COOK'S CORNER SMOOTH CHOCOLATE TAKES CAKE.

Byline: Natalie Haughton Food Editor

Ann Norman of Valley Village requested the chocolate cake we featured from Ebinger's Bakery in Brooklyn some time ago. She made it (it was fabulous, she said) and lost it. She was also looking for a great, dense blackout cake.

She's in luck on both recipe counts. The Ebinger's cake re-creation is from ``The Neighborhood Bakeshop,'' by Jill Van Cleave and ran in a holiday cookbook story three years ago.

I'm also including my current dark chocolate cake favorite, Chocolate Fudge Cake With Chocolate Ganache. It's a copycat version I developed of the Cheesecake Factory's Chocolate Fudge Cake that appeared in a Restaurant Replicas column a while ago. It's fantastic and would be great for holiday celebrations or birthday parties.

BROOKLYN CHOCOLATE DECADENCE

This Chocolate Decadence cake is an attempt to re-create the infamous blackout cake popularized by the legendary Ebinger's Bakery in Brooklyn. Today, New York bakeries call it mud cake. My mother's neighborhood bakery, Kirschbaum's, in suburban Chicago, makes it, too. They call it chocolate lover's cake, and it happens to be their biggest seller.

CAKE:

2 cups cake flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups dairy sour cream, at room temperature

PUDDING FROSTING:

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, cut into small pieces

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch 

1 1/2 cups boiling water

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature

1/2 tablespoon vanilla

For Cake, grease 2 (8-inch) round cake pans and dust bottoms evenly with flour, shaking out excess flour.

To make Cake, sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together into a medium bowl. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add eggs and vanilla, blending thoroughly. Slowly add flour mixture, alternating with sour cream and blending well after each addition.

Divide batter equally between prepared cake pans and smooth with aspatula.

Bake in preheated 350-degree oven 25 to 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans on wire racks 15 minutes, then unmold cakes onto racks to cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare Pudding Frosting. Melt chocolate in a bowl over barely simmering water or in a microwave oven at 50 percent power 1 to 4 minutes, checking every 30 seconds. Whisk until smooth and set aside.

In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch, whisking to mix thoroughly. While whisking, pour boiling water over mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, 5 to 7 minutes. Boil 1 minute to thicken, then remove pan from heat. Immediately whisk in melted chocolate. Add butter and allow to melt, then stir in vanilla. Pour pudding into a bowl, cover top with a piece of wax paper and cool completely at room temperature.

To assemble, cut each cake in half horizontally to make 4 equal layers. Reserve 1 layer for garnish.

Place a layer on a cardboard cake circle or a cake plate and cover with some of Pudding Frosting. Add a second cake layer and spread with another coating of frosting. Top with a third layer of cake. Frost top and sides evenly with frosting. Pudding Frosting will look droopy at this stage.

Crumble remaining cake layer into crumbs. (Or use a food processor for this step.) Generously sprinkle crumbs all over cake. Serve at cool room temperature. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

From ``The Neighborhood Bakeshop'' by Jill Van Cleave (William Morrow and Co. Inc.).

CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE

1 3/4 cups flour

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup boiling water

Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows)

chocolate sprinkles (optional) OR chopped toasted almonds OR pecans

In a large mixer bowl, mix together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat in eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat 2 minutes on medium speed. On lowest speed (to avoid splattering), beat in boiling water (batter will be thin) until well blended.

Pour into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round layer cake pans, dividing evenly.

Bake in preheated 350-degree oven about 30 to 33 minutes or until cakes test done. Cool in pans 15 to 20 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely.

When cool, with a long serrated knife, cut each layer in half horizontally. Spread a layer of Chocolate Ganache over bottom layer and over tops of 2 more cake layers and stack together on a large serving plate. Place remaining cake layer on top of cake stack. Frost top and sides of cake with Chocolate Ganache. Press chocolate sprinkles or nuts into ganache around sides of cake, if desired. Refrigerate cake until serving time. Makes 1 (9-inch) cake.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

4 cups semisweet chocolate chips (two 12-ounce packages)

2 cups heavy whipping cream 

3 tablespoons butter, cut up

2 teaspoons vanilla

In a large microsafe glass bowl or glass measure, combine chocolate chips and whipping cream.

Heat on high (100 percent) power in microwave oven 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Remove from microwave, stirring until chocolate is melted and mixture is well blended. Add butter and vanilla, stirring until butter is melted and mixture is well blended.

Cool in refrigerator, stirring occasionally, until of good spreading consistency to spread over cake layers. Use to fill and frost top and sides of a 4-layer 9-inch cake.

Can you help?

If you have recipes that can help these readers, please send them along to us at the address below to share in a future column.

I've lost a favorite recipe for sliced, baked apples with a crumb topping. I clipped it long ago from a pink Gelson's newsletter-like store advertisement that came in the mail. The topping called for rolled oats. Please help!

- P., Woodland Hills

Does anyone have the recipe (or something similar) for the carrot mousse as prepared and served at Vincent Hill Restaurant on Sierra Highway in Palmdale? It seems to contain carrots, possibly white radish or a small amount of horseradish and maybe even some brussels sprouts. The waitress couldn't give us a good answer about the ingredients.

- Arlyne Shlosberg

Sylmar