Black Velvet Cake + Salted German Dark Chocolate Buttercream
Black Velvet Cake + Salted German Dark Chocolate Buttercream
The softest, plushest most decadently dark chocolate cake you will ever have. The texture on this cake is so devilishly moist. This cake is honestly superb on it’s own, you can snack on it without any frosting and I promise you will be a happy camper. But if you are interested in going all out, this cake deserves a delicious frosting. This salted dark chocolate pudding buttercream aka German buttercream, is so velvety smooth and absolutely delicious thanks to the addition of homemade pudding! Pair these two together and you won’t be able to put your fork down. You’ve been warned!
I adapted this recipe from a red velvet cake, hence the name black velvet. However, it could be called a Devil’s food cake, it is simply the darkest, most decadent cake of all time and definitely warrants that name.
Black Velvet Cake + Salted German Dark Chocolate Buttercream
Serving: Makes a 2 layer 8 inch cake ~ 8 slices.
Ingredients:
Black Velvet Cake
2 cup ap flour (240 grams)
½ cup of black cocoa powder (50 grams)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white granulated sugar (400 grams)
1 cup neutral oil, (225 grams)
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (225 grams)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup strong hot coffee (118 grams)
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
Salted Dark Chocolate Pudding
1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons milk (107 g)
2 tablespoons of white granulated sugar (25 grams)
1/2 ounce chopped dark chocolate (14 grams)
2 1/4 teaspoon of black cocoa powder (6 grams)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons milk (17 grams)
2 teaspoon cornstarch ( 6 grams)
Salted German Dark Chocolate Buttercream
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp (226 grams)
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt, depending how salted you’d like the frosting to be
4 cups powdered sugar (520 grams)
½ cup black cocoa powder (50 grams)
Chilled salted dark chocolate pudding (recipe above)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons heavy cream (30 grams)
Method:
Black Velvet Cake
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Grease and line two 8 inch cake pans with parchment along with a sling. Set aside.
In a medium size bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, black cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt and set aside.
2 cup ap flour (240 grams)
½ cup of cocoa powder (50 grams)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
In a large bowl, combine white sugar and neutral oil. Beat them together until they are well incorporated.
2 cups white granulated sugar (400 grams)
1 cup neutral oil, (225 grams)
Add in the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and whisk until well combined.
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (225 grams)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Prepare the hot cup of strong coffee and stir it into the wet mixture along with the distilled white vinegar. All the wet ingredients should be fully combined.
½ cup strong hot coffee (118 grams)
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
Gently fold in the dry ingredients into the wet mixture a little bit at a time until there are no dry pockets.
Note: Your batter will be on the thin side.
Pour the batter evenly into the greased pans and bake them for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean without any wet batter.
Once fully baked, gently run an offset spatula around the cakes as soon as they come out of the oven to loosen the cake from the edge of the pan.
Let the cakes cool in their tin for at least an hour or until cool to the touch.
Warm cake is very tender and will break if moved so it is best to let them cool.
Once the cake has cooled fully, gently pull the cake out of it’s tin and wrap each cake layer individually in cling wrap. Place them in the fridge to chill for an hour or so.
Note: This really helps when frosting the cake and also prevents the cake from breaking when frosting.
Salted Dark Chocolate Pudding
To a medium pot add milk, white sugar, dark chocolate chunks, black cocoa powder, vanilla extract and salt. Stir the mixture until the chocolate chunks are melted and fully combined.
1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons milk (107 g)
2 tablespoons of white granulated sugar (25 grams)
1/2 ounce dark chocolate (14 grams)
2 1/4 teaspoon of black cocoa powder (6 grams)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
In a small bowl, whisk the tablespoon of milk and cornstarch to create a slurry.
1 tablespoons milk (17 grams)
2 teaspoon cornstarch ( 6 grams)
Add the cornstarch slurry to the melted chocolate mixture and continuously whisk on medium low heat.
The pudding should start to thicken and bubble. Once it starts to bubble vigorously, reduce the flame to low and keep whisking to make sure the pudding doesn’t stick and get burnt on the bottom.
The pudding should be thick and will be able to coat the back of a spoon without sliding off when its done cooking.
Once the pudding is done cooking, scrape the pudding into a heatproof bowl. Press cling wrap into the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Let the pudding cool at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Once the pudding has cooled, pop it in the fridge for at least 3 hours or until fully chilled.
Salted German Dark Chocolate Buttercream
In a large bowl, beat the room temperature butter and salt until fluffy and light.
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp (226 g)
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
Sift in 2 cups of powdered sugar and the black cocoa powder into the butter and beat until fully incorporated.
2 cups powdered sugar (260 grams)
½ cup black cocoa powder (50 grams)
Add the chilled salted dark chocolate pudding and vanilla extract to the frosting and beat until fully combined.
Chilled salted dark chocolate pudding
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Sift in the remaining powdered sugar until the frosting is thick and spreadable and add the heavy cream. Beat until super fluffy and thick.
2 cups powdered sugar (260 grams)
2 tablespoons heavy cream (30 grams)
Assembly
Pull out the chilled cake layers from the fridge and frost the cake as desired.
Slice and enjoy! The cake will last for about 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container