2016 is almost over. I’m celebrating this transition with gusto and also celebrating another year of life. I figured the best way to say, “GET OUT ALREADY!”, to 2016 and commemorate another birthday is with two of my favorite things. Chocolate + Coffee in the form of a birthday cake. Of course it can’t just be any ol’ cake. It has to have all the best elements of tender, creamy, crunchy, and not too sweet. In the end, this Chocolate Cremeux Cake with Espresso Buttercream felt worthy of a birthday celebration. Layered cakes are a labor of love for me since I rarely ever make them at home. Baking is usually a reflective time in the kitchen. A time to zone out from the world and feed the inner creativity that wants to be expressed. While making this cake, there were a flood of thoughts on what it means to be another year older.
A realization came that I’ve never been so grateful for being another year wiser. There’s a sense of security that comes from being in my 30s. In my 20s, I didn’t have the awareness of knowing that for every dark moment there is an unfailing and equally powerful moment of light coming. That for every unpleasant encounter there will be a moving encounter of a loving kindness directed my way. That love and hope are the greatest of all things and without either life is especially bleak. There are countless life lessons engrained into each year of my life and there’s no doubt there are many more to come. I now understand that it’s up to me to keep my mind and heart open to them. Another year older, another year wiser. Thank goodness.
Now, back to this cake. Here are a few cake life lesson (helpful tips) on making it easier on yourself when preparing this. First, don’t feel like you have to make this in one day. You absolutely can, but it’s much simpler if you stretch it out over two or three days and even a week. Cakes are great in that way and each individual component can be made in advance. The chocolate cremeux (French for ‘creamy’) is a velvety custard-like filling. A cross between chocolate mousse and thick chocolate pudding. It can be made a day or two before and left to firm up overnight. The chocolate sour cream cake can be baked up to a week in advance and stored in the freezer until ready to thaw, cut, and fill (or make it a day or two before assembling). The espresso buttercream is a made using my favorite style of buttercream- a French one. It’s made using egg yolks and is incredibly smooth, rich, and flavorful. You’ll need a kitchen thermometer for both the cremeux and the buttercream, but it’s just to ensure that their final textures come of perfectly. Since this cake is a three layer cake, there are instructions on how to cut the cake layers. If you’d like to skip the process of cutting out cakes layers from a single cake, try preparing three separate 8″ round cake pans. Divide the batter evenly between all three and adjust the baking times (fill and ice using the same process below).
Here’s to another year of life, love, and happiness. May 2017 be a stellar year for you, dear friends. Sending all my love, gratitude, and appreciation to you for being apart of my life this year!
Chocolate Cremeux Cake with Espresso Buttercream
Makes one 8-inch three layer cake (serves 8-12)
Chocolate Cremeux
8 1/2 oz (241g) 63% – 70% dark chocolate, chopped (such as Valrhona, Callebaut, or Guittard)
3 oz (86g) large egg yolks, about 5 yolks
2 oz (57g) sugar
4 oz (118ml) whole milk
9 oz (255g) heavy cream
Pinch of sea salt
In a heat-proof bowl, gently melt the dark chocolate over a double boiler (a pot of simmering water with the chocolate bowl snuggly fitted on top). Or, place the bowl of chocolate in the microwave and melt in 30 second intervals, stirring between each heating, just until melted. Take care not to burn the chocolate with this microwave method. Once melted, set a fine mesh strainer over the chocolate bowl and set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. In a sauce pan, bring the whole milk, heavy cream, and sea salt to a simmer. Remove from heat. Ladle in a small amount of the hot mixture into the egg yolks, then whisk to combine (tempering). Continue gradually whisking in the remaining hot mixture until all combined. Pour combined mixture back into the sauce pan and place over medium-low heat. Cook, whisking constantly to prevent scrambling the eggs, until mixture reaches 180F (82C) and has thickened.
Immediately, remove from heat and pour over the strainer into the melted chocolate bowl. Using an immersion blender, or whisk, blend the cremeux until smooth. Cover cremeux surface with plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator to chill until firm, at least 4 hours or up to two days. When ready to use, vigorously mix the cremeux to soften to a spreadable texture. If very stiff, place in a stand mixer bowl, with a paddle attachment, and mix until smooth.
Chocolate Sour Cream Cake
3 oz (85g) 63% – 70% dark chocolate, chopped
6 oz (174ml) freshly brewed espresso or strong hot coffee
2 Tbsp dutch processed cocoa powder (preferably Valrhona)
2 tsp vanilla extract
8 oz (228g) cake flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp sea salt
6 oz (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature soft
1 oz (28g) grape seed oil
12 oz (340g) sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
9 oz (255g) sour cream
Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Coat an 8-inch round cake pan, with 3-inch high sides, with baking spray. Line the sides and bottom with parchment paper, leaving a 1 1/2-inch overhang of parchment paper above the rim of the cake pan (the cake will rise during baking, but will settle to the level of the cake rim once cooled). Spray sides and bottom of the parchment and coat with flour.
In a heat-proof bowl, gently melt the dark chocolate over a double boiler (a pot of simmering water with the chocolate bowl snuggly fitted on top). Or, place the bowl of chocolate in the microwave and melt in 30 second intervals, stirring between each heating, just until melted. Take care not to burn the chocolate with this microwave method. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
In a small bowl, dissolve together the espresso, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract. In another bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and grape seed oil until fluffy, about 1 minute. On low speed, gradually stream in the sugar. Stop to scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium and mix until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
On low speed, gradually stream in eggs until combined. Stop to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium and mix until lighter in color, about 3-4 minutes. Add in all the melted chocolate and immediately mix, on low speed, until thoroughly incorporated.
Add in one-third of the flour mixture and mix, on low speed, just until combined. Add in half of the sour cream and mix just until combined. Add another one-third of flour mixture, mix, and then last half of sour cream, mix. Finish with the last third of flour and mix just until combined. On low speed, steadily pour in espresso mixture and mix until batter is smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepare 8-inch cake pan and smooth the surface evenly with a small offset spatula. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wire cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean and cakes spring back when lightly pressed.
Remove from oven and set on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Remove cake from pan and carefully turn over onto the rack to peel off the parchment bottom. Gently, flip back over and allow to finish cooling completely. Once cool, transfer cake onto an 8-inch cake board and wrap well in plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Recipe adapted from Baking Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum.
Espresso Buttercream
6 oz (170g) 63% – 70% dark chocolate, chopped
2 Tbsp espresso powder
4 oz (113g) large egg yolks, about 6 yolks
7 oz (200g) sugar
4 oz (118ml) water
16 oz (454g) unsalted butter, room temperature soft
In a heat-proof bowl, gently melt the dark chocolate over a double boiler (a pot of simmering water with the chocolate bowl snuggly fitted on top). Or, place the bowl of chocolate in the microwave and melt in 30 second intervals, stirring between each heating, just until melted. Take care not to burn the chocolate with this microwave method. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
In a small bowl, dissolve espresso powder in 1 tsp of boiling hot water. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the whip attachment, place the eggs yolks. On medium-high speed, whip yolks until light, thick, and fluffy, about 6-7 minutes. When the whip is lifted, the fluffy yolks should fall in a ribbon form that slowly dissolves on its surface.
Meanwhile, in a medium sized sauce pan, combine sugar and water. Over medium-high heat, cook until hot syrup mixture reaches 240F (115C). If sugar splatter begins to form on the sides of the pan, gently wipe down sides with a pastry brush that’s been dipped in cold water (this prevents crystallization).
Once at temperature, immediately remove from heat. Turn mixer onto medium-low speed and slowly pour the hot syrup down the side of the mixture bowl into the fluffy yolks. Careful to not get any hot syrup on the whip itself or it’ll spray hot syrup all over the sides of the bowl. Continue to steadily pour in the hot syrup until it’s all been added. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and mix until cool (the bottom of the mixer bowl should no longer be warm when you place your hand on it).
Add in the butter, in tablespoon sized chunks; waiting to add in each additional chunk until the previous one has been incorporated. Continue until all the butter has been added and thoroughly combined. Turn off the mixture and add in all the melted chocolate. Immediately, mix in the chocolate until combined. Stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add in the dissolved espresso and mix until combined with no streaks remaining.
Store espresso buttercream in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 4 hours. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week and 1 month in the freezer. For chilled buttercream, allow it to return to room temperature before rewhipping until light and fluffy.
Recipe adapted from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum.
Final Cake Assembly
Set out two 8-inch cake boards and a rotating cake stand. Place a small slip-resistance pad or a dollop of buttercream on the center of the rotating cake stand. This will prevent the cake from moving. If not using a cake stand, place the cake on a cooling rack or a flat surface.
Place the cake on the rotating cake stand. Gently place one hand on top of the cake to hold it securely in place. With the other hand, use a serrated knife to cut any dome or unevenness off the top of the cake. Make sure to keep the knife flat while cutting or the layers will be uneven. Gently rotate the cake with your hand in order to guide the knife. Go slowly if needed. Discard the scraps (or keep them to use for another project).
Cutting the cake layers: It’s time to cut the three layers. First, make three small evenly spaced incisions on one side of the cake. This is a helpful guide for even layers. Keeping the knife flat, cut the first layer off the top of the cake (same process that you used for removing the dome-top before). Slide an 8″ cake round under the cut layer to remove it. Repeat the process with the second layer.
Filling the cake layers: Scoop half of the prepared chocolate cremeux filling onto the center of the bottom layer. With an offset spatula, evenly spread the ganache from the center of the cake to the outer edges. Slowly rotate the cake stand to help guide the icing around the edges. Carefully, scoop up the second cake layer and gently rest it on top of the filling. Repeat the filling process with the last half of cremeux. Gently place on the top layer of cake. Check out this post for a few ‘how-to’ photos.
Icing the cake: To apply a crumb coat Scoop a large dollop of buttercream on top of the center of the cake. With an offset spatula, evenly smooth the buttercream across the top and to the outer edges of the cake (you want a little overhang). Rotate the cake stand, as needed, to help you evenly spread it. Next, place a small dollop of buttercream onto the side of the cake. Smooth it out, working from the bottom to the top. Repeat all around the sides of the cake until completely covered. Clean off the offset spatula and run it around the sides for a final even smoothing. At this point, continue to decorate the cake however you would like. Swirl it, smooth it out even more, swipe rustic ridges onto it, and top it with chocolate shavings, sprinkles, or candles.
Place finished cake onto a cake stand and cut into 8-12 slices to serve. Store cake in an airtight cake dome, or cover lightly with plastic wrap, for up to three days.