Chocolate Coca-Cola Bundt Cake with Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream

Chocolate Coca-Cola Cake

Stage 1: Preparing the Ingredients

• Preheat oven to 350º F.  Move one rack to middle of oven.
• Prepare bundt pan: For nonstick pan, spray with a neutral oil spray. For regular pan, lightly grease with butter or shortening, then lightly coat with all-purpose flour, knocking out any excess flour.  If you don’t have a bundt pan, feel free to use a 9-inch x 13-inch pan or (2) 9-inch cake pans. Note that cooking times (listed below) will be different for these pans.
• Prepare room temperature ingredients: Measure the buttermilk into a medium sized mixing bowl and allow to come to room temperature.  You may also set the buttermilk on the stove to allow the preheating oven to warm it more quickly. Put the eggs (still in shells) in a small bowl with warm water to allow them to come to room temperature more quickly.  Set aside.

Stage 2: Combining the Ingredients

• Combine dry ingredients EXCEPT cocoa powder: In a large mixing bowl, measure in the flour, both sugars, baking soda, and salt.  Gently whisk the ingredients together for at least 30 seconds to ensure they are well combined. Make sure there are no remaining lumps of brown sugar!
• Combine Coca-Cola, cocoa powder, and butter: Cut each stick of butter into 8 equal-sized chunks.  In a medium saucepan (2 quart pot or larger), combine butter chunks, Coca-Cola, and cocoa powder over medium heat.  Gently whisk until butter completely melts and the mixture is well combined—it should look like a smooth chocolate soup!  Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.  As soon as it boils, turn off heat and allow chocolate soup to cool for 5 minutes.
• Combine remaining wet ingredients: While the chocolate soup is cooling, crack both eggs into the bowl of buttermilk and add the vanilla.  Whisk until well combined.
• Bringing it all together:  Taking care not to over mix the batter, slowly pour the chocolate soup into the large bowl of dry ingredients.  Carefully whisk the mixture together until just combined.  Then, carefully pour the wet ingredient mixture in as well and stir together until just combined.  It’s VERY important to not over mix at this step to avoid developing the gluten in the flour.  Gluten development will make the cake tough, like bread, instead of tender, like cake.  

Stage 3: Baking the Cake

• Bake the cake: Carefully pour the cake batter into the prepared pan(s). Bake 45-55 minutes for bundt cake, 30-35 minutes for 9-inch x 13-inch pan, 25-35 minutes for the 9-inch cake pans.  Every oven is different so start with the shortest cooking time and then check the cake.  You’ll know that it’s done when the cake begins to pull away from the side of the pan(s) and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean or with a few crumbs stuck to it.  If the toothpick comes out with runny batter, your cake is not done yet!
• Un-molding the cake: Once the cake is baked, allow it to cool—still in the pan—on a cooling rack for 15 minutes.  Don’t allow the cake to cool for longer than 15 minutes, otherwise it may begin to stick to the pan.  As the cake cools, it will shrink even more and hopefully, the edges will completely come away from the pan.  If any edges are still stuck, use a thin knife to carefully release them.  Then, put a plate on top of the cake pan and, carefully holding the cake pan and plate together (with an oven mitt because that cake pan is probably still hot!), flip the whole thing over so that the cake pan is inverted on top of the plate.  Carefully jiggle the pan and you will be able to feel if the cake has released and is sitting on the plate.  Slowly remove the pan and allow the cake to completely cool on the plate. And since a video is worth a thousand words, here’s a quick how-to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo1BbItu6hQ

Chocolate Buttercream

Stage 1: Make the Italian Meringue

• Prepare the egg whites: Separate the eggs and add the whites to the bowl of an electric stand mixer.  (Discard the yolks or keep refrigerated up to 2 days for another use.) Using the whisk attachment, begin whipping the whites on a low speed.
• Prepare the sugar syrup: As the egg whites are slowly whipping, measure the sugar and water into a small saucepan.  Stir just to moisten the sugar, taking care to not get sugar on the sides of the pan.  Start to heat the sugar and water on medium heat, without stirring.
• Finish whipping whites and boiling syrup: As the sugar dissolves and the syrup starts to boil, increase the whipping speed for the egg whites.  Continue to slowly increase the whipping speed to medium-high.  The goal is to whip the whites to firm peaks just as the syrup boils to 240º F, as indicated on candy thermometer.
• Assemble Italian Meringue: Once the syrup reaches 240º F, turn off heat, and carefully pour syrup into a heat safe glass measuring cup with pouring spout, such as Pyrex.  Turn the mixer down to the lowest speed and, slowly and carefully, begin pouring the syrup down the side of the bowl.  Pour about 1/4 of the syrup, then turn the mixer up to medium for about 20 seconds.  Turn down the mixer to the lowest speed again, pour another 1/4 of the syrup, then whip on medium for another 20 seconds.  Repeat until all the syrup has been added to the egg whites.  Turn the speed up to medium-high and continue whipping until the meringue is completely cool. 

Stage 2: Complete the Buttercream

• Prepare the butter: While the meringue whips, unwrap all 4 sticks of butter and cut each stick into 8 equal sized chunks. Set aside to come to room temperature.
• Prepare the chocolate: Chop chocolate into bite-sized chunks and heat in microwave at half power for 30 seconds.  Stir chocolate and repeat for another 30 seconds.  Continue stirring and heating until chocolate is completely melted.  Set aside to cool.  
• Finish the buttercream: Once the meringue is cool, switch out the whisk attachment for the paddle attachment. Mix the meringue on low speed while slowly adding the butter, one piece at a time, until all of it has been added.  The buttercream will probably look curdled at first.  Continue mixing until the buttercream becomes silky smooth, like a dense whipped cream.  Slowly mix in melted chocolate, salt, and vanilla.  Use immediately, refrigerate for one week, or freeze for 1 month.