Black and white cake slices
Dimitra's Dishes · ♥ 389 likes · 6.1K views · 16 min video
Read about layer cakes in the BrightCulinary Book
Timestamp
Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- 3 oz semi-sweet chocolate
- 1½ cups already prepared coffee
- 1 tsp instant coffee
- 1½ cups water
Melt the chopped chocolate in the hot coffee, or in instant coffee dissolved in hot water, and set aside to cool.
Melting chocolate in hot coffee
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt together.
Mixing the chocolate cake batter
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 3 whole eggs
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Mix the granulated sugar, oil, room temperature eggs and vanilla.
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 2 tsp baking soda
- ½ cup milk
Add the yogurt, baking soda and milk, mix, then the chocolate coffee mixture, then the dry ingredients a little at a time until combined.
Line two half sheet trays with parchment, spray it, and divide the batter evenly between them, spreading it level; it looks thin but rises.
Bake at 350F on or near the centre rack 22 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs; the top tray bakes faster.
Run a knife around the cakes and cool completely, then wrap in two or three layers of plastic on a tray with parchment between them; they freeze two to three months.
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 cup sugar
For the pastry cream, put the whole milk, one cup of the sugar and a pinch of salt in a saucepan and bring to almost a boil.
Making the pastry cream
- salt
- 8 whole egg yolks
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining half cup of sugar, the cornstarch and the heavy cream until smooth, then pour the steaming milk in to temper.
- 3–4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Return it to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it boils and thickens; off the heat stir in the vanilla, cover with plastic on the surface, cool and refrigerate up to two to three days.
Whisk the chilled pastry cream smooth and bring it to room temperature before using.
- 1 lb butter
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
Beat the butter with the salt and vanilla, add the confectioner's sugar and beat until fluffy, scrape down, then add half the pastry cream a little at a time until smooth.
Pastry-cream buttercream
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp instant coffee
For the syrup, boil the water, sugar and instant coffee until the sugar dissolves, take off the heat, add the vanilla and cool completely.
Coffee soaking syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½–1 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the ganache, whisk the chocolate with the steaming hot cream and the vanilla until melted, shiny and smooth.
Working with the cake still frozen, cut it into two equal pieces, lay one flat and brush it generously with the coffee syrup.
Syrup on the first layer: the bakery secret
Pipe a border of the buttercream all around the cake, filling any low spots, then spread a thin layer of ganache on top.
Spread a layer of pastry cream in the centre, working carefully because the ganache is slippery.
Lay the second piece of cake on, thinner side up, and brush the top with more coffee syrup, especially the edges.
Pipe buttercream over the top and sides and smooth it with an offset spatula or the back of a knife.
Pipe the remaining buttercream into a bag for rosettes, drizzle the ganache over in diagonal lines, and freeze.
Cut into two by four inch rectangles, cleaning the knife between slices, and freeze again so they come apart cleanly.
- strawberry
Pipe a rosette on each slice and top with a strawberry; store in liners in an airtight container in the freezer up to two months.