Black Cocoa Cake with Chocolate Cremeux Frosting
My favorite chocolate cake recipe with 16 layers and chocolate cremeux, black cocoa, and brown butter
Servings 16
Ingredients
- 7 large eggs
- 3/4 cup white sugar + 1 tbsp
- 1/2 tsp coffee extract
- 1 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups light cream
- 1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter
- 2 cups AP Flour
- 1 1/2 tsp espresso powder
- 3/4 cup black cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup dutch process cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/3 cup strong coffee
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
Instructions
- To make chocolate cremeux, add chopped chocolate into a heat-proof bowl.
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together 4 eggs, 1 tbsp white sugar, coffee extract, and 1/4 tsp salt. Then, add heavy cream, light cream, and combine.
- Cook mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it slightly thickens, about 5-8 minutes.
- Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate and let sit for 2-3 minutes to melt. Then, whisk or blend into a smooth ganache consistency.
- Cover cremeux with plastic wrap, pressing directly onto the surface of the mixture, and chill for 2-3 hours until thickened.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Line 4 8” cake pans with parchment paper and grease with butter. Dust with a light coating of cocoa powder, tapping the pans to remove excess.
- In a large sauté pan, cook butter over medium heat until fully melted. Then, cook until lightly browned and bubbly and remove from heat (about 5 minutes).
- Add 1/2 tsp espresso powder and 1/4 cup black cocoa powder and whisk to combine.
- In another bowl, whisk together 3 eggs with 3/4 cup white sugar, 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Whip with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- To your brown butter mixture add coffee, vegetable oil, sour cream, and buttermilk. Whisk to combine.
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, 1/2 cup black cocoa powder, 1 tsp espresso powder, 1/4 cup dutch process cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and 1 tsp salt.
- Alternate adding your dry ingredients and the brown butter and coffee mixture to your whipped egg mixture, ending with the liquid mixture.
- Divide your cake batter evenly into each of the 4 cake pans. Drop each pan gently on your work surface to remove air bubbles.
- Bake cakes for 30-35 minutes until the cake tops spring back when pressed. If you are using one oven with two racks, switch which 2 pans are on top and on bottom halfway through.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 30-60 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and allow to cool for another 20-30 minutes.
- Remove parchment paper and carefully cut each cake in half, hamburger bun style. Remove your cremeux from the fridge.
- Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of a high-edged 8” removable bottom cake pan. Line the cake pan on the inside with a tall sheet of acetate, which allows you to stack your cake higher than the pan. If you don’t have acetate, use two separate cake pans and once assembled, stack one on top of the other.
- Place alternating layers of chocolate cake and equal portions of chocolate cremeux in your acetate-lined cake pan. End with a light coating of cremeux and smooth.
- Cover and place in the fridge to chill for at least 2-3 hours or overnight to firm up the cremeux.
- When ready to serve, remove cake from pan and peel off acetate. Slice and serve.