This delicious cake was for a very special occasion. My mommy’s birthday! Not only was it a birthday celebration, but my sister and I had an extra special surprise for our mom. A trip to Paris! My mom has never been abroad and loves Paris, we wanted to be able to make this happen for her. It was so amazing to see her reaction, and I am so happy we could provide her such joy.
On to the chocolatey goodness of this triple layer dark chocolate cake! Since it was my mom’s birthday, she is a chocolate fan, so I created this rich fudgy, yet surprisingly light, moist cake with her in mind. Pairing it with the ultra-silky-smooth, Swiss Meringue Buttercream, and flavored with Kahlua liquor, which goes perfectly with the dark chocolate of the cake.
This is a denser cake, but the moisture level helps to create a light mouth feel. Again, I used one of my favorite ingredients, Brown Rice Syrup. This provides a sweet caramelly note and can replace some of the sugar in the recipe. It also helps with keeping the cake nice and moist. I also used extra egg yolks to add more richness and fat that you get from them.
Once the cakes come out, and are completely cooled, you want to shave off the dome top. I use this Wilton cake cutter, so much more precise than using a knife. Gives you those perfectly even layers. I then wrapped each layer snuggly in plastic wrap and stored in the fridge over-night to decorate the next day. Keeping them cool helps when you are frosting.
I think my favorite frosting is Swiss Meringue Buttercream, its silky texture lends beautifully to decorating. It is also not overly sweet. It does require a bit more work than your traditional American Buttercream. Not that much more though. It involves heating the egg whites and granulated sugar over a double boiler and whisking constantly until the sugar has dissolved completely in the egg whites and the mixture is smooth. An easy test to know when this is done is to rub some of the liquid between your fingers, if it’s smooth and no grainy feel, it’s done! It does require constant whisking, but hey it’s your arm work-out for the day. Next, you beat the sugar and egg white mixture with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until glossy stiff peaks have formed and the bowl is now cool to the touch. At this point, I like to switch to the paddle attachment to create less air in the frosting. You then drop your room temp butter pieces one at a time, slowly while the mixer is doin’ the mixin’. It will look like it’s curdled at some point, don’t worry, completely normal. Keep mixing away until you have a nice smooth texture. At this point you can add your flavoring. In this version, I added vanilla and Kahlua. Yummy!
I am loving this “naked” look. For the cake that is. It gives the cake a nice rustic feel, yet still looks elegant. I really liked the contrast of the dark chocolate against the lightness of the frosting. I also baked espresso meringue cookies. So easy, light and delicious. The link will take you to the King Arthur recipe I used. Such an easy way to elevate your decorating style. I also, wanted to continue with the French theme and use French macarons. Full disclosure, these are the only things that I did not home make myself. I picked these up at this great patisserie called Whole Foods. I have yet to attempt the very technically difficult French macarons. But don’t you worry, I will be learning to make these while I am in Paris! What better place to learn the technique than the country of origin! Stay tuned for those.
Lastly and quite literally, the topping on the cake. My Eiffel Tower cake topper! My go to for these toppers is through Mikaspartyshop. She does a wonderful job creating that extra special touch, check her out on Etsy! Belle! Oui, Oui!
Obligatory black and white Paris photo….
I hope you’ll give this extra special cake a try for your next celebration or just because you deserve to have your cake and eat it too!
Enjoy!
Diane
- For the cake:
- 1 ½ cups AP flour
- ½ cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
- ¾ cup unsalted butter room temp
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup brown rice syrup
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg - room temp
- 2 large egg yolks - room temp
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 tsp. instant espresso powder
- ½ tsp salt
- Swiss Meringue:
- 5 large egg whites
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp. salt
- 4 sticks of unsalted butter cut into pieces– room temp
- ¼ cup kahlua
- 2 tsp. of vanilla extract
- For the cake:
- In a medium bowl combine the flower, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder and set aside. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and spray three 6-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray and line with parchment paper and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk and vanilla and set aside. Boil one cup of water, then stir in espresso powder. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy about 3 minutes. Slowly add the sugar and beat to combine, about five minutes. Scrape down side of bowl as needed. Add the brown rice syrup and combine until incorporated. Next add the egg beat until fully combined then repeat process with the egg yolks. Add one third of the dry ingredients and beat until just combined. Next add half of the liquid mixture and beat until combined. Add another third of the dry and combine. Next pour in the rest of the liquid and beat until combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients and beat until just incorporated. Do not over mix. Pour the espresso in the batter and stir with spatula until incorporated. Fill each of cake pans evenly with batter and place in the oven staggered on the middle rack. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out with an only a few moist crumbs. Allow to cool 5 minutes in pans on wire rack, then turn out to cool completely on racks. Wrap each cake with plastic wrap and store in fridge for 2 hours or overnight before frosting. Once cooled use a cake cutter or knife to cut off the dome part of the top of each layer of cake.
- For the Frosting:
- Separate whites from yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer. Pour sugar in bowl with the egg whites. Place bowl over, not touching, a pot with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar has completely dissolved around 160 degrees. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, you can tell it’s done when you rub a little of the mixture between your fingers it is completely smooth with no graininess. Should take about 10 minutes. Then return bowl to stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Begin beating the eggs and sugar until whites are glossy and stiff peaks have formed. The bowl should be cool to the touch, this will take around 10 minutes. Next switch to the paddle attachment and beat on medium high speed. Add the butter slowly one piece at a time to incorporate. The mixture will look like it’s curdled, keep mixing, that is normal. Mix until frosting is smooth and shiny. Add in the vanilla and Kahlua and mix to combine.
- Frosting the cake:
- I used about half a cup of frosting in-between each of the layers. I opted for the naked look, but if you choose you will have enough frosting to frost the entire cake. Decorate as desired.
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