Serendipity Chocolate Cake

This is a dark, dark chocolate cake from Serendipity restaurant in New York...served with two scoops of ice cream helps because it is sooo rich This is a super chocolate cake like the one served at Serendipity Restaurant in New York...serve with a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream to help with the overload of chocolate...

• Ready In: 1 hr 10 mins
• Serves: 10
• Yields: 4 layer cake

Ingredients

• cake

• 3  cups cake flour
• 1 3⁄4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1  lb unsalted butter, softened
• 2  lbs  packed light brown sugar
• 7  large eggs
• 2  teaspoons vanilla
• 2 1⁄2 cups cold water
• 1  cup sour cream
• 1  lb  unsweetened chocolate, melted

• frosting

• 1  lb  unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
• 2  cups heavy cream
• 2 1⁄2 cups sugar
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1  tablespoon vanilla
• 2  cups sour cream

Directions

1. Cake.
2. Preheat oven to 325* and butter the bottoms of 4 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment.
3. Sift together the flour and baking soda. Cream the sugar and butter -- add eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture -- mix thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients in three parts -- alternating with the cold water -- mix completely -- Add the sour cream and melted chocolate. Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes -- cool the cakes in their pans for 15 minutes -- the cakes will sink to half their height -- Remove from pans and cool completely.
4. Frosting.
5. Place chocolate in large mixing bowl. Heat the cream, sugar, and corn syrup just to boiling -- pour over the chopped chocolate -- slowly stir till smooth. Add vanilla and cool completely -- then add sour cream -- frost -- store covered at room temperature.