Birthday's have always been a bit of a big deal in our family, and in my opinion, a birthday hasn't actually happened if there hasn't been cake. Over the years, I've taken the responsibility of making birthday cakes quite seriously, and have one combo that has never failed: chocolate cake, with a dark chocolate ganache, and salted caramel ganache filling. It sounds like a lot - I know, but somehow, the below recipe just works, and the cake ends up being light and airy.
The chocolate cake is what I use for every single chocolate cake I ever make - I do not even bother with any other recipe. The salted caramel recipe has been adapted from Magnolia Kitchen, by Bernadette Gee, as have the ganache recipes.
The recipe will be split into 6 parts: the chocolate cake, the dark chocolate ganache, the homemade salted caramel, the salted caramel ganache, the simple syrup, and assembly. Making a birthday cake of the kind is an ordeal, I won't lie, but in my experience, entirely worth it.
The below recipe will make a 3 tier 8 inch cake.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
240gr plain flour
65gr cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
420gr sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup freshly brewed coffee
3 eggs
Chocolate Ganache
300gr dark chocolate
175gr cream
Salted Caramel
225gr sugar
1/2 cup cream
90gr butter
2 tsp sea salt
Salted Caramel Ganache
220gr salted caramel
150gr white chocolate
2 tbsp cream
Simple Syrup
75gr sugar
75gr water
Method
1. To make the cake. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius. In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt). Mix to combine. In a separate mixing bowl, combine all the wet ingredients (sugar, buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla, coffee, and eggs). Mix to combine.
2. Slowly start adding the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in fifths, mixing well between each addition until all the wet ingredients have been added.
3. Grease and line your cake tins - I personally had to bake the tiers one by one. I do not recommend skipping the lining stage. This cake is incredibly moist and delicate.
4. Bake the cakes for 35-45 minutes, or until a knife/cake tester comes out clean.
5. Set aside to cool completely.
6. To make the salted caramel. In a small pot with high sides, add the sugar on a low-medium heat. This will start to melt at the sides, be sure to shuffle the sugar around so it does not burn in specific places. Do not leave the sugar unattended - it burns in seconds. Keep stirring the sugar around until it completely dissolves and is an amber colour. If it starts getting too dark, turn down the heat.
7. Microwave the cream until warm.
8. Once all the sugar has dissolved, take it off the heat, and start adding the cream slowly. This will sputter and spit everywhere, and it is literally hot molten sugar, so do this very very slowly. Mix in the cream as you're adding it. If once you've added the cream some sugar has recrystallized, put it back on the heat for a few moments - do not leave it on for too long, however, as it will start to burn.
9. Cut the butter into cubes and add it into the sugar mixture along with the salt. Whisk well to combine, otherwise it will separate. Set aside to cool until ready to use. (This will keep in the fridge for months if kept in an airtight jar - I personally keep a jar of this in my fridge at all times).
10. To make the chocolate ganache. The ganache must be made an hour or two in advance for it to cool down and set to a consistency where it can be piped/spread easily. I suggest getting started on this as soon as your cakes are out of the oven and cooling. Your cakes should be more or less cooled down perfectly by the time your ganache is ready to use.
11. Heat the cream until just about to boil. Chop up the chocolate into small pieces.
12. Once your cream has almost come to a boil, pour over the chocolate and set aside for around 5-10 minutes. Whisk well until the chocolate has melted and combined with the cream and set aside to cool and set. I personally refrigerate the ganache until ready to use, but this often means I need to place it in the microwave for a few seconds to melt it down to a spreadable consistency before use.
13. To make the salted caramel ganache. As above, the ganache must be made an hour or two in advance for it to cool down and set to the correct consistency.
14. Melt the white chocolate using a double boiler - this is the recommended method for melting chocolate in general, but more so white chocolate since it is more likely to burn quickly in the microwave due to its high cocoa butter content.
15. Add the white chocolate to the salted caramel and whisk on high - I recommend using a hand held whisk/stand mixer for this, if possible. Add in the cream and whisk further. Set aside until ready to use. As above, I personally refrigerate the ganache, but this often means I need to microwave the ganache for a few seconds to melt it down to a spreadable consistency before use.
16. To make the simple syrup. In a small pot, add the sugar and water on a medium-high heat. Leave to simmer until all sugar has dissolved. This will be used to brush the cakes with prior to assembly, allowing them to remain moist for longer.
17. To assemble the cake. This tends to be the most nerve wracking part for most people. But this should be a simple step by step. It is also not a fancy way to assemble a cake. The key to assembling cakes is take it slow, there's no rush, and quite frankly, perfect is not the main aim.
18. If your cakes have a slight dome to them, trim it off. This recipe generally doesn't create domed cakes, but the slight dome may have made an appearance in your cakes. You want to try get the cakes as level as possible for easy construction. (Plus, you get to taste the cake). Brush the tops of the cake with the simple syrup generously.
19. Grab your ganaches out of the fridge and whip them separately to incorporate some air into them. As written above, if they're a bit too stiff to whip, microwave for just a few seconds until it softens to a whippable consistency. If you go too far with the microwaving, you'll have to let it set again.
20. On a cake board, set down the first cake. I tend to keep the prettiest looking cake for the top, the worst looking cake for the middle, and the final cake for the bottom layer. Spread a thin layer of chocolate ganache on the top part of the cake - do not tackle the sides for now.
21. Fill a piping bag with some of the chocolate ganache and pipe a border on the edge of the top of the cake. This ensures our filling won't spill out of the cake, and will allow everything to remain nice and clean. In the space you've now created with the chocolate ganache border, place a few tablespoons of salted caramel ganache and spread until the space is full. Take it slow, go gentle. Once you're happy with the filling, set the second cake on top, trying your best to centre it. Repeat the spreading, piping, filling process.
22. For the final tier, I generally flip the tier upside down, so that the bottom of the cake tier is now the top of your cake. This means you're going to get a proper flat top ready for you to decorate as you wish. Place the final tier on top of the cake, trying your best to centre it.
23. Using the rest of your chocolate ganache, fill in any gaps between the tiers, and start to cover the cake, sides and all. Going against every rule of cooking, when it comes to frosting, it is easier to remove frosting than it is to add it. So don't be shy with it, add lots on and worry about cleaning it up later. Using an angled cake spatula, start smoothing out the frosting over the top and edges. If your frosting starts to set on the cake, grab a cup of boiling water, and dip your spatula in every once in a while to help you wish spreading it around and smoothing things over.
24. Using a piping bag, decorate the cake with the rest of the leftover ganaches as you wish. I personally went with simple frosting designs on the top, and then went crazy with the sprinkles (as I personally believe sprinkles are the best for a birthday theme). Refrigerate the cake until ready to use.
Recreating any of the above? Tag me on instagram @juliawgr.
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