Death by Chocolate Drip Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups of all purpose flour
- ¾ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 ½ tsp of baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp of baking powder
- 1 tsp of sea salt
- 1 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- ½ cup of vegetable oil
- 1 cup of buttermilk
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 tsp of vanilla extract
- 1 cup of strong coffee or espresso
- 2 cups of unsalted butter, room temperature
- 6 cups of powdered sugar
- 1 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 6 tbsp of heavy whipping cream
- 2 tsp of vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp of salt
- 36 oz of ready to use black fondant icing
- Vegetable shortening for greasing
- Cornstarch for dusting
- 1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup of heavy whipping cream
Cake:
Buttercream Frosting:
Fondant:
Ganache:
PRODUCTS
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray three 8” cake pans and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, granulated and brown sugar. Whisk to combine. In a separate bowl add oil, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and whisk to combine. Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add in your coffee and stir until everything is just combined. The batter will be thin and runny.
- Evenly pour the batter between all three cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Scrape down the sides and make sure the sugar is well incorporated before adding the next cup. Add in the cocoa powder and mix until completely combined and smooth. Add in the heavy cream, vanilla extract and salt and mix on medium speed until fully combined, approx. 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, level off the tops with a serrated knife or cake leveler.
- Place a small amount of buttercream on a cake stand and place your first cake layer on top.
- This will ensure the cake doesn’t move around.
- Apply your layer of frosting and smooth out to an even layer. Repeat with remaining cake layers. Use the remaining frosting to apply a thin crumb coat over the top and sides of the cake. Make this as smooth and level as possible as this is what will help adhere the fondant to the cake. Do not make it thick, you should still be able to see the cake slightly through the frosting.
- Place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to cool before applying the fondant.
- Remove your chilled cake from the refrigerator and set aside.
- Unpackage your prepared fondant.
- Rub your hands in a little vegetable shortening to prevent the fondant from sticking.
- Knead with your hands until it's pliable and form it into a ball.
- Lightly dust your clean surface with cornstarch.
- Using a plastic fondant roller, begin to roll out the fondant, rotating and lifting the fondant and applying more cornstarch if sticking. Roll into a 18” round circle that’s approx. ⅛” in thickness.
- Place your fondant roller in the center of your circle and gently fold over one side of the fondant over the roller. Hold both ends of the roller and lift up and onto the cake. Working from the back and gently draping the folded edge towards the front. Try to keep it centered so that the fondant is draped evenly over the entire cake.
- If it isn’t centered you can gently remove the fondant in the reverse order and reapply being mindful to not tear the fondant.
- Using a fondant smoother, begin smoothing out the top of the cake. Once the top is smooth begin smoothing out the sides, starting at the top and working slowly towards the bottom, gently pulling and stretching the fondant with your free hand as you work out the creases towards the bottom edge of the cake. Continue this around the entire cake.
- Once you are satisfied with the application, use a small knife or pizza cutter to remove the excess fondant along the bottom edge.
- Use your smoother along the sides, pushing it up and down to clean up the cut edge.
- Put your cake aside and prepare your ganache drip.
- Add the chocolate chips to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds to get it warm.
- Add the heavy cream to a saucepan and heat on low heat until warm. Do not let it bubble or boil.
- Pour warmed cream over the chocolate chips and stir until completely combined.
- To check the consistency of your ganache, turn a small bowl over and spoon a small amount onto the top edge of the inverted bowl.
- If it drips down to the bottom quickly it is too runny, if it doesn’t drip at all and stays as a lump on top it is too thick. You want to have uneven drips running down the cake. If you are happy with the consistency, place it into a squeeze bottle.
- Place the tip of the bottle about ½” from the edge and begin squeezing to form the drip.
- Varying the pressure will vary the size of the drips. Leaving gaps between each drip, work your way around the entire edge of the cake.
- Once complete, fill in the top and quickly smooth out with an offset spatula, being careful to not push any over the edge.
- Let sit in a cool dry place at room temperature.
- Do not refrigerate at this point as the fondant and ganache will sweat.
- Once the ganache is set, decorate with your favourite Halloween decorations and enjoy!
For the Cake:
Cake Assembly:
For the Fondant:
For the Ganache:
[um_bookmarks_button]
