When you are craving the best chocolate cake recipe, you have to make Dark Chocolate Black Out Cake. This is a rich chocolate cake that has a pudding filling and is frosted with the same rich pudding. The outside features chocolate chips. This cake is a must for any chocolate cake lover.
Ingredients
3Cflour
1 1/2Cspecial dark chocolate cocoa powder
1tbspbaking soda
1 1/2tspbaking soda
1 1/2tspkosher salt
4large eggs
1/2Csour cream
1Cbuttermilk
1 1/2Cwarm water
1/2tspespresso powder
1/2Ccanola oil
1tbsppure vanilla extract
Frosting ingredients
1 1/2Cunsalted sweet cream butter, softened
1 - 8ozcream cheese, soften
1 1.2Hershey special dark cocoa powder
1tbsppure vanilla extract
1/4tspkosher salt
7Cpowder sugar
1/4Cheavy whipping cream
2Cof mini chocolate chips
Large piping bag with medium star tip
Large ice cream scooper
Chocolate Ganache Ingredients
1Csemi sweet chocolate chips
1/2Cheavy whipping cream
1large squeeze bottle
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray three 9 in cake pans with pam baking spray
In a small bowl, whisk together the espresso and the warm water until combined
Using your standing mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt until combined
Gradually add in the eggs, sour cream, buttermilk, espresso, oil and vanilla extract until combined and
Divide the batter between the 3 pans
Place in the oven to bake for 25-35 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean
Allow cakes to cool for 20 minutes
Frosting Directions
Using the standing mixer again, beat the cream cheese and butter until combined and smooth
Gradually mix in the cocoa powder, vanilla and salt
Very slowly, beat in the powdered sugar until combined
Whisk in the heavy whipping cream until the ice cream is smooth and fluffy
Scoop 1 C of frosting into the piping bag
Directions to build the cake
Place 1 layer of cake onto the cake board
Using the ice cream scooper, scoop out 4-6 scoops of frosting and smooth evenly on one layer of cake
Place another layer of cake on top and spread more frosting
Place the last layer on top and frost the remaining cake with remaining frosting
Coat the sides of the cake with the mini chocolate chips
Chocolate ganache directions
Using a small pot, heat up the heavy whipping cream until steaming
While heavy whipping cream is heating up, place chocolate chips into a heat-proof bowl
Once the heavy whipping cream is heated, pour over the chocolate chips
Allow to sit for 1 minute before whisking until smooth
Pour ganache into the squeeze bottle
Pipe dollops of ganache over the edge of the cake
Pipe dollops of frosting onto the top of the cake
Sprinkle some mini chocolate chips onto the frosting dollops