Chocolate Blackout Cake | CHELSWEETS

buttermilk

🥗Healthier: low-fat yogurt

💰Cheaper: milk + vinegar

Low-fat yogurt offers tanginess with fewer calories.

dark chocolate

🥗Healthier: cocoa powder + coconut oil

💰Cheaper: semi-sweet chocolate

Cocoa powder and coconut oil mimic the richness of dark chocolate.

sugar

🥗Healthier: honey

💰Cheaper: brown sugar

Honey adds sweetness with a unique flavor.

vegetable oil

🥗Healthier: applesauce

💰Cheaper: canola oil

Applesauce reduces fat while keeping moisture.

Make the milk chocolate ganache first, as it needs at least a few hours to cool and set.

To make ganache, place both the chocolate and heavy cream in a heat proof bowl, and heat it for 30 second increments, stirring between until fully melted.

Prepare chocolate simple syrup by simmering sugar and water until dissolved, then mix in cocoa and cool overnight.

Bake 4, 7-inch round cake layers using the chocolate cake recipe and allow layers to cool fully before leveling.

Make the chocolate pudding by combining sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan; slowly mix in milk and cook over medium heat until boiling, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat, stir in butter and vanilla, then cool pudding in the fridge.

Level the cooled cake layers by cutting off the tops and crumb them using a fork.

Douse the cake layers with chocolate simple syrup using a brush.

Assemble the cake by piping ganache around the perimeter of each layer, adding pudding in the center, and repeating with remaining layers.

Cover the assembled cake with a thick layer of chocolate ganache and smooth with a bench scraper.

Decorate the top with a border of chocolate frosting and fill the center with cake crumbs.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Allergens