Chocolate-Mayonnaise Cake

When I offered to make the cake for a family birthday party a few days ago, my host requested chocolate. This excellent cake cooks up in a jiffy: There’s no taste of the mayonnaise that provides its fat and some of its moisture. Because this was to be a party cake, I took extra care in its finishing, brushing the layers with Kahlua-Flavored Simple Syrup, icing the center with a snowy Bake-Shop Frosting, and topping it with a silky Sour Cream Ganache. 

If you’re a Ganache lover, you may also want to try Julia Child’s Heavy Cream Ganache. 

Chocolate-Mayonnaise Cake:

2 c. unsifted all-purpose flour

⅔ c. sifted cocoa powder

1-¼ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. baking powder

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1-⅔ c. granulated sugar

1 c. full-fat mayonnaise

1-⅓ c. cold water

Kahlua-Flavored Simple Syrup (optional; see recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Grease and “flour” two 9-in. cake pans (see Note). Set aside. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder to medium bowl, combining well. Set aside. Beat eggs and vanilla at high speed, using electric mixer. Gradually add sugar, scraping down sides of bowl and beating until no graininess remains when you rub a small amount of batter between your finger and thumb. Continue beating until thick and creamy, about 5 min. Reduce beater speed to low and add mayonnaise.

Beginning and ending with dry ingredients, alternate additions of flour mixture and water, beating well between each addition and continuing to scrape down sides of bowl. Distribute batter equally between two cake pans. Rap pans once on work surface to remove large air bubbles. Bake 45 min., until a toothpick or skewer poked into centre of cake emerges dry. Let cakes rest in pans 10 min. before inverting onto cooling racks. While cakes are still warm, brush “crumb” side of each with 1 tbsp. Simple Syrup combined with 1 tsp. Kahlua or other coffee-flavored liqueur. 

Simple Syrup: East to make and use. 

I frosted the top and sides of this rich and gooey cake with Sour Cream Ganache, using Bake-Shop Frosting for the center layer. Using a little more than half this easy-to-spread frosting for the middle layer, I froze the rest for “next time.” It’s never a surprise how fast “next time” rolls around when there’s a delicious frosting in the freezer!

Note: Use sifted cocoa powder to dust greased cake pans for chocolate cakes.  Dust pans for other cakes with all-purpose flour.

Further Note: Purists slice away the “dome” that results after baking some cakes. My personal preference is to press lightly on the top of each hot cake in the pan, flattening its dome while maintaining the delicate texture of the cake. That does the job to my satisfaction.

To Prepare the Kahlua-Flavored Simple Syrup:

Simple Syrup is a very useful ingredient to stock in the fridge. Among its many uses is keeping cakes moist and adding a burst of subtle flavor. To make basic Simple Syrup, boil equal parts of sugar and water together 5 min. Chill for future use. 

I usually keep a modest amount on hand in a covered, labeled jar. For this cake, I brushed the “crumb” side of each layer (the side closest to the cake pan) with 1 tbsp. Simple Syrup to which I added 1 tsp. Kahlua. Tailor this basic recipe to your cake: Boil an orange with the Simple Syrup you intend to brush onto an Orange Cake, for instance, and add a splash of orange liqueur or non-alcoholic orange extract to the syrup. Let your imagination soar! 

For the record, Dollinks, I used only a whisper of alcohol in my syrup because this cake was intended for children. 

Dust pans with sieved cocoa. I use cake pans with built-in

sliding “cutters” that easily release the cake from the pan.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda.

Pre-measuring ingredients makes the work go faster!

Beat eggs, vanilla, sugar, and mayonnaise. To this, add 

alternate additions of flour mixture and water.

Prepare Simple Syrup as cake bakes. Use

only what you need, adding liqueur or extract.

Brush cake with syrup - no need to soak it!

Another satisfied customer: Sydney

Two candles blown out ... seven more to go: Lyndsay