Happy 2nd Blogoversary: Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake

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Happy 2nd Blogoversary to my 'la bella vita' blog.  It's been a great two years getting to know so many wonderful people and from all the way around the globe!!!  But sadly this is the busiest day of my teaching schedule, so I just couldn't find the time to prepare and photo a new recipe for this occasion.  Instead I'm just going to post an encore recipe that I baked last year (in September no less!) that is super-chocolatey and delicious:  Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake.  This monster of a cake is worthy of a second post and I hope that you enjoy it!

This month for The Cake Slice Bakers, the selected cake for September is this Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake. Wow, what a doozie this cake is. Rich, dense, and hefty, small pieces are all that is needed before you surrender to its power.

It is always so much fun to make chocolate cakes, the aroma of the kithen is just blissful! The beauty of shimmering, creamy melted chocolate is a visual delight!

The cake did have its challenges, I must admit. The white chocolate mousse filling wasn't as thick as I would have liked, so you can barely see it in the "slice" photo below. It sure is tasty though, so if you know of a way to thicken a mousse without ruining it, that's what I'd recommend. The frosting was a wee bit too bitter for our taste preferences, so I'd add sugar to take out some of the bittersweetness.

But besides those two issues, it's a tremendous and IMPRESSIVE cake! Plus it was just so much fun to bake and chat back and forth with Monica over at "Lick The Bowl Good". She's much more of a master baker/decorator than I am, and so my learning curve is rising as I chat with her and the other bakers.

Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake

(from Sky High Irresistible Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne)

Here's what you need for the cake:

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ¼ tsp baking soda
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 ½ ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup milk
1 ¼ cups hot, strongly brewed coffee
2 eggs
1 cup mayonnaise (not low fat or fat free)
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups sugar

White chocolate mousse (below)
Sour cream chocolate icing (below)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 9 inch round cake pans. Line the base of each pan with parchment.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

Put the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Bring the milk to a simmer. Pour the hot coffee and milk over the chocolate. Let stand for a minute, then whisk until smooth. Let the mocha liquid cool slightly.

In a mixer bowl, beat together the eggs, mayonnaise and vanilla until well blended. Gradually beat in the sugar. Add the dry ingredients and mocha liquid alternately in 2 or 3 additions, beating until smooth and well blended. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans.

Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out almost clean. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10-15 minutes before un-molding onto a wire rack and carefully peeling off the paper. Leave to cool completely.

White Chocolate Mousse

4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 egg white
1 tbsp sugar

Melt the white chocolate with ¼ cup cream in a double boiler. Whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat and let the white chocolate cream cool to room temperature.

When it has cooled, beat the remaining ¾ cup cream until soft peaks form. In a clean bowl whip the egg white with the sugar until fairly stiff peaks form.

Fold the beaten egg white into the white chocolate cream, then fold in the whipped cream until blended. Be sure not to over mix.

Sour Cream Chocolate Icing

12 ounces bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate, chopped
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
2 tbsp light corn syrup
¼ cup half-and-half at room temperature
½ cup sour cream, at room temperature

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Melt the chocolate with the butter and corn syrup in a double boiler over barly simmering water. Remove from the heat and whisk until smooth.
Whisk in the half-and-half and sour cream. Use while still soft.

How to assemble the cake:

Place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Cover the top evenly with half the white chocolate mousse, leaving a ¼ inch margin around the edge. Repeat with the second layer and the remaining mousse. Set the third layer on top and pour half the sour cream chocolate icing over the filled cake. Spread all over the sides and top. Don’t worry if some of the cake shows through. This first frosting is to seal in the crumbs, and is known as a crumb coat. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes.

After this time cover the cake with the rest of the icing, smoothing it down the sides. It should be the consistency of mayonnaise. Use a palette knife or the back of a spoon to swirl the frosting around the cake.

Makes a 9 inch triple layer cake; serves 12 to 16

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