Connies Chocolate Truffle Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Cakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter four 6-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment, and butter parchment; and dust with cocoa, tapping out excess.
• Stir cocoa and water in a small bowl until a smooth paste forms; let cool. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
• With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Mix in vanilla. Add eggs in a slow stream, mixing until incorporated and batter is no longer slick.
• Gradually whisk milk into cocoa paste. With mixer on low speed, gradually add both flour and cocoa mixtures to the butter mixture, and mix until combined.
• Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to wire racks to cool 10 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks to cool completely.
• Whipped Ganache Frosting: Meanwhile, put chocolate into a large heatproof bowl. Bring cream just to a boil in a saucepan. Pour over chocolate; add salt. Let stand 10 minutes. Whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth and shiny, scraping bottom of bowl with a flexible spatula. Let cool to room temperature, stirring often, until thickened, 45 to 60 minutes. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat until paler in color and fluffy, 2 to 4 minutes. (You should have about 4 cups.)
• Chocolate Ganache Glaze: Put chocolate into a large heatproof bowl. Bring cream and corn syrup just to a boil in a saucepan, stirring to combine. Pour over chocolate. Let stand 10 minutes. Whisk until smooth and shiny, scraping bottom of bowl with a flexible spatula. (You should have about 3 cups.)
• With a serrated knife, trim tops of cake layers to level. Using an offset spatula, spread about 1 cup whipped ganache frosting on each of 2 cake layers; top with remaining layers. Spread remaining frosting over cakes.
• Place 1 cake on a wire rack set over a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Using a ladle, pour half of ganache glaze over top and sides of cakes, smoothing sides with a large offset spatula. Repeat with second cake. Let stand until glaze has set, about 20 minutes. Just before serving, arrange pansies on top of cakes.

Steps:

• 1. FOR CAKE: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 9-inch layer cake pans (I use Wilton, they are the best). Cut out circles of wax paper and line bottom of pans. If you have Wilton Bake-Even Cake Strips, use them. If not, you will have to level cakes after they are cooled.
• 2. Combine boiling water and cocoa. Stir until smooth. Set aside in the fridge to cool.
• 3. Cream butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla at high speed of an electric mixer until light and fluffy (about 5 min is perfect).
• 4. In a separate bowl combine flour, soda, baking powder, and salt.
• 5. Alternately add flour.
• 6. Then cocoa mixture beginning and ending with flour.
• 7. Do not overbeat or cake will be tough!
• 8. Pour batter into prepared pans.
• 9. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 or until top springs back. Do not overbake!
• 10. Cool in pans 10 minutes.
• 11. Then flip out onto a large plate and put in the freezer. Don't worry, I know what I am doing. This keeps the cakes from falling apart and won't leave crumbs in your icing.
• 12. GANACHE FILLING: Place the chocolate into a medium bowl.
• 13. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Watch very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot.
• 14. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chocolate chips.
• 15. Whisk until smooth.
• 16. Stir in the Grand Marnier and the orange zest.
• 17. Transfer hot chocolate to a relatively deep stainless steel bowl and immerse it into a bowl of ice water. Then whip with a hand mixer until it is thick and fluffy.
• 18. Once it is desired consistency, take out of ice bath or it will continue to harden; set aside.
• 19. SATINY CHOCOLATE FROSTING: Combine chips, milk, and butter in a LARGE saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth.
• 20. Remove from heat; blend in powdered sugar.
• 21. Set the pan (or transfer to a mixing bowl) into an ice bath; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer.
• 22. Stop occassionally to scrape down the sides. Mix until frosting is fluffy and holds its shape.
• 23. It should make a peak with a spoon and hold it. Remove from ice bath or it will continue to harden!
• 24. CAKE ASSEMBLY: Remove frozen layers from the freezer and put on a platter lined with wax paper strips to catch the mess. Place the first cake and spoon about half of the ganache.
• 25. Place the next cake on top of the ganache layer.
• 26. Spoon the rest of the ganache on top.
• 27. Place the last cake on top. Frost the top with the satiny chocolate frosting first. Then start on the sides. Smooth top as much as possible with a flat knife dipped in hot water.
• 28. Take your chocolate jimmies (chocolate sprinkles). Gently take your hand and press them into the sides only. Continue until you have gone all he way around. Gently remove the wax paper strips and discard. Put remaining filling into a piping bag and pipe 12 medium size swirls on top of the cake. I used a #21 tip. Space them out before you start piping to make sure you get 12 and they are even. Top each swirl with a Lindt chocolate truffle and a white chocolate truffle, alternating. If the bottom of your cake is messy where you pulled out the paper, you may use the same tip to pipe a border around the base of the cake.
• 29. Chill in the refrigerator immediately. Before serving, let the cake set out at room temperature 30 minutes so the chocolate will soften back up slightly. Enjoy!
• 30. ALTERNATE GARNISH: Pipe a border around top and bottom lip of cake. Take Pirouette creme filled wafers and line them up around the sides of cake. (They do not have to be all the same height). Add M&M's to the middle of the cake . ***Finished Cake #2 in my photo #2 made in (3) 9-inch pans. Serves at least 14, huge cake.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F and butter a 9-inch springform pan.
• Make base:
• In a small saucepan melt butter and stir in cocoa powder. Remove pan from heat and add brown sugar, stirring until dissolved. Stir in flour, walnuts, egg, and vanilla and spread batter evenly in springform pan. Bake base in middle of oven 10 minutes, or just until firm, and transfer to a rack to cool.
• Make filling:
• Arrange walnuts in one layer on top of base. In a small heavy saucepan combine butter, brown sugar, and honey and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes, or until a candy thermometer registers 280°F. Remove pan from heat and add cream, vanilla, and lemon juice, stirring until smooth. Cool mixture to room temperature and pour over walnuts, spreading evenly.
• Make ganache:
• In a saucepan bring cream just to a boil. Finely chop chocolate. Put chocolate in a metal bowl and pour hot cream over it, stirring until smooth. Cool ganache to room temperature and beat with an electric mixer until it just holds soft peaks (do not overbeat or it will become grainy).
• Spread ganache evenly over filling. Chill cake, covered, at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.
• Run a thin knife around edge of cake and remove side of pan. With a large spatula transfer cake to a plate and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease two 20cm cake tins and dust with flour. Tip all the cake ingredients into a large bowl and beat well with an electric hand whisk or wooden spoon to give a smooth, thick batter consistency.
• Divide the mixture between the tins and bake in the oven for 30-35 mins until it springs back to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for about 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, make the truffles. In a bowl, gently melt the milk chocolate in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water. Stir in the butter. Put the biscuits in a sandwich bag and crush them to fine crumbs by bashing with a rolling pin. Mix into the chocolate and chill in the fridge for about 20 mins. When chilled, roll into 11 even-sized balls with your hands. Coat in sprinkles and set aside.
• For the icing, pour the cream into a saucepan and place over a medium heat. Once hot, stir in the butter until melted. Break the chocolate into small pieces, tip into a medium bowl and pour over the hot cream mixture. Stir well until the chocolate melts into the cream. Cool for about 30 mins.
• Once the cake is completely cool, sandwich the two sponges together with the jam in the middle. Spread the top and sides with the icing. Finish by placing the truffles around the outside of the cake.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/ gas mark 4 and prepare the cake tin: using a tin measuring 8 inches (20cm)in diameter, 3 inches (7.5cm) deep, lightly oil the cake tin, line the base and sides with baking parchment and oil again, dust the sides with 1 tablespoon each of flour and sugar (this additional flour/sugar is extra to the quantities listed above).
• In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla extract together with an electric whisk for at least 5 minutes - so that it is light and creamy; add the eggs, beating the mix well as you add each egg; beat in the soured cream and milk - it may look curdled, but don't worry this is fine!
• Sieve flours and cocoa together in a separate bowl then sprinkle half over the cake mix; fold in with a metal spoon; sprinkle and fold in the second half.
• Gently spoon the cake mix into the cake tin and make a shallow hollow in the middle with the back of the spoon: bake on the middle shelf for 50 minutes then cover with a double layer of wet baking parchment (to stop the top of the cake overbrowning) and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes - the cake is baked when it's risen and a fine skewer put in the middle comes out clean: remove from the oven and leave the cake to cool in its tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack, best/flattest side up.
• To make the truffle icing, put the chocolate and butter in a small heatproof bowl and set it over a pan of just simmering water - the bowl must not touch the water: melt the chocolate/butter mix over the water for about 5 minutes then remove the bowl from the pan and leave to cool to 15 minutes: stir in the cream and leave the chocolate mix to cool for about 20-30 minutes so that the icing will be thick enough to coat the cake without the icing running off: pour truffle icing over the cake and spread it over the top and sides.
• To make the almond decoration, first lightly toast the almonds on a baking sheet in the oven at 350°F/180°C/ gas mark 4 for 5 minutes, turning them over half way through; remove and leave to cool: while they are cooling melt the dark chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water until melted, dip the almonds into the chocolate and lay out to dry on baking parchment - about 30 minutes: when dry repeat the process with the white chocolate, but this time arrange the almonds on top of the cake after dipping, the heat of the white chocolate will start to melt the first coat of chocolate on the almonds and you'll get a marbled finish, drizzle any left over melted chocolate over the almonds.
• Leave decoration to cool before serving, then watch the cake 'vanish' before your very eyes!