How to Make Rick's Chocolate Blackout Cake: Bon Appétit Test #28

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.

Cut out parchment rounds to fit in 8-inch cake pans.

Grease the pans with butter.

Place parchment rounds in the bottom of the pans and grease them with more butter.

Dust the inside of the pans with Dutch process cocoa.

Sift all the dry ingredients together, ensuring no clumps remain in the cocoa powder.

Measure out all the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Add warm water to the wet ingredients and whisk until combined.

Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, whisking gently to avoid over-beating.

Weigh the batter to ensure even distribution between the two pans, aiming for about 500 grams per pan.

Bake the cakes for 30 minutes until done and cool completely before moving on to the next steps.

Prepare fudge frosting by bringing milk to a rolling boil on the stove.

Remove milk from heat and add chocolate and sour cream, letting it sit for a few minutes to melt the chocolate.

Stir the mixture until smooth, ensuring no air is incorporated.

Make homemade chocolate pudding by whisking cornstarch and cocoa powder together in a saucepan.

Add cream to the cornstarch mixture and whisk until smooth.

Add egg yolks directly into the saucepan without separating them first and whisk together.

Cook the mixture over medium-high heat, whisking consistently until it thickens and comes to a boil.

Pass the pudding through a fine mesh sieve to ensure smoothness, then cover with cling film and refrigerate.

Assemble the cake by leveling the cooled cakes with a serrated knife.

Cut each cake into two layers using a ruler to measure and a serrated knife to slice evenly.

Place the thickest layer of cake on the bottom and pipe a dam of fudge frosting around the edge.

Spread half of the pudding filling inside the dam, ensuring no air gaps remain.

Add the second layer of cake and repeat the process with the remaining pudding filling.

Top with the final layer of cake, placing the less crummy side up.

Apply a crumb coat of frosting around the outside of the cake and smooth it out with a bench scraper and offset spatula.

Grate the fourth layer of cake against a cooling rack to create crumbs for decoration.

Chill the crumb coat for about 30 minutes until firm to the touch.

Spread a thick layer of fudge frosting on top of the cake.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Allergens