This is the last cake I made for my birthday.
Seems like every year my sweet tooth gets bigger and bigger.
It just wasn’t satisfied enough with chocolate coffee cupcakes or brownie bottom cheesecake, a triple chocolate layer cake had to be baked!
As I said earlier, all recipes came from the Chocolate cookbook I bought a while back.
I don’t usually make layer cakes.
Sure I made a few in the past like these Mousse Cakes I made for my husband’s birthday and the Biscuit Joconde Imprime I’ve made for a Daring Baker’s challenge but a layer cake is not exactly my favorite dessert to make.
I find it takes way to long from the moment you mise-en-place your ingredients until you actually cut a slice and enjoy it.
But I have to be honest and say it is all worth it.
The anticipation of what’s to come builds and when the time is right and cut yourself a slice and you sit down seems like the world is stopping too giving you all the time you need to enjoy it.
There’s no noise around, you feel the chocolate frosting melting in your mouth combining with the rich double chocolate cake.
Bite after bite it leaves you craving for more.
To make the cake is a little time-consuming since the cake has to be completely cooled before slicing otherwise it will make lots of crumbs.
The frosting, or ganache as they call it in the book, it’s not exactly the ganache I’m used to since the heavy-cream chocolate ratio is not 1:1 and I think I whipped it a little more than I should have making it a chocolate whipped cream and not a creamy ganache but even so, it was creamy and balanced perfectly with the rich double chocolate cake.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (169 grams) butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 3/4 cup (210 grams) all purpose flour
- 2 tsp (8 grams) baking powder
- 1 tbsp (5 grams) cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 oz (58 grams) semi-sweet chocolate melted
- 2 cups (480 ml) heavy whipping cream
- 13 oz ( 364 grams) semi-sweet chocolate
- Chocolate shavings to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8 inch springform with parchment paper or lightly grease with baking spray. Set aside
- Beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the buttermilk.
- Stir in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder.
- In the end add the melted chocolate to the cake batter and pour it into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Leave to cool slightly before removing from the pan and completely before cutting the layers.
- In a small sauce pan add the heavy cream and bring to a boil.
- Add the chocolate and stir until melted. Remove from the heat.
- Cover and let chill 1 hour at room temperature and about 4 hours in the fridge until set and firm.
- Whisk the mixture until light and fluffy. You you want it creamier, just whisk for a minute. If you'd like more of a whipped chocolate frosting, whisk until soft peaks form.
- Using 2/3 of the chocolate frosting sandwich the cake layers. I had three layers but you can go with just two or even four if you prefer.
- With the remaining chocolate frosting cover the sides and the top of the cake.
- Decorate with chocolate shavings. Optional.
- Let the cake rest for few hours, or better overnight, before slicing it.
- Serve at room temperature
Sending this post to Cheryl aka TidyMom I’m loving it party
Sending love your way,
Roxana
{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
That looks like the PERFECT birthday cake!!! OMG yummmy!!
OMG, beautiful! Can you make one for my birthday?!
I’m making sure that no one in my family sees this photo or I’ll be forced to make the cake! It’s absolutely stunning. Great job Roxana!
I could not think of a more perfect chocolate cake than this one. The ratio of frosting to layer is absolutely DIVINE and exactly what I want in a chocolate cake.
Oh so tempting!! Love the shaved chocolate on top!
I have all the ingredients and I have the motive but my big problem is, how do make this? This is such a beautiful job Roxana! You just saved me from another day of spending browsing all the chocolate cake recipes at the internet for my son’s birthday cake. I wish I can just order from you this impressive-looking cake! Thanks for sharing!
Wow, that is an amazing cake! I love layer cakes, I think they are so elegant looking!
It looks beyond delicious
This cake looks like the ultimate death by chocolate! I love the chocolate shavings – irresistible!
Beautiful chocolate cake Roxana. Love all the layers peeking in it .
This cake has elicited ooohs and ahhhs from my chocophile friends. It’s gorgeous..a perfect birthday cake, but better..if that makes sense
This is a beautiful cake! I used to work at a bakery, and I always loved doing the chocolate shavings on banana tarts, but never thought to stick them on our chocolate cakes too! It looks lovely! (:
ps. Lisa…never heard the term Chocophile, but I love it!
The cake looks awesome! Would love for you to share this at our Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday link party…just posted it! http://kitchenfunwithmy3sons.blogspot.com/2012/09/kitchen-fun-and-crafty-friday-link_13.html
Talk about a show-stopper: That towering layer cake could silence a room with awe! Layer cakes are one of my favorite treats, if only because they’re so impressive when done well. Your chocoholic’s dream come true is indisputably done very, very well.
That is absolutely stunning! I especially like chocolate cakes that have chocolate shavings on top.
holy moly! i would want this for my birthday too! pure indulgence!
OH MY GOODNESS! I’ll send you my address so you can ship me a piece!
Happy Belated Birthday Miss Roxana! I like your choice in up-ing your birthday dessert game. This sounds amazing. I bet you had a line of friends and family to share it with you. Hope you have a great weekend.
-Gina-
I want to make a chocolate layer cake- this looks gorgeous! Beautiful photos of a real masterpiece;-)
Must make some now!
This is gorgeous, and sound so decadent and delicious!
Oh dear, I don’t like chopping chocolate because they seem to fly all over the place! Not sure I’ll be patient enough to make this cake, but I’ll be hungry enough to eat this! Hehehe…what a lovely piece of chocolate art!
This looks amazing! I love fluffy frostings with dense cakes.
WOW – this looks just incredible! Love the layer of rich chocolate-ness! Pinning now!!!
That cake looks better than anything I’ve looked at today. holy cow – I can’t tell you how much I want a piece of that right now.
What a stunner! I would love a HUGE slice with a glass of cold milk~~
The perfect birthday cake or any special occasion cake. Such a beauty, Roxy!:)
I am so glad to have found your blog! You are so talented!
This cake looks heavenly!
Could this cake be any sexier?! Is it weird I just called a cake sexy…?!
Yowzers – I want me a slice right now!
So would I need to triple or double this recipe to make the layers? Sorry if this is a stupid question. If so, would this apply for the icing as well?
Hi Beth,
You don’t need to double or triple the recipe. The given ingredients make the whole layer cake.
In the directions it says : “Leave to cool slightly before removing from the pan and completely before cutting the layers [...] Using 2/3 of the chocolate frosting sandwich the cake layers. I had three layers but you can go with just two or even four if you prefer”
Roxana
Thanks! I read that but haven’t used a springform pan and am pretty sure I can’t cut straight layers but I will try it!
If you’re afraid you can’t cut straight layers, you can bake the cake in two or three different 8 inch pans (you’ll have to reduce the baking time).
Great cake !
Un tort numai bun de pus pe masa de Craciun! O idee buna si pentru ziua de Sf.Andrei! Acum am gasit blog-ul tau si ma bucur ca este inca o romanca talentata pe lista mea de preferate! Felicitari! Abia astept noutatile pe care le voi primi pe mail (evident am subscris!:D )
Spor la bucatarit si sa ai sarbatori ca la mama acasa!;)
Adriana (Bucuresti)
OMG!!! Now that’s a chocolate cake!!! WOW! Love it!
What kind of chocolate did you use to decorate the top? Is 2 hours ok before cutting?
Hi Trisha,
I’m pretty sure I used Ghirardelli chocolate chips for the frosting and Scharffenberger for the shavings (with a veggie peeler)
Roxana
Oops I used ghirardelli baking bar. Do you think that will be ok. It’s in the fridge
No worries
It will be fine!
When you say semi-chocolate, do you mean chocolate chips or the bark chocolate that can be chopped up? I plan on making this cake for my fiance on Valentine’s Day. He loves chocolate more than I do! ;P
Hi Nicole,
You can either use chocolate chips (Ghirardelli I use most of the time) or chop up a bar of semi-sweet chocolate. It’s not going to make a difference
Hope your fiance likes it!
Roxana
My dear Roxana, I love baking and I learned how to bake when I was 12 years old by watching my mom and my aunt..I was watching Lidia on channel 38 the other day, so after the program was over I went to her website, just scrolling thru her recipies I saw this gorgeous cake, so I printed the recipe and made it, it was great, my husband and my kids loved it.. only I made it two layers instead of three cause it was first time I make it and wanted to see how it comes out..believe it or not it was all gone by the next day and now my kids asking me to make another one.. Thanks so very much for sharing my dear, God bless you
Damaa
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