Chocolate Layer Cake for We Should Cocoa #55
When I was asked to bake a cake for a rather sad occasion last week, I thought I’d try out one of Will Torrent’s recipes, or two of them in fact. I adapted his Nans’ chocolate fudge cake recipe to make it into a three layered cake, then topped it with a chocolate glaze from his recipe for salted caramel & rum top hat cake.
I used my usual mix of half wholemeal and half white flour, substituted coffee for the vanilla and milk and used dark muscovado sugar rather than light. I didn’t get to try the finished item, but with three layers of cake, three layers of buttercream icing and chocolate glaze, it looked to be a good one. Strangely, I did get to try the icing and glaze – *innocent face* – so I do know they passed muster.
I am of course entering this into We Should Cocoa which is being hosted by Sarah over at Maison Cupcake this month. She’s on a bit of a layer cake mission at the moment, she’s made at least four this month.
With four large eggs in the mix, this has to go to Dom’s new challenge Simply Eggcellent over at Belleau Kitchen.
This also goes to Ness over at JibberJabberUK for Love Cake as this fits nicely into the theme of It’s in the Book. My recipes came from Chocolate at Home by Will Torrent.
And I haven’t entered Cook Blog Share for a while, so this is being sent in Lucy’s direction over at SuperGolden Bakes.
- 200 g unsalted butter
- 150 g golden caster sugar
- 125 g dark muscovado sugar
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 4 large eggs (I used duck eggs)
- 250 g flour (I used half wholemeal, half plain white)
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- pinch of Himalayan pink sea salt
- 100 ml strong coffee
- 100 g 70% dark chocolate
- 200 g unsalted butter
- 225 g icing sugar
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
- 2 tbsp strong coffee
- 50 ml double cream
- 1 tsp golden syrup
- 10 g unsalted butter
- 100 g dark 70% chocolate
- Cream the butter and sugars together for a good few minutes until pale and fluffy.
- Beat in the cocoa until well combined.
- Beat in the eggs one by one, adding a little flour if the mixture looks like curdling.
- Sieve in the flour and fold in alternately with the coffee until just combined.
- Divide between three 20 cm (8") cake pans (you will need to grease and line these if not silicone).
- Bake at 180℃ for 25 minutes.
- Leave in the pans to cool for ten minutes or so, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate in a bowl sitting over a pan of hot water - make sure the pan doesn't touch the water. Allow to cool slightly.
- Cream the butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy, then beat in the syrup and cocoa.
- Beat in the coffee, followed by the chocolate.
- Place all of the ingredients into a small pan and set over a low heat until the chocolate has melted.
- Stir until smooth and allow to cool a little.
- Spread the buttercream equally on the three cakes, then stack them one on top of the other.
- Pour the glaze over the top layer of buttercream. Spread it to cover the top, allowing some to drizzle down the sides.
- Decorate as wished or leave plain.
Adapted from Will Torrent's, Chocolate at Home