[Chef at Heart]

My husband's birthday is next week.

He is Danish, and for a while now I have been planning a surprise of a traditional Danish birthday cake. However, he's now scheduled for some outpatient surgery on his birthday, so we had to talk about the logistics of his birthday and I had to tell him about the cake. He admitted to me that while it was traditional and certainly a thoughtful sentiment, it's really not his favorite cake. So, scratch that.

This weekend I'm taking him out for a fabulous meal at his favorite restaurant. But, I'd still like to have a cake for him on his actual birthday. The surgery won't have an effect on what he can eat.

What I would like is a decadent, traditional chocolate layer cake with a fabulous frosting. I found a Southern Living recipe that looks pretty good - but wondered if some of you great cooks and chefs out there have any suggestions before I settle on "the" recipe.

Thank you!

[kuan]

Since it's a to die for cake you're looking for, look for DBC, or Death by Chocolate.

Arguably the most liked chocolate cake in restaurants around the world.

[Chef at Heart]

It seems that there are a lot of desserts called that (from a Google search) - is there a quintessential version?

[teamfat]

Gee, too bad I'm suffering from hacker attacks and such on my servers at the moment. I should be dealing with that rather than browsing cooking forums, but I needed a break!

Anyway, if my dinner hike web site was working properly I'd point you to a recipe for a triple threat chocolate cake. Basically it is two layers of chocolate cake with a middle layer of a really rich flourless chocolate cake. I don't remember the exact recipe for the frosting, but it is something like heat a cup of heavy whipping cream, melt a stick of butter in it, then slowly blend in a pound of chopped chocolate. Oh, and there's a few hearty splashes of dark rum thrown into the mix too, as I recall. Not exacly the low cal diet plate

If I get my computers playing nicely in the next day or two I'll provide the link.

mjb.

[ChefRAZ]

Fudgy Chocolate Layer Cake Recipe | Chocolate Fudge Cake Recipes @ CDKitchen.com :: it's what's cooking online! this one sounds like one we used to make. hot coffee works well with the chocolate. and it loses the coffee flavor.I can taste it now.

[Mezzaluna]

Marcel Desaulnier's Death By Chocolate Cake is a classic. Here's a link to the cookbook: Amazon.com: Death by Chocolate Cakes: An Astonishing Array of Chocolate Enchantments: Books: Marcel Desaulniers

Your library might have the recipe. If you decide to purchase it from Amazon, remember: we have a link-through that benefits this site with a small donation.

Gale Gand's Brooklyn Blackout Cake is also very chocolaty. The recipe is in Butter Sugar Flour Eggs cookbook.

Baking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America has a recipe that I'd think would be very, very fudgy: Devil's Fudge Cake. Gand's cake has 3/4 cup of Dutch processed cocoa; this one has a full cup.

(Of course we don't want to violate copyright, so I'm not posting the recipes. If you find a link online, just post the link please.)

[Chef at Heart]

Terrific! Thanks for all of the suggestions.

[bubbamom]

Here's a family favorite. A glass of ice cold milk (or even a cup of coffee) makes a perfect desert!

Swiss Chocolate Cake

one 6-oz pkg (1 C) semi-sweet chocolate bits
1/4 C water
2 1/4 C sifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 C sugar
3/4 C butter or margerine, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 C buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine water and chocolate bits over low heat, stir until blended. Sift together (and set aside) flour, baking soda and salt. Combine and beat until creamy the sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs (add one at a time). Blend in chocolate mix, stir in alternately (in small amounts) flour mix and buttermilk. Pour into greased and floured 8 or 9 inch layer cake pans and bake 25-30 minutes. Cool and frost with:

Sour Cream Frosting

one 6-oz pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 C sifted powder sugar

Melt chips over hot water. Remove from heat and blend in sour cream, vanilla and salt. Gradually mix in powder sugar.

This frosting fills and frosts one 8 or 9 inch cake or a 13x9x2 cake.

I can also vouch for "Death by Chocolate" cake as prepared and served by Marcel Desaulniers at the Trellis in Virginia! OH-MY-GOSH it is so good and so rich that a single serving can be shared by two and you'll still walk away on a sugar high. This recipe is in his book "Death by Chocolate" and I'm lucky enough to have received an autographed copy as a gift.

[RouxTheDay]

There's an awesome fudge icing recipe in Joy of Cooking that is super fast and easy to make, and incredibly rich and chocolatey. I used it on a yellow cake for hubby (his favorite combo) and never even noticed that the cake wasn't chocolate!

[shandarpat]

There is a site called traditionalamericanrecipes. I found some very unusual cake and cookie recipes there.