Chocolate French Silk Cake

If you follow along with my kitchen adventures on Instagram, then you may have been patiently waiting for this recipe to drop for a couple of weeks now. As promised, I’m delivering to you today a pretty killer chocolate cake recipe — and in plenty of time for you to prep and whip up for Valentine’s Day.

The gist: my favorite chocolate cake layers (they’re dark, chocolatey, and nice n’ fudgey — it’s the only chocolate cake recipe I’ve been using for going on two years now) + my favorite recipe for chocolate French silk cream (basically a super whippy and super rich chocolate mousse, originating from the trusty folks over at Cooks Illustrated) + a small mountain of whipped cream and plenty of chocolate shavings.

A few notes about this recipe…

• Be VERY careful not to over bake these cake layers if you want a fudgey cake; I always pull the layers out when a toothpick comes out covered in moist crumbs
• This recipe for chocolate French silk cream is amazing for a lot of reasons, but especially because it doesn’t contain raw eggs — it took me a while to find, but was so worth it because this stuff is GOOD.
• If you’re like me (lacking patience…) and don’t wait for the melted chocolate to cool enough before adding to the French silk cream, it’ll definitely go from fluffy and beautiful to soupy and sad looking. BUT IT’LL BE OKAY. I do this just about every time, and if you just continue on with the recipe and add in the butter then refrigerate the soupy mix for about 15 minutes, it’ll whip back up to fluffy perfection (the quick trip to the fridge gives the chocolate and butter you just added a chance to solidify a bit).
• The filling is admittedly a bit involved, so I kept the decorating simple with a semi-naked frosting job, a little chocolate drip action, and just piling the chocolate cream and whipped cream on top to resemble the appearance of this cake’s namesake. If you want to simplify it even further, though… bake the cake in a single 9×13″ pan (bake time will just be longer) instead of 2 8″ cake pans, skip the chocolate drip, and just pile on the yummy mousse and whipped cream. It’ll still be a total stunner and taste just as amazing, I promise.

Chocolate French Silk Cake
Yield: 10-12 servings

For the chocolate cake layers:
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder (I use a 50/50 mix of Hershey’s standard cocoa powder and their Special Dark cocoa powder)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brewed coffee (*or 1 teaspoon espresso powder dissolved in 1/2 cup boiling water)
3 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate French silk cream:
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons water
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, softened

For the chocolate drip:
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup semi- or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

For the toppings:
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate shavings, for sprinkling on top (optional, but so worth it)

Instructions:
Begin by baking the cake layers. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter two 8-inch cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and dust with cocoa powder. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the hot coffee and the chopped chocolate. Let stand for a couple of minutes, then whisk until it’s well combined. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low speed until all of the ingredients are well mixed.

In a separate mixing bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Slowly add this mixture to the flour mixture while mixing on low speed, then add in the chocolate/coffee mixture next. Mix until just combined, scraping the beater and sides/bottom of the bowl at least once halfway through.

Divide the batter between your prepared pans and bake for 28 – 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with fudgey moist crumbs attached (you don’t want it to come out completely clean). Allow to cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn the layers out to cool completely. (*I always let my cakes cool for another 15 minutes at this point, and then I wrap each layer in plastic wrap and pop them straight into the freezer. Doing this while the layers are still warm traps in the steam that’s released, keeping them moist. And it’s easier to trim and stack cake layers after they’ve been frozen for an hour or two.)

To make the French silk filling, whip the cream using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine the eggs, sugar, and water in a large heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of simmering water (you’re creating a double boiler) — the simmering water shouldn’t touch the bottom of the mixing bowl. With a hand mixer, whip this mixture on medium-high speed until it’s thick, light, and reads 160ºF on an instant read thermometer (this will take about 10 minutes). Remove from the heat, and then transfer to a clean mixer bowl and continue beating (using the whisk attachment) until the egg mixture is fluffy and room temperature, about 6-8 minutes.

When the egg mixture has cooled to room temperature, add the melted chocolate and the vanilla. Then, beat in the butter one Tablespoon at a time until well combined. (If your mixture looks kind of thin at this point, either your chocolate or your egg mixture probably wasn’t cool enough — that’s ok, though! Just pop the whole mixing bowl in the fridge at this point for about 15 minutes, then beat it again for a couple of minutes and it’ll be gorgeous and fluffy again.) Fold in the cream you whipped earlier until no streaks remain.

Begin assembling the cake by trimming your cake layers so they’re even/flat (this is optional, just a personal preference of mine). Place one of the layers (trimmed side facing up) on a cake board or serving dish. Add about 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate French silk cream, and spread into an even layer. Top with the remaining cake layer, trimmed side facing down (pressed against the filling). Using an icing spatula, apply a thin, even coat of chocolate cream all long the outside of the cake, covering and smoothing the top and the sides (you’ll have chocolate cream leftover, which will be used decorate the top of the cake).

Place the cake in the freezer at this point for at least 15 minutes and make the ganache for the chocolate drip. (Freezing the cake will keep the chocolate drip from melting the chocolate cream off the top/sides of the cake.)

In a heatproof measuring cup, add the heavy cream and the chocolate and microwave at 30 second intervals, mixing between each until smooth. Allow the ganache to sit at room temperature (or in the fridge, but mix it frequently so it doesn’t firm up too much) until it reaches a good drip consistency (pourable, but not watery — you want this to have the pouring consistency of hot fudge).

Pull your cake out of the freezer, and pour about a cup of your ganache on top of the cake, right in the center. Using a spoon, drag the ganache from the center of the cake to the edges, letting it fall down the sides. Do this around the whole permitter of the cake, adding more ganache as needed. Place the cake in the fridge until the ganache sets, about 20 minutes.

As the ganache sets, whip the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer beginning on low speed and then gradually increasing it to medium-high as the cream thickens. Continue to whip until it reaches soft-firm peaks.

When the ganache has set, add the remaining chocolate cream to the top of the cake. Use a spatula to swirl and push the cream to the edges of the cake. Then add/spread the whipped cream on top. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Chocolate cake recipe adapted from Eat Drink Binge

Chocolate French Silk Cream recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated, via Everyday Annie