Garten says makes “grown men weep,” she truly has a dessert for everyone.
But Garten really excels at chocolate, and I’ve made two of her favorite chocolate cakes. The question is, which one is best?
First, let’s make Garten’s chocolate cake with mocha frosting.
Garten’s chocolate cake with mocha frosting first appeared in her 2014 cookbook, “Make It Ahead.”
The “Barefoot Contessa” star has called this recipe a “dessert everyone will remember.” I had to see if it lived up to the hype.
Garten’s chocolate cake features unsweetened cocoa powder, pure vanilla extract, and instant espresso powder.
To make Garten’s chocolate cake, which serves 12, you’ll need:
- 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 cups of sugar
- 1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) of unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups of all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
- ⅔ cup of half-and-half
- ⅔ cup of the hottest tap water
- 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon of instant espresso powder
To make the frosting for the cake, you’ll need:
- 12 ounces of bittersweet chocolate
- 1 ¼ cups of heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter (diced), at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon of Kahlúa
- 2 teaspoons of instant espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
I sifted my dry ingredients and mixed the cocoa and espresso powders with half-and-half and hot water before I began making the batter.
I then placed the sugar and room-temperature butter into the bowl of my electric mixer — fitted with the paddle attachment — and beat them for about 4 minutes on medium speed.
After adding the eggs one at a time, I added the flour and chocolate mixtures alternately in thirds, starting and ending with the flour mixture.
I poured my batter into a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking pan and smoothed the top.
Before I made my batter, I had buttered my pan, lined the bottom with parchment paper, then buttered and floured it again.
“There’s no point in making a cake if you can’t get it out of the pan,” Garten said in the “Barefoot Contessa” episode where she demonstrated this recipe.
I placed my cake in the oven, which had been preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Garten says the cake should bake for 25 to 35 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when the cake tester or knife comes out clean from the center.
Once my cake was out of the oven, I let it cool for 45 minutes while I made the frosting.
The mocha frosting for Garten’s cake was quick to assemble.
I chopped my chocolate and added it to a bowl with my butter and espresso powder. Then I heated my heavy cream and mixed everything together before adding the Kahlúa and vanilla. I covered the bowl with plastic wrap and left it in the fridge for 30 minutes, per Garten’s instructions.
After the frosting has chilled, Garten says you should mix it on high speed for about 15 to 20 seconds, until it forms soft peaks. She also warns that it will curdle if you overbeat it.
This step was, unfortunately, a bit of a struggle for me. The consistency didn’t look thick enough when I took it out of the fridge, so I had to let the frosting chill for another 10 minutes. And after mixing the frosting with my electric mixer, it still didn’t appear as whipped as it had looked in the “Barefoot Contessa” episode.
I was still able to spread the mocha frosting on the cake easily, but it didn’t look as good as I had hoped.
I loved the texture of Garten’s chocolate cake, but the icing didn’t blow me away.
Garten’s cake is springy and light, and I loved the enhanced chocolate flavor thanks to the espresso powder. I think it’s really easy for a chocolate cake to become too dense or heavy, but Garten’s recipe has a lovely texture.
I just wish I had enjoyed the mocha frosting as much as the cake. The consistency tasted off, and the flavor didn’t grab me. But, paired together, the cake and mocha icing still pack a punch that I know any big chocolate fan would love.
Get the full recipe for Ina Garten’s chocolate cake with mocha frosting here.
Next up was Beatty’s Chocolate Cake, which Garten called the “most fabulous chocolate cake” she’s ever made.
The recipe for Beatty’s Chocolate Cake actually comes from Garten’s friend Michael Grimm, who has frequently appeared on “Barefoot Contessa.”
“He actually served this cake to me once at dinner, and I just begged him for the recipe,” Garten said on an episode featuring the cake. “I didn’t have to beg very hard.”
Beatty was Grimm’s grandmother, and she baked this cake for her husband and the customers on his milk route, according to Grimm’s friend Monte Mathews, who shared the cake’s origin story on his blog Chewing The Fat.
Beatty’s Chocolate Cake features freshly brewed coffee, cocoa powder, and buttermilk.
To make Beatty’s Chocolate Cake, you’ll need:
- 1 ¾ cups of all-purpose flour (plus more for pans)
- 2 cups of sugar
- 1 cup of freshly brewed hot coffee
- 1 cup of buttermilk (shaken)
- ¾ cup of cocoa powder
- ½ cup of vegetable oil
- 2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
To make the frosting, you’ll need:
- 6 ounces of good semisweet chocolate
- 2 sticks (½ pound) of unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups of powdered sugar (sifted)
- 1 extra-large egg yolk at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon of instant coffee granules (such as Nescafé)
- 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
Pro tip: You can also use Garten’s recipe for cupcakes. This recipe will make 24 cupcakes, just make sure to reduce the baking time to 25-30 minutes.
First, I made the batter.
I sifted my dry ingredients into the bowl of my electric stand mixer and mixed everything together until combined. I mixed my wet ingredients in a separate bowl, making sure to shake the buttermilk before throwing it in.
While the mixer was on low speed, I carefully poured my wet ingredients into the bowl with my dry ingredients. Then I added Garten’s “secret” ingredient — the freshly brewed cup of hot coffee — while the mixer was still on low, letting it stir just to combine.
I poured my batter into two 8-inch round pans.
Before adding the batter, I buttered my pans, lined the bottoms with parchment paper, then buttered and floured both pans again.
I threw my pans into the oven, which was set at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Garten says the cakes should bake for 35 to 40 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready when your cake tester or knife comes out clean.
Once my pans were out of the oven, I let them cool for 30 minutes while I made the buttercream frosting. After 30 minutes had passed, I took my cakes out of their pans and let them sit on a cooling rack and a baking sheet.
Garten calls her frosting the “easiest, most delicious buttercream you’ve ever seen.”
After chopping and melting my chocolate, I added my butter to the electric mixer and beat it on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, until it turned fluffy.
I then added the egg yolk, vanilla, and sugar to mix everything together before throwing in the chocolate and instant coffee granules, which I had dissolved in hot water first.
The winner was clear, Beatty’s Chocolate Cake really … took the cake.
I was blown away by how moist Beatty’s Chocolate Cake tasted. The flavor was deliciously rich, but the texture wasn’t heavy or dense. As I wrote in my original review, it’s without a doubt one of the fluffiest cakes I’ve ever had — even from a restaurant or bakery. And I loved the buttercream frosting, which had the perfect amount of sweetness and paired beautifully with the chocolate cake.
Beatty’s Chocolate Cake requires a bit of work and effort, but that makes it all the more special. It’s a cake no one will forget.
Get the full recipe for Ina Garten’s Beatty’s Chocolate Cake here.
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