Happy Obligatory Cake Day! Yes, here we are again at that one day out of the year that I really feel that I should bake a cake. This year, we have a Salted Caramel Chocolate Torte. Though I haven’t tried it all put together (clearly it hasn’t been cut yet), all the components separately were delicious, though not surprisingly, a little on the sweet side. And if I were to spend my days critiquing myself, I would say that I am still not great at frosting / decorating, but meh, it’s ok.
Ingredients
for the chocolate cake
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
for the frosting and decoration
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butterscotch extract
1/4 cup salted caramel (see recipe below)
chocolate sprinkles or other decorations as desired
For the salted caramel
1/4 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon size pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
For the chocolate ganache
3 tablespoons corn syrup
6 ounces heavy cream
12 ounces dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
I would make the salted caramel a day ahead of time, so I will start with that. You will need it for both the frosting and for drizzle on the cake. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, heat the water and sugar over medium heat. Make sure to use a saucepan that’s a bigger than what you think you will need. Stir constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture starts to bubble just a little. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, stop stirring completely. Let the mixture continue boiling until it turns an amber color, this could take anywhere from 4-12 minutes. Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the heavy cream. The mixture will bubble up quite a bit, so make sure to do this very carefully. Then, mix in the butter, vanilla, and salt one at a time. Pour the caramel sauce into a plastic squirt bottle and let cool completely. The caramel sauce will thicken up some once it’s cooled and refrigerated.
Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare a 2 9-inch round cake pans with butter and flour
In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at time, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture, ending with the flour.
Fill the cake pans three-quarters full, being careful not to overfill. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the cakes are done baking, and everything has cooled completely, make your frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and shortening. Slowly add in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, reserving 1 cup. Blend in salt, extracts, salted caramel and remaining powdered sugar, and continue to mix until your butter cream is smooth and is piping consistency.
To assemble and decorate: level off your chocolate cake rounds and then cut horizontally so that you now have 4 layers. place the first round on your plate or cake stand and pipe a layer of the frosting. Repeat times. For the top and sides, using a small offset spatula, neatly add a layer of the frosting. Refrigerate for a minimum of one hour before continuing.
While the cake is chilling, make your chocolate ganache (this can also be made a day in advance). In a small saucepan combine the corn syrup and heavy cream. Bring to a simmer and add the chocolate, then remove from the heat. Let sit for 5 minutes without stirring, then stir until smooth. Add the vanilla extract. and stir again. Let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally so that it remains smooth. Fill into a plastic squirt bottle.
Once the frosting layer has hardened, using your squirt bottles of caramel and chocolate ganache, make a drip layer around the top of your cake, so that some of each roll down the side. On the top, create a larger pool of salted caramel. Decorate with additional caramel, chocolate savings or chocolate covered caramels.
Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
