We challenged chefs of three different skill levels - amateur Keith, home cook Daniel, and professional chef Penny from the Institute of Culinary Education - to bake us a chocolate cake.
After each of them had presented their cocoa creation, we asked food scientist Rose to review their work.
Which level takes the cake for you?
[upbeat music]- Hi guys, my name's Keithand I'm a level one chef.- Hi, I'm Daniel.And I'm a level two chef.- Hi, I'm Pennyand I'm a chef at the Instituteof Culinary Education,and I've been a chef for 15 years.- Today we are making Keith's One BowlLava Cake Extravaganza.So this recipe came from online,and multiple different recipes,and I kind of adaptedit and made it into one,and it all just came together.- My chocolate cake is atwo-layer chocolate cakewith buttercream frosting anda chocolate ganache drizzle.It's a whole mouthful.- The perfect combinationin flavors for meis chocolate and peanut butter,and then I add a little bit of strawberryand strawberry jam to make it morelike a peanut butter and jelly cake.Okay, so first we're gonnamake the cake batter.- So I've got some all purpose--- [Both] Flour.- We've got--- [Both] Cocoa powder.- [Both] Baking powder,baking soda, and salt.- [Penny] And the sugar.- And espresso powder.The espresso powder does notmake it taste like coffee.It actually is gonnabring out the richnessof the chocolate a lot.- You know, I feel like Ijust try to go flourlessjust 'cause it's kind of like on trend,and everybody's likepaleo and this and that,like no gluten.So I was like oh, let'ssee what this tastes like,and it kind of tastes the same, so.- And I'm just gonnawhisk them all together.- The whole point ofthe sifter, basically,is just to eliminatemassive chunks of powder.Got anything stuck and clumpedtogether in the batter.The dry ingredients areall set in one bowl.- So I put the double broiler onto warm,and I have semi-sweet chocolate chipsand 12 tablespoons of butter.So I'm just gonna throw it all in there.Look at that.And we're gonna take your butter,like get on in there.See, I'm sure there's likea right technique for this,but I kind of just golike an ax a little bit,kind of just like chop on in there.- Now I'm gonna mix togetherall of my liquid ingredients.- First things first, we got sugar,got vegetable oil.I'm gonna use a couple eggs here.- And then I'm gonna whisk them togetherjust to make it easy for all the otherliquid ingredients to combine.- Vanilla extract.Good stuff.Adds some flavor, adds a little color.And you're going to mix this upuntil it's all sort of uniform.- You just wanna get allthe lumps up in thereyou don't want anymore chips.You just kind of need it to bea luxurious, silky consistency.- All right, now we're gonna addsome sour cream.It adds a lot of moisture.Don't knock it til you try it.- Then I have my brown butter.- The good thing with this islike you can't really mess up.I mean, it's chocolate.So like, even if it'sburnt, it's chocolate.It won't taste that bad, you know.- I'm gonna alternate betweenadding my dry ingredients,and the liquid ingredient for my cake,which is actually brewed coffee.It actually adds to the color,makes it a lot darker, and givesit a rich chocolatey flavorwhich is awesome.- And then I have some milk for richness,and some water.Shockingly, with chocolate cake,the more fat that you add to itthe more you dull that chocolate flavor.- All right, so we're almost done.We're gonna pour it into the bigger bowl.So we're gonna put our vanilla extractand we're gonna put our sugar.All right, so just gonna mixthis in first with a spoon,and we're almost done.Do you see how fast that was?All right, so now we'regonna get our four eggs,crack them in there.Now we get our yogurt, because you wannastay moisturized, y'all.I'm just gonna throwour cornstarch in there.Y'all see?One bowl.One bowl, we don't need nothing fancy.And now we're just gonnamix it all in together.So you wanna do thisfor about three minutes.You just wanna get it all mixed in there.- Now I'm just gonnadrizzle in these ingredientsuntil I make pretty much a paste.And then the last thing I like to dois just give it a littlebit of a mix by hand.- Your batter at thispoint, completely finished.- All right, so now we've got our batter.We're gonna put them into our ramekins.We have six six ounce ramekins,which we need to grease first,so this is pretty janky,but I just take a melted stick of butterand I just kind of go [trilling tongue]like that sound in your mind.- Like I said, the cake is two layers,so we're gonna take two nine-inch pans.- There's gotta be a better way.I just don't know it, you know.But this is actually ridiculous.- I'm gonna line to bottoms of themwith some baking sheetsof parchment paper.- That's the secret to always making surethat your cakes come out of the pan.- That's what makes it so special,because you'll never see anotherrecipe doing it like this,that's for sure.That's the extravaganza.And now it's time for pouring.- Okay, so I'm gonna pan this out.- So you kind of want to fill it upthree fourths of the way, becauseit rises when you bake it.- I'm just gonna eyeball thisinto the two nine inch pansand hope it all goes okay.- So now these are gonna go in the ovenand they're gonna bakeuntil they spring backin the center at about 350 degrees.It's gonna be somewherearound 20 to 25 minutes.- About 30 to 32 minutes.- And it's supposed to be like 12 minutes,but you kind of just gotta keep checkingbecause the middle issupposed to be still moistand jiggly-wiggly.- So the cakes are in the oven.Now is the perfect time towork on all the accessories.- So most cakes havefrosting on the inside,but since this is lava,we don't need no frosting.No, so the powderedsugar I just kind of doa little sprinkle on top,looks like a little snowfall,and then I put the icecream on the side of itand you cut on into it,and it's the perfect pair.- Now we're gonna make our frosting.Kiss bye-bye to your diet,because you're gonna needsix sticks of butter.So we got butter, we got cocoa powder,all the powdered sugar you could find,some vanilla, and heavy cream.You're gonna throw it into the mixer.- This is six ounces of egg whitesand I'm gonna add 12 ouncesof white sugar to that,and I'm gonna mix whisk this together,and now I'm gonna putit over simmering water.- Now we get to just start lettingthis butter mix, get creamy.- I'm gonna whip itcompletely until it's cooled,and once it's completelycooled, I'm gonna addmy softened butter.- So we're gonna throw allthe cocoa powder in there,and some vanilla.Now is sort of the last step.We're gonna go back andforth between addinga couple scoops of powdered sugarand a little bit of heavy cream.- My temperature rightnow is just right enoughto be able to add the butter,and I'm gonna whisk ituntil it comes together.I'm gonna add some salt,and then the main star of this buttercreamis peanut butter.- That is all done.- So the jelly part of mypeanut butter and jellychocolate cake consistsof two different things,macerated strawberries, and thena fresh made strawberry jam.So I'm gonna take a few andput then on a cutting board.My sugar, my lemon.I'm gonna use the zest.I'll add a little of my juice now.I have a measured amount of sugar here.This is good and ready to go.- This is a chocolate overload cake,and it requires a chocolate ganache.So we've got some darkchocolate and some heavy cream.Cut the chocolate into smallermore manageable pieces.The heavy cream, you'rejust looking for itto simmer a little bit.It starts to bubble upand get nice and warmso we're just gonna drizzleit all over the chocolate,and all the heat from theheavy cream's gonna dothe work here, and just melt this down.- So we're gonna make a jam outof these fresh strawberries.All my berries go in.Some more lemon zest.And my sugar.A vanilla bean.And then you just cook itdown until it looks likeit's starting to becomethe right consistency.- And that is chocolate ganache.- So these are my homemadehoney roasted peanuts.We're gonna make a caramel for garnish.For my dry caramel, I'm gonnastart the pan pretty high.I'm just gonna start byadding a little bit of sugarto the bottom of the pot,up the heat and get the peanutsin as quickly as possible,and I'll pour this out.That's my caramel.This is gonna sit at roomtemperature and firm up.It's gonna take about 10 or 15 minutes,and we'll be able tobreak it into shards laterfor our garnish.Now I'm gonna melt chocolateover a double boiler.Chocolate's almost melted.I'm gonna take it off the heatand continue mixing it.And now while it's still warm,I'm gonna add some Mycryo,some cocoa butter powder,some peanut butter, some more salt,and a good amount of thosehoney roasted peanuts.And then I'm gonna roll this out.I'm gonna throw it into the freezerto set for about 15 minutesbefore we assemble our cake.- All right we're back,fresh from the oven,and I got my little ramekinand I wanna get it outonto the plate, so kindof cut around it quicklybecause time's of the essence.You need to get it out before it sets.I'm gonna put the plate on top hopefullyso I can just slip it out.Come on, Jesus.Come on, Jesus![gasps]It's not cooked.This is clearly not a cake.So I have five otherones back in the oven.I don't know what to do with this.All right, here we go.Take two.Let's hope this is not pudding again,but you never know.Grab the plate.Jesus take the wheel!All right, so this is mybeautiful lopsided cake.Look how lava-y it looks.Am I right?- We sprayed the absolutehell out of these pans,so I'm hoping that thecake comes out nicely.You can't tell, but I'm very scared.[sighs]Yes!Oh nice.Now it's time to assemble the cake.- So now I'm just gonnasprinkle some sugar on top.Hide the imperfections with confection.All right, so now I'mgonna get my ice cream,and just give it a good old scoop.Maybe I'll do another one.Just for, why not.Like we're so fun.- Nice and close to the edge.Just kind of work yourway around in a circleand fill in any loose little spots.Kind of just smooth this over.Layer one.Done.- So I'll start by lining thiscake with strawberry syrup,then I'm gonna start totake my strawberries,and then I'll start to place them flatso I have a nice even layer.I wanna pipe a dam around the cakethat's gonna trap in my looser jam fillingand not allow it to come out the sides.And then over the topof my fresh strawberriesare my strawberry jam layer.Then my second layer of cake goes on,and one more layer of my strawberry syrup.So now I've taken my crunchylayer out of the freezer,and I'm gonna use an eight inch cardboardto trim this up.Take my crunch layer, place it on top.- Line it up as best you can.Just go right on top, just like that.- Next layer is my peanutbutter buttercream.My final layer of cake, myfinal layer of strawberry syrup.I'm gonna do my crumb coat now.So I start by adding apretty decent sized dollopof buttercream to the top of my cake,and then it'll set in thefreezer for a few minutesbefore we do our final coat.- We're gonna coat the entire top of this,and then we're gonna workour way around the sides.Just get it nice and flat,that way everything is coveredin this chocolatey buttercream frosting.And then we're gonna go over the edgesand just make them nice and smooth.The cake is frosted.We're not gonna stop there.It's chocolate overload.We have the ganache to do.This is gonna go aroundthe outside of the cakesort of like a border,and then also coat the top.And just real lightly linethe outside of the cake.If it drips down, it's okay.And then with the remaining ganacheI'm gonna take that and sort of doa little crisscross drizzle up topbecause this is going to be afinal third layer of frosting.So you have this nice kind of drizzlydripping chocolate effect.- Okay, so while my cake is chilling,I'll just take a secondand smash up my caramelfor my garnish.And these are my caramelshards to garnish my cake.And I'm gonna add my finalcoating of buttercreamand smooth it out.- And now you're done.I'm just kidding, you're not done.We're gonna do some chocolatebuttercream rosettesto finish off the cake, makeit look nice and pretty.- Now I'm going to putsome of my crumb on it.And to finish this babyoff, I'm gonna put some moreof my buttercream into a piping bag,and finally my shards.And the last little touch,it's a little bit of edible goldbecause gold makes everythinga little bit better.- Now presenting Keith's One BowlChocolate Lava Cake Extravaganza.[camera shutter clicks]- This is my overindulgentChocolate Sugar Bomb Cake.- And this is my Peanut Butterand Jelly Chocolate Cake.- All right, time to dig on in.- Yes.- Mm.- This is delicious.- It's life changing.It's magnificent.It's very rich.Expensive.Divine.Michelin.- The chocolate is super strong,the crunchy layer with the nuts in it,it adds a lot of texture,which it really needs becausethe cake is super smooth.- I can already feel the heart-stoppingartery-clogging power thatthis cake has inside it.This is so good.- I would definitely cook it for longer.This is only like thefourth time I made itso if I just keep going, I'll know exactlywhen to leave it in the oven for.This is the best thing I've ever done.- This cake is perfect.I wouldn't do a thing differently.- Our three chefs made threevery different versionsof chocolate cake.Let's look at how eachput their personal stampon this classic dessert.[dramatic music]Daniel and Penny each made a layered cakewhile Keith made a flourless lava cake.A flourless lava cakeis a rich and dense cakethat remains gooey inthe middle after bakingbecause unlike traditional layer cakes,there's no chemical leavenerto make it light and airy.Keith's semi-sweetchocolate chips are dark,at minimum 35% cocoa.This makes them lesssweet than milk chocolate,which is why Keith addedsugar to his batter.Butter adds a smooth qualitybecause it's so high in fatit blends very well withthe semi-sweet chocolate.Keith also incorporatedyogurt, which adds a tangand lowers the PH of this cake,stabilizing the naturalanthocyanin pigments in chocolate,giving a deep brown color to this cake.In place of flour, Keith added cornstarch,which gelatinizes upon heating,giving his cake some stability.He also mixed his batter by handbecause his cake is dense,so no additional air was needed.Daniel made a classic layer cakeusing all of the ingredientsyou might expect to findin a chocolate cake.Sugar for sweetness, flourfor gluten developmentand cake structure, and acombination of baking sodaand baking powder to giveextra lift and porosityfor this high volume batter.He used oil in place ofbutter in his batter,which is not going to incorporateas much air when mixing,but it will give a rich qualityto a dense chocolate cake.Oil is almost 100% fat,while butter is 80% fatand 20% water, so whenusing oil in your cake,there's less water availablefor gluten development,giving you a tender cake, andless water for evaporationgiving you a moist cake.The addition of coffee helpsto combine the dry ingredientsand, along with the espresso powder,adds a nice complimentarychocolate flavor to this cake.Penny's cake included someof the same ingredientsas Daniel's, but she usedbrown butter instead of oil.By heating the butter, water is removedand browning occurs,making this ingredientchemically similar to Daniel's oil,but with a distinctive nutty,roasted, and caramelly flavorthat Daniel's oil won't supply.All three chefs used different sized pans.Keith baked his chocolatelava cakes in individualsmall ramekins for the shortest timeat the highest temperaturebecause he was looking for a gooey center.Heat from the oven makescontact with the ramekin firstthrough conduction,then heats up the battertouching the ramekin, and thendiffuses through the batter.Timing is important for lavacakes because if you addtoo much heat over time,you'll bake the entire cakeand lose that gooey center.Daniel baked his chocolatecake in two nine inch pans.Daniel rotated his cakes while bakingto ensure even baking, butbe careful when doing this.If the batter's not set,you may deflate the cakesby moving them.Penny divided her batterinto three parchment-linedeight inch pans.The pans' smaller diameterdidn't require rotationfor even heating.Keith dusted his cake with powered sugar,which is simple, sweet,and contrasts the dark chocolate nicely.- Hide the imperfections with confection.- Because lava cake is best served warm,a quick and easy frosting is ideal.Daniel made an American buttercreamby combining lots of soft butterwith cocoa powder, andadding confectioner's sugarwith heavy cream to dissolve the sugarand bring it all together.He also made a chocolate ganacheto drizzle over the cake.Ganache is made by drizzling hot creamover solid chocolate creating an emulsionmade from the water from the creamand sugar from the chocolate.- Ganache drizzle there.- Penny made a morecomplex Swiss buttercream.- I'm kind of a rebel.- Next she made her ownhoney roasted peanuts,which are sweet and crunchybut also added toasty caramel notes.She used some of thesepeanuts to make a dry caramel,similar to a brittle, as a garnish,by cooking sugar to reducewater and increase browning,giving it a complex caramel flavor.Her macerated strawberries were madeby simply adding sugar tofresh sliced strawberrieswith no cooking involved.This is different from the strawberry jamwhich was cooked and had a much highersugar to strawberry ratio.Penny's chocolate peanut butter crunchcombined the honey roasted peanutswith melted chocolate, salt, and Mycryo,which is pure cocoabutter in a powdered form.She shaped this mixture into the sizeof her eight-inchdiameter pan and froze it,making cake assembly much easier.Keith's assembly was simple.He turned his lava cakes onto a plate,dusted with powdered sugar,and served it with ice creamwhich provides a pleasingcontrast to the hot cakeand compliments the gooey chocolate lava.Baking it at 375 degreesfor only 12 minutesdidn't allow the cake to cook thoroughly,rendering it impossible to properly flipout of his ramekin and ontothe plate without a splat.But it wasn't a cake,and it certainly wasn'tvisually appealing.- Keith's Pudding Extravaganza.- Keith then cooked hiscakes a little bit longerand came away with a perfectly cooked cakethat flipped onto the cake well.Good thing he always makes morethan one individual serving.Daniel secured his cake byplacing a dollop of frostingdirectly onto the plate.He then added his first cake layer,piped his frosting and smoothed itwith an offset spatula, whichmade it much easier to spread.Daniel then added theganache, which dripped overthe sides of the cake as anadditional burst of chocolate.- I feel like I'm lovinglycaressing the ganacheinto this cake.- He piped rosettes for decoration,giving his cake a finaladditional visual flourish.Penny has a complicated assemblybecause she's consideringappearance, texture, and flavor.She began by applying strawberrysyrup to her first layer,allowing the chocolate cake to absorbthe fruity flavor directly.She then added the second layer of cake,more syrup, and then a layerof frozen peanut crunchand additional buttercream.Finally she adds the last cake layerand coats the entire cake with buttercreamand decorates it with thebrittle and some gold leaf.- Because gold makeseverything a little bit better.- With its many carefullybalanced componentsand extravagant design, Penny'scake is unmistakably madeby a level three chef.Next time you're making chocolate cake,I hope you'll considersome of these sweet tipsso you can have your cake and eat it too.