Thin Layer Chocolate Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease three 9-inch cake pans and line with rounds of parchment or waxed paper.
• In a mixer, cream together butter, sugar and shortening until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time and continue to mix on medium until eggs are well incorporated. Stir in vanilla.
• Sift flour, then add salt, baking soda and baking powder. Sift a second time. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and milk in about 4 additions, then increase speed to medium. Beat until smooth, about 4 to 5 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl.
• Spread 3/4 cup batter in each pan. Bake 6 to 8 minutes, or until cake springs lightly when pressed with a finger. Flip cake out of pan onto paper towels or cake rack while still very warm. Repeat with second set of layers.
• When first layers go into oven, start to make icing. Put sugar and cocoa in a deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan and mix well. Turn heat to medium-high and add butter and milks, bringing to a boil. Boil for about 4 minutes, stirring continually, careful to watch that it does not boil over. Lower heat to simmer, add vanilla and stir occasionally for another 7 to 10 minutes. If using a candy thermometer, cook to the point just before soft ball stage or about 230 degrees.
• Begin icing first layers, still warm, when second batch is in the oven. Flip layers over so that top side faces up. Use about 4 tablespoons of icing per layer. Icing will be thin but will firm up as it cools. Stack layers, then continue icing and stacking as layers are baked.
• When all layers are iced and stacked, glaze top and sides of cake. Contours of layers will be visible through icing. If icing hardens too much while frosting cake, set back on low heat and stir until it is spreadable.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 4 or 5 - 8 inch round cake pans.
• In a large bowl, cream together the shortening, 1/2 cup butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour alternately with the 3 cups milk; beat well. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into each prepared pan, and spread evenly. You will need to bake the layers in two or three batches.
• Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, just until the layers are dried out. Do not brown.
• To make the frosting: In a saucepan over medium heat, combine 3 cups sugar, 1 cup butter, cocoa, water and 2 cups evaporated milk. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, stirring frequently, then boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and beat for one minute with an electric mixer. Stack cake layers with icing in between, letting the icing run down the sides of the cake. Smooth the sides and top with the remaining icing.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan; dust pan with 2 teaspoons cocoa powder or as needed.
• Whisk cake flour, 3/4 cup cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Mix sugar and canola oil in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Beat eggs into sugar and oil, one at a time, blending in the first egg before adding the second. Gradually beat milk, coffee, and vanilla extract into sugar mixture until smooth.
• Reduce mixer speed to low and beat flour mixture into wet ingredients. Stir sour cream into batter. Pour into prepared baking pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or with moist crumbs, about 40 minutes.

Steps:

• Cake: mix all ingredients together with mixer.
• Grease and Flour 8 inch cake pans.
• Pour about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of batter in each pan (depending on how thick you want the cake layers) then spread out the batter evenly in the pans.
• Bake at 300 for about 15 to 20 minutes until done.
• Icing: Mix sugar and cocoa in large pot.
• Add milk, butter and vanilla.
• Cook over medium heat until boiling, stir constantly.
• Lower heat and continue to stir.
• As layers come out of the oven spread icing on them, stacking the layers and finish off by putting icing on side and top.
• The icing will set like fudge as the cake cools.
• This will make a 10 to 15 layer cake.

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch-round cake pans with butter and line with parchment paper.
• Place the sugar and oil in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the eggs, one by one, until completely incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and buttermilk and continue mixing until combined.
• Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Mix together the coffee and warm water. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the coffee mixture into the bowl of the stand mixer, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until you don't see any lumps and a thin batter has formed.
• Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of each cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and set on the wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
• For the dark chocolate mousse: Place the dark chocolate in a large bowl and set aside. Pour 1 cup of the heavy cream into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate, cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let sit for 3 minutes.
• Remove the towel and slowly whisk the ganache until it's smooth and shiny. Set aside to cool to about room temperature.
• Meanwhile, whip the remaining cup of heavy cream to stiff peaks in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or by hand. Using a rubber spatula, fold one-fourth of the whipped cream into the cooled ganache to lighten the consistency, then fold that mixture into the remaining whipped cream until almost completely combined with just a few streaks. Add the vanilla and salt and gently fold until combined into a light, fluffy mousse.
• For the chocolate fudge buttercream frosting: Place the sugar, hot fudge, cocoa powder, butter, milk, vanilla extract and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed to combine. When the sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat until the buttercream is smooth and satiny, 8 to 10 minutes.
• For the chocolate royal icing: Place the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, meringue powder and water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip on low speed to combine. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip until the icing holds stiff peaks, 5 to 8 minutes. If it seems too soft, add more confectioners' sugar in 1 tablespoon increments. If it is too stiff, add a bit more water, drop by drop. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a medium star tip.
• For the white chocolate ganache: Place the white chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside. Pour the cream into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate, cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let sit for 3 minutes.
• Remove the towel and slowly whisk the ganache until it's smooth and shiny. Set aside to cool to about room temperature, then transfer to a piping bag fitted with a medium star tip.
• To assemble, level the tops of the cakes with a serrated knife or cake leveler. Spread half of the mousse over the top of one cake layer. Stack the second layer and repeat. Add the third cake layer and frost the top and sides with a thin coat of the buttercream. Refrigerate until the frosting is firm, 20 to 30 minutes.
• When the cake is ready, frost the top and sides with a thicker layer of the buttercream and refrigerate again until very firm, about 1 hour.
• When the cake is almost ready, lightly dust your work area with cornstarch and roll the fondant into a circle about 20-inches wide and 1/8-inch thick. Drape the rolled fondant over the cake and, using a fondant smoother or your hands, lightly press and smooth it onto the cake, working your way from the top down the sides. Pop any air bubbles with a cake tester or toothpick and continue to smooth the surface.
• Trim any excess fondant from the base of the cake with a pizza cutter. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the bottom half of the cake with the piping gel, then cover it with chocolate sprinkles.
• Pipe a scalloped border around the edge with the chocolate royal icing. Pipe little rosettes of the white chocolate ganache around the cake and press 1 hazelnut truffle onto each. Continue to pipe and decorate with the royal icing, white chocolate ganache and hazelnut truffles to your liking.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Lightly spray an 8-inch springform baking pan with cooking spray.
• In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, ground almonds, salt and baking soda, and set aside.
• Using a standing or handheld mixer set at medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar for 4 full minutes until pale and fluffy. On low speed, beat in the grated beets, followed by dry ingredients. Add the buttermilk and coffee, and beat until the batter is smooth.
• Pour into the pan and place in the middle of a hot oven and bake for 30 minutes. Test with a toothpick inserted for doneness; it should come out clean. Bake for an additional 5 minutes if needed.
• Cool for 10 minutes or so in the pan and unmold onto cooling rack. Cool on a wire rack until cold.
• To make the icing, prepare a double boiler.
• Combine all the ingredients and gently stir until the chocolate is smooth. Stir occasionally until the mixture thickens.
• With the cake still on the wire rack, pour the icing liberally over the top of the cake and let it drip down the sides. Transfer onto a plate or cake stand for serving and garnish with rose petals.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut three 9-inch rounds of parchment paper to line the bottoms of three 9-by-2-inch round cake pans. Coat pans with cooking spray. Line with parchment rounds; coat parchment with cooking spray. Flour pans, tapping out excess; set aside.
• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into a bowl; set aside.
• Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low; mix in creme fraiche and vanilla. Add flour mixture and eggs in alternating additions; mix well, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, until batter is smooth.
• Reduce speed to low. Pour in melted chocolate in a slow, steady stream; mix until combined. Remove bowl from mixer; scrape down sides (batter will be thick). Stir by hand until well combined.
• Divide batter among pans, smoothing tops with an offset spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out with moist crumbs, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Let cakes cool in pans on wire racks 30 minutes. Unmold cakes; peel off parchment. Let cakes cool completely.
• Trim tops of cakes with a long serrated knife to make the surfaces level. Using a ruler to measure halfway up sides of 1 cake, insert toothpicks around cake?s middle at 3-inch intervals to mark 2 equal layers. Rest serrated knife on the toothpicks; halve cake horizontally using a sawing motion. Carefully slide top cake half onto a cardboard cake round or a plate. Repeat with remaining 2 cakes.
• Put 1 bottom cake half on a cake plate. Using a small offset spatula, spread 3/4 cup frosting on top. Carefully set top cake half back in place. Spread 3/4 cup frosting on top. Repeat, stacking remaining 4 cake halves on top and spreading 3/4 cup frosting between each. (Do not frost top of last layer.)
• Spread top and sides of cake with 2 cups frosting in a thin smooth layer. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Spread remaining frosting over top and sides; apply with the offset spatula using an S motion to create a textured appearance.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine first six ingredients in bowl; add milk, shortening and vanilla. Using an electric mixer, beat on low speed until combined, then beat on medium for 2 minutes. Add egg and beat two more minutes.
• Pour into buttered and floured 9-inch baking pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes (or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean). Cool on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool thoroughly on rack.