Chocolate Cinnamon Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

Yesterday, I had a completely new experience: a random guy biked past me and told me I could draft off his bike.  Perhaps I was going pathetically slow, or maybe he was just being nice.  I’m going to go with nice because in my mind I’m practically velodrome material.  If you’ve ever drafted off of someone, you already know that it makes the ride significantly easier.  I ended up going faster than I’ve probably ever gone on that stretch of the trail with what felt like minimal effort.  It was exhilarating.  If I knew who that guy was, I would say thanks by giving him a piece of this cake.

This cake is everything I wanted it to be:  two fudgy layers bonded together with a thick band of smooth, creamy, cinnamon frosting.  It is cake at its finest.  Scott, Heather, and I have been eating slivers of it the past few nights.  I like it so much I just might hide the last piece.

Notes:
Despite all of the notes and the length of this recipe, this cake is super easy to make!  I used regular (full-fat) sour cream for the cake and regular cream cheese for the frosting.  If you don't have black cocoa powder, you can replace it with regular cocoa powder.  My "regular" cocoa powder is Natural High Fat Cocoa from Penzeys Spices, and the black cocoa powder is from King Arthur Flour.  The black cocoa powder makes the cake extra chocolaty.  Once the cocoa powders are measured, sift them to remove any lumps.  You can sift them directly into the bowl you will be mixing the dry ingredients in or onto a piece of wax paper or a flexible cutting board for easy pouring.  I couldn't weigh the nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom individually because my scale doesn't go that low.  The sum of the weights of these ingredients was 1 gram.  If it seems like the cake is getting too dark, cover it loosely with a piece of foil.

I used the cinnamon flavor because I wanted the frosting to be pure white.  If you don't have cinnamon flavor (mine is Frontier brand, and it consists of sunflower oil and cinnamon oil), you can add some ground cinnamon to taste, or just leave it out and have plain cream cheese frosting.  You'll want to beat the frosting for the designated amount of time to get the right consistency.  Also, I let the cream cheese and butter get really soft before making the frosting by letting them sit on the counter for an hour or so prior to starting.  I would not use the microwave to soften them because it is difficult to pull them out before they are completely melted.  Just put them on the counter and let them soften on their own. 

I used a clean piece of thread to cut the cake in half before I frosted it.  You could also use a knife, but I find a piece of thread to be easier.  Place the cake on a cutting board so the shorter edge is towards you.  Cut a long piece of thread, pull it taut against the shorter side of the cake that is furthest from you, and start pulling the thread towards you with a gentle sawing motion.  Once the thread has started cutting the cake, it will be easy to just pull the thread towards you, cutting the cake in half.

This cake will freeze well.  I recommend freezing it without any frosting and then making the frosting the day (or day before) you plan on serving it.

Recipe adapted from Chocolate Ginger Cake (and therefore, Chocolate: From Simple Cookies to Extravagant Showstoppers)

Cake Ingredients:
1¼ cups (167 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (43 grams) cocoa powder, sifted
¼ cup (32 grams) black cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon (4 grams) baking powder
¼ teaspoon (2 grams) baking soda
2½ teaspoons (5 grams) ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup (2 stick/226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1⅓ cups (319 grams) granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (8 ounces/228 grams) sour cream

Frosting Ingredients:
4 ounces (114 grams) cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons (57 grams) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (124 grams) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon cinnamon flavor

Yields one 10x5 inch loaf cake (about 12 servings)

Mix:
Set a rack at the middle level of the oven, and preheat to 350°F.  Butter a 10x5-inch loaf pan, and line it with parchment paper or buttered wax paper, leaving some overhang on the 10-inch sides of the pan to easily lift the cake out of the pan once it has baked.  In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, (sifted) cocoa powders, baking powder, baking soda, and ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom, and set it aside for later use.  In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each egg is fully incorporated, and then beat in the vanilla.  Add half of the dry ingredients, and beat until incorporated.  Scrape the bowl and the beaters, and then add all of the sour cream, and beat until combined.  Scrape again, add the remaining dry ingredients, and beat until incorporated.  The batter will be very thick.  Immediately transfer the batter into the prepared pan, and bake at 350°F for 55 to 65 minutes, or until the cake has risen and a knife or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, lift the cake out of the pan using the parchment paper overhang, and place it on the cooling rack.  Tip the cake on its sides to remove the parchment paper and then place the cake on the rack upright to cool.  Cool the cake completely before frosting.  You can refrigerate or freeze the cake (well-wrapped of course) at this stage for frosting the next day (use the refrigerator) or sometime in the near future (use the freezer).

Beat, Cut, Frost:
Combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a mixer and beat for 5 minutes until well mixed.  Add all of the powdered sugar, the vanilla extract, and cinnamon flavor and beat until the sugar is incorporated.  Once the sugar is fully mixed in, beat at medium-high speed for another 5 minutes.  The frosting will be very smooth but not runny.   While the frosting beats, cut the cooled cake in half lengthwise using a piece of thread, as described in the notes, or a serrated knife.  Place the bottom half of the cake on a serving dish and set aside the top half of the cake to use later.  Once the frosting is ready, line a large drinking glass with a piping bag or a large Ziplock bag (the cup will support the bag while you fill it with the frosting).  Scrape the frosting into the prepared bag.  Close the bag and snip off one of the bag’s corners.  Pipe the frosting onto the top of the bottom layer of the cut cake.  Leave a little bit of room at the edges for the frosting to spread to when you place the second cake layer on top.  Use all of the frosting.  Alternatively, you could use an off-set spatula, but the piping bag will give you a bit more control of where you frost and will allow you to frost more quickly.  Gently place the top layer of cake on the frosting, and lightly press down on it to make sure the cake layer is secure.  Cover the cake somewhat loosely with plastic wrap (or a cake dome) and refrigerate for an hour or until the frosting has set a bit.  Slice the chilled cake with a thin knife, wiping the blade between each cut for a tidy-looking slice.  Wrap and refrigerate any leftovers.

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