Chocolate Layer Cake with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream, perfect for any time of year.
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Today I'm going to share my chocolate cake recipe with you.I started off making some super decadent layer cakes over the summer, just for fun when my older daughter came out for visits (the sweet baby in the belly craves cake hehe)
And then I started making cakes for some of my friends kids' birthdays. So much fun! I just love seeing their reactions. I even had some kids I didn't know stop and ask me for a slice of this one as I walked over to my moms with it!
How to Make a Triple Layer Chocolate Cake
First, preheat your oven to 350°F.
To make the cakes, cream together the butter and sugars. Make sure your butter is soft enough, otherwise it won't get fluffy. I use a stand mixer. Let it go for 5 minutes or so, or until it's really fluffy. Then add the eggs, one at a time.
In a small bowl, mix together the chocolate almond milk and the vinegar. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. You can use regular milk if you want to, or regular almond milk. I like the chocolate one here. We're adding vinegar to make a quick buttermilk. It will help our cake rise and keep it moist.
In another bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda.
Make your coffee and let it cool (I use instant)
Add the wet and dry ingredients, alternating, and starting with the dry, then mix until incorporated. Add the coffee last, and mix just until combined.
Now bake the cakes at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until done. I bake mine in three (sometimes four) 9 inch round tins, and I grease them with pan release (equal amounts of vegetable oil, vegetable shortening and flour), and also add a parchment circle on the bottom. Double guarantee that they won't stick. There's nothing worse than wasting time and ingredients when you bake a cake and it sticks and gets ripped up! Grease your pans!
Let the cakes fully cool on a cooling rack once they are done.
How to Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream Icing
This is seriously the best icing. It's so worth the extra time and work.
The biggest trick, in my opinion, is having the butter at the right consistency. And then not over whipping it.
So first, in the bowl from your stand mixer, whisk together the egg whites (fresh is better) and the sugar. Heat a small pot with about an inch of water to a simmer, then set your bowl on top of it. (The water should not touch the bowl). Whisk the mixture until it reaches 130 F.
Set your mixer bowl on the mixer, and mix on medium high, with the whisk attachment, for about 2 minutes until it reaches the stiff peak stage. It'll be super white, thick, glossy and if you dip a spoon in, and then hold it upright, the point on the meringue should not fall over.
Set the speed lower, to about medium and beat for about ten minutes, until the bowl is cool.
Then, using the paddle attachment on low speed, add the butter chunks, one at a time. Mix until smooth and fluffy. Add the vanilla and a pinch of salt and then mix again.
To make it chocolate icing, add in the melted (and cooled) chocolate, then mix.
How to Build a Triple Layer Chocolate Cake
This part is pretty simple. I usually make my cakes on a cardboard cake board, and use a cake turntable. Whatever surface you build yours on, spread a little bit of icing on it, so the cake layer doesn't slide around. Spread icing on the top of that layer, then add another layer. Repeat until you have all layers on. Spread a small amount around the outside of the cake, not worrying about crumbs. This layer is locking in crumbs.
Freeze it for about 15 to 20 minutes so that the icing won't move around when you put your nice layer on.
Use most of the rest of the icing to cover the cake with the final layer of icing. Smooth it out with an offset spatula. I heat mine in hot water sometimes (wiping dry with a paper towel) and then smooth out any lumps or bumps.
Put some icing in a piping bag if you want and pipe rosettes around the cake.
How to Make Chocolate Ganache
This is easy. Just heat equal amounts of chocolate and whipping cream together until the chocolate is melted. Don't heat too much at a time, or you'll ruin it. Once its mixed together, let it cool until it's thick enough that it will drip nicely down the cake. Cool your cake again too!
To add the drip, I scoop some of the ganache on a large spoon then pool it on top of the cake at the edge and then I use the spoon to nudge it over the edge a little. Go around the entire cake like that, then fill the middle.
To finish it off, cut a chocolate bar on an angle and stick it into the top of the cake, then add more chocolate candies to decorate. For this cake I used a hazelnut chocolate bar, some dark chocolate squares, dark chocolate covered almonds and dark chocolate covered pumpkin seeds.
No go snap a few photos and share your masterpiece with friends and family!
Recipe
Chocolate Layer Cake with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Ganache Drip
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1 cup butter, room temperature 2 sticks, 227 g
- 1 ½ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 ½ cup brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups dark chocolate almond milk *see notes
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 450 grams all-purpose flour about 3 ¾ cups
- 60 grams Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa about ½ cup
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup strong instant coffee
Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 7 large egg whites **see notes
- 1 ¾ cups granulated white sugar (350 g)
- 1 lb butter at room temperature, cubed (454 g)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 9 ounces dark chocolate (270 g)
Chocolate Ganache
- 3 oz chocolate (90 g)
- ½ cup whipping cream
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- In a bowl of stand mixer (or by hand), cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes
- Add eggs and combine.
- In a medium bowl, combine the milk of choice and vinegar. Wait about 5-7 minutes (do before butter)
- Add vanilla to milk.
- In another bowl mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder.
- Make coffee and set aside to cool a bit.
- Add dry ingredients in three parts and wet ingredient in two parts to mixer bowl, alternating between the two. Begin and end with dry ingredients.
- Add coffee and mix to combine.
- Prep four tins (I bake two at a time) with spray and flour and a parchment circle on the bottom.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 or until done.
Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Clean you mixer bowl with vinegar/water spray. Mix together egg whites and sugar in the bowl.
- Bring a small pot of water to a simmer set the mixer bowl on top.
- Heat the egg whites and sugar to 130 F.
- Put the bowl on the mixer, and mix on medium high with the whisk attachment, to stiff peak stage, about 2 minutes. Lower speed to medium and then beat for about another 10 minutes or until the bottom of the mixer bowl is cool.
- Switch to the paddle attachment, add the butter one chunk at a time, mixing until combined.
- Add the extract, salt and chocolate and then mix a final time.
Chocolate Ganache
- Mix together cream and chocolate and microwave 15-20 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until melted and fully combined. Don't over heat. (You could instead use a double boiler if you want to). Let cool until not hot enough to melt icing, and thick enough to not run all over.
Notes
Nutritional information is an estimate. Values vary based on products used. Read our full Nutrition Disclaimer.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.
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