ganache

Chocolate Hazelnut Praline Cake

January 3, 2022 By Ashley Leave a Comment

Hazelnut is to chocolate as peanut butter is to jelly. They just belong together. It’s a combination of flavors that is so perfect, you’ll find it in baked goods across the globe. My chocolate hazelnut praline cake features chocolate and hazelnut in all the best ways. Tender, moist and fudgy chocolate cake filled with hazelnut praline ganache, crunchy praline crumble and silky smooth espresso French buttercream.

What is Hazelnut Praline?

Hazelnut praline is a cooked mixture of caramelized sugar, and toasted, chopped hazelnuts. The hot mixture is spread onto a silicone mat, or parchment to cool completely into a hard caramel candy. For this recipe, most of the praline is ground into a paste to mix into chocolate ganache while some of it remains in shards for sprinkling in between cake layers.

About the chocolate cake

This tender, moist and fudgy chocolate cake is my go-to chocolate cake. It has a tight, fine grain crumb, bakes up with a flat top and is incredibly flavorful, as well as being functional and a good foundation for stacked and tiered cakes. This cake can easily be scaled to make larger and smaller cakes, and it can also be carved for sculpted cakes. You can make this cake in 2 – 8″ pans, then torte the cake into 4 layers, or you can bake this cake in 3 – 8″ pans.

It’s super important to make sure that the butter and sugar are creamed for the entire time listed in the recipe. This contributes to a lighter, fluffier cake and creates an emulsion so that the remaining ingredients are incorporated properly.

You’ll notice that there are two different methods used for incorporating leavening in this recipe. Baking powder is incorporated in when adding the flour mixture. For an additional lifting boost, baking soda and vinegar are mixed together and added at the end of mixing. This jumpstarts the release of carbon dioxide creating more rise and more of a fluffy, soft cake.

The cooled cake layers are stacked with a layer of the hazelnut praline ganache, a sprinkling of praline and layer of espresso French meringue buttercream. French buttercream is truly a gem in the buttercream world. Made with egg yolks, in comparison to Swiss and Italian meringues which are made with egg whites, this buttercream is rich, silky and custardy. So delicious.

If you make my chocolate hazelnut praline cake, let me know! Drop a comment or tag me on Instagram. I love seeing your bakes and creations.

Enjoy!

Ash xx

For more cake recipes, check out these posts:

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cake with Bourbon Dulce de Leche Buttercream

Malted Funfetti Cake with Strawberry Buttercream and Cookie Crumble

Salted Caramel Popcorn Cake

Coconut Lime Crumble Cake

Chocolate Stout Cake with Coffee Irish cream Buttercream

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Chocolate Hazelnut Praline Cake

Tender, moist and fudgy chocolate cake filled with hazelnut praline ganache, crunchy praline crumble and silky smooth espresso French buttercream

Prep Time2 hrs

Cook Time45 mins

Course: Dessert

Servings: – 24 servings

Ingredients

Hazelnut Praline

2/3 cup (100g) chopped hazelnuts, skinned
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

Chocolate Ganache

8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
8 oz heavy cream
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Chocolate Cake

1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 ¼ cup (480g) light brown sugar, packed
2 ½ cups (328g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons espresso powder
1 cup (120g) cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 large eggs
2 cups (454g) buttermilk, room temperature
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup (60g) mayo, room temperature
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Espresso French Buttercream

12 large (168g) egg yolks
1 ½ cups (150g) granulated sugar
3 cup (678g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup (76g) brewed espresso, room temperature
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

Hazelnut Praline

Place the hazelnuts in a dry skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Toast for about 5-7 minutes, until they start to turn golden brown. Set aside to cool.
Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or a piece of parchment paper.
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons water. Cook over medium-high heat swirling the pan occasionally to evenly distrute heat. Cook until the sugar has melted and turns a deep amber color. Do not stir.
Stir in the hazelnuts. Pour the caramel onto the lined baking sheet in an even, thin layer.
Allow the praline to cool and harden completely. Cut into smaller shards with a sharp knife.
Reserve 3 tablespoons of praline for sprinkling. Place the remaining praline into a small food processor.
Process the praline mixture until it forms a fine powder. After 5 -7 minutes, it will start forming a paste. If it doesn't, after blending a while, add 1 teaspoon of canola oil to help it get it going.
Blend the paste until smooth.
Pour the finished hazelnut praline paste into an air-tight container to store and set aside while preparing the ganache.

Chocolate Ganache

Place the chopped chocolate into a medium size bowl. Set aside.
Heat the heavy cream and salt in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat on the stove until the mixture begins to simmer.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let the mixture sit for a minute to allow the chocolate to melt. Gently whisk the chocolate and cream until smooth.
Stir in the praline paste.
Let the ganache cool to room temperature. It will thicken as it cools, to a peanut butter like consistency.

Chocolate Cake

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter the bottoms and sides of 2 – 8" x 2" round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment. Create a parchment collar to go around the sides of the pans.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, espresso powder, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine
In a measuring cup, combine the buttermilk and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
Place the softened butter and the brown sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the brown sugar on medium speed until it is very light in color and super fluffy, about 6-8 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of bowl with spatula after each addition.
Add one third of the flour mixture to the bowl and mix on low until just combined. Pour half of the buttermilk mixture into the bowl and mix on low until just combined.
Remove the bowl from the mixer. Scrape the bowl to make sure the ingredients are incorporated. The mixture might look curdled at this point, but it will come back together.
Add an additional one third of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Add the remaining buttermilk mixture and mix just until combined.
Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure there are not any pockets of butter or flour remaining.
Add the mayo. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure the ingredients are incorporated.
Combine the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl. Pour the mixture into the cake batter and mix on low for an additional 10 seconds.
Remove the bowl from the mixer. Portion the batter evenly into the prepared pans.
Bake the cakes on the center rack of the oven for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs. You will want to start watching for the cakes to be done, when the tops dome and start to crack a bit.
Remove the baked cakes from the oven. If they have domed at all, use a tea towel to gently press down the domes. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes.
Run a butter knife around the edge of the pans, remove the parchment collar and turn the cakes out onto a wire rack. Cool to room temperature.
Wrap the cakes tightly with a couple layers of plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill completely before assembling.
The cakes will keep tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a zip top bag in the refrigerator for up to three days. The cake layers can also be frozen, wrapped well in plastic wrap and placed in a zip top bag. I personally don't like to freeze longer than a week, but you can freeze these layers for up to three weeks. Defrost the layers in the refrigerator before using.

Espresso French Meringue Buttercream

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks on high speed until extremely light in color.
Combine the sugar and 1⁄2 cup (120 ml) water in a small saucepan and heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture boils. Stop stirring, and continue boiling the mixture until it reaches 238 F (115 C) on a candy thermometer. Remove immediately from the heat.
Pour a small quantity of syrup over the yolks with the mixer turned off. Beat on high speed for 5 seconds, then stop the mixer and add a larger quantity of syrup. Beat on high speed for another 5 seconds. Add the remaining syrup, and continue beating until the mixture is completely cool. Add the butter a few pieces at a time, and beat until the mixture is completely smooth.
Add in the cooled espresso and salt and beat until well combined.

Assemble Cake

Work with chilled cake layers. Using a long serrated knife torte the layers, cutting them evenly in half. You will have four cake layers total. The tops of the cakes will be the center two layers of your cake.
Put one of the cake layers, cut side up onto an 8" cake board or directly onto a cake stand.
Spread a thin, even layer of the ganache on the cake layer with an offset spatula. Sprinkle 1/3 of the praline on top.
Spread about one cup of the buttercream on top of the ganache using an offset spatula to evenly distribute the buttercream. You're looking for the buttercream to be about 1/4 inch thick.
Place another cake layer on top, top up, and press down gently so that the layer is adhered to the buttercream. Repeat the previous two steps, applying the ganache and buttercream.
Place the third layer cake layer, top up, and press down gently so that the layer is adhered to the buttercream.
Add the final ganache layer. Add the final buttercream layer. Place the final cake layer (the bottom of one of the cakes) bottom side up on the buttercream, pressing gently to adhere.
Frost the cake with the remaining espresso French buttercream. Decorate. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Notes

The completed cake will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Cake recipe adapted from The Sweetapolita Bakebook by Rosie Alyea.

The Ultimate Guide to White Chocolate Ganache

April 16, 2021 By Ashley Leave a Comment

Welcome to the last installment of my ultimate guide to ganache series – all about white chocolate ganache. I looooove using white chocolate ganache. It is my favorite alternative for those who don’t like fondant. It’s creamy, delicious and serves as the perfect, smooth, blank canvas on a cake.

White chocolate is getting its own separate post because it can behave a bit differently from semi/dark chocolate ganache. It can seize or split easier, and melting white chocolate can sometimes be a challenge. Timing and ratio are key to white chocolate ganache. Gone are the days of troublesome ganache. With these tips and tricks, making a smooth and creamy white chocolate ganache will be a breeze.

How is white chocolate different from other chocolate?

White chocolate, compared to dark and milk chocolates, do not have any cocoa solids. It also has more sugar, more milk solids, less cocoa butter and can burn or seize easier than dark chocolate. But don’t let that dissuade you from making it. Choosing the right chocolate, heating it slowly and mixing it properly are key to a smooth and creamy ganache.

Really, the most important factor of determining the right white chocolate for ganache is the quality of the chocolate. As with dark chocolate, the quality of white chocolate makes a huge difference in the final ganache. Quality determines the taste and texture, especially in white chocolate which can range from chalky and cloyingly sweet to smooth and milky, which is why chips or coating chocolate can be a bit of a gamble. But, you can make ganache with them.

How to make white chocolate ganache

White chocolate ganache ratio: 3:1 or 12oz white chocolate to 4oz cream

Weigh or measure the chocolate and place in a bowl. Chop the pieces finely if you are using chocolate bars. Microwave for 45-60 seconds to soften the chocolate.

Place the cream in a saucepan and place on the stove over medium low heat.

Heat the cream until it starts to steam along the top. Keep a close eye on the cream making sure the cream doesn’t scald or curdle.

Once heated, pour the cream over the warmed chocolate. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.

With a spatula or a whisk, begin gently stirring the mixture starting in the center to blend, and working outward. This creates a smooth emulsion and prevents air from being incorporated. Too much air can cause the mixture to split.

You can use the ganache immediately or set it aside to cool to the desired consistency. Be sure not to agitate the chocolate while it is setting, which can cause it to split.

Let it set at room temperature. Place plastic wrap onto the surface of the ganache so that it doesn’t form a film.

The ganache is ready for drips at 85-90F and ready for filling or icing a cake when the texture is thickened and smooth, resembling peanut butter or canned frosting.

Whitening Ganache

Surprise! White chocolate ganache is often enough not white. Color does depend on the brand and varies, but with real white chocolate, to get a true white, you will have to color it. Candy melts and almond bark tend to be more white and less translucent.

You can whiten your ganache by adding white gel color in the cream before mixing it into the chocolate or mixing in the color after incorporating the cream. Alternatively, you can color it once it is ready to use.

Whipped ganache is a fantastic cupcake frosting. Beating the cooled ganache in a stand mixer until fluffy and thickened is also a way to whitening ganache and making a lighter frosting.

How to color white chocolate ganache

Traditionally, adding water based anything to chocolate spells disaster. Since ganache is an emulsion, you can add a concentrated gel color to the ganache. I like to whiten the ganache first. This is to make sure the color I am adding to the ganache isn’t altered by the ganache’s yellowish/translucent hue.

Even though you can totally use gel color in ganache, if I’m making red, navy, or even black (when possible use dark chocolate ganache for black – MUCH easier), I like to use oil/chocolate colors because these colors require a lot more color added to the ganache. The oil/chocolate colors can darken the ganache faster with less color.

Uses for white chocolate ganache

Drip cakes
Glazes for donuts, eclairs, cupcakes and more
Ice cream topping
Cake or cupcake filling
Topping brownies
Dipping cookies
Macaron filling
Whipped chocolate ganache frosting
Truffles
Frosting cakes
Dipping fruit

White Chocolate Ganache and Cake Decorating

Ganache is ideal for frosting cakes. It’s airless and super smooth, creating an smooth and flawless cake covering. It’s also one of the best cake frostings to use if you’re making a fondant cake. Ganache holds its shape better, and sets up more quickly than buttercream, allowing you to keep smooth and crisp ganache edges when covering with fondant.

Ganache also has a higher melting point than buttercream, which means that on warmer days, buttercream would melt faster than ganache. For those people who don’t like fondant, white chocolate ganache can give you that same white, flawless finish that fondant does.

Another perk of using ganache on layer cakes, is that you typically don’t get any bulging or blowouts as long as you’re allowing your cake to settle after filling and layering it and you’re not trapping any air under your fondant. You also want the ganache to be fully set before covering fondant.

Flavor variations

I love infusing flavors into white chocolate ganache, especially fruit reductions. But here are some ideas on what you can infuse or add to your ganache.

Jams and fruit reductions

Teas

Zests

Mint/Herbs

Extracts

Salted Caramel/Nut Butters

Alcohol

Coffee

Sprinkles

For more information on ganache and troubleshooting, check out my Ultimate Guide to Ganache posts listed below. If you make white chocolate ganache, let me know! Drop a comment or tag me on Instagram. I love seeing your creations.

Enjoy!

Ash xx

For more on ganache, check out these posts:

The Ultimate Guide to Chocolate Ganache Part 1

The Ultimate Guide to Chocolate Ganache Part 2

Chocolate Stout Layer Cake with Coffee Irish Cream Buttercream

Under the Sea Cake Tutorial

The Ultimate Guide to Chocolate Ganache: Part 2

April 11, 2021 By Ashley Leave a Comment

In the Ultimate Guide to Chocolate Ganache part 1, I explained what ganache is and how temperature and ratio determines consistency and usage of the ganache. In this continuation post, I will go over how to make ganache as well as how to flavor ganache and troubleshoot any problems.

Ganache Amounts:

Bittersweet/Semi-Sweet Ganache:

1:1 – 10oz chocolate/10oz heavy cream

2:1 – 10oz chocolate/5oz heavy cream

1:2 – 8oz chocolate/16oz heavy cream

Milk Chocolate:

3:1 – 12 oz chocolate/4oz heavy cream

How to make ganache

Weigh or measure the chocolate and place in a bowl. Chop the pieces finely if you are using chocolate bars. Microwave for 30-45 seconds to soften the chocolate.

Place the cream in a saucepan and place on the stove over medium low heat.

Heat the cream until it starts to steam along the top. Keep a close eye on the cream making sure the cream doesn’t scald or curdle.

Once heated, pour the cream over the warmed chocolate. Let the mixture sit 3 or 4 minutes.

*Add ins: Adding a tablespoon of butter or corn syrup will give your ganache more shine, which is helpful especially when using for a drip or glaze. Corn syrup also gives the ganache a little bit of elasticity. Adding a pinch of salt to the chocolate before the cream is added gives the ganache a bit of flavor and breaks up the sweetness into identifiable flavors.*

With a spatula or a whisk, begin gently stirring the mixture starting in the center, and working outward. This creates a smooth emulsion and prevents air from being incorporated. Too much air can cause the mixture to split.

You can use the ganache immediately or set it aside to cool to the desired consistency.

Ganache and cake decorating

Ganache is ideal for frosting cakes. It’s airless and super smooth, creating an ideal and flawless cake covering. It’s also the best cake frosting to use if you’re making a fondant cake. Ganache holds it shape better, and sets up more quickly than buttercream, allowing you to keep smooth and crisp ganache edges when covering with fondant.

Ganache also has a higher melting point than buttercream, which means that on hotter days, buttercream would melt faster than ganache.

Chocolate ganache is also a good starting point for a true black frosting. Adding black color to the ganache allows you to use less food color, but also it’s easier to achieve a true black. Coloring buttercream uses far more gel color and can also leave an aftertaste.

Common Ganache Questions

Can I reheat or reuse ganache?

Most definitely. I almost always make ganache in advance and store in the refrigerator for a day or two before using it. I microwave ganache in short 5 second bursts, gently stirring after each to gradually bring the ganache to temperature, but also to achieve the desired texture. Refrigerating and reheating repeatedly can cause the ganache to lose its shine. But, it’ll still taste amazing.

How do you store ganache?

Due to the higher sugar amount, ganache can be stored at room temperature for up to 48 hours. You can also refrigerate ganache for up to 2-3 weeks, and freeze ganache for up to 3 months. Note that frozen ganache will typically loose it’s shine and glossy appearance when brought to room temperature.

What about white chocolate ganache?

See my Ultimate Guide to White Chocolate Ganache.

Can I refrigerate my ganached cake?

Absolutely. But, you don’t have to. The ganache *can*crack if the cake gets too cold. And while the topic of freezing ganache covered cakes is highly debatable, I do not recommend freezing a ganached cake because of this reason.

How do I attach fondant to my ganached cake?

When ganache is set on a cake, it sets firm and dry. You can adhere fondant to the ganache by brushing on a thin layer of sugar syrup, corn syrup, alcohol or vegetable shortening.

How do I color my chocolate ganache black?

There are a couple ways to darken ganache. Keep in mind, it only takes a small amount of black color to achieve black ganache.

You can add black chocolate/oil based color OR black gel color to your ganache until you achieve your desired color. It’s typically true that adding to water will cause chocolate to seize, but since ganache is an emulsion, you can use gel color.
You can add black gel color to the cream mixture before pouring over the chocolate.

Troubleshooting Ganache

Why is my ganache grainy?

If your ganache is grainy and poor quality chocolate isn’t the culprit, place the bowl of ganache over a double broiler, and slowly reheat the mixture, stirring until the mixture is smooth no longer grainy. If the ganache is greasy, too much air could have been incorporated while mixing. Additionally, use a glass bowl. Ganache is shinier and smoother when using glass compared to plastic. No idea why, it just is. Science.

Additionally, if you’re reheating the ganache, any graininess is just uneven melting. Just keep stirring and gently heat to even out the texture.

My ganache is lumpy after mixing in the cream?

Likely, your chocolate isn’t melted enough. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring gently after, until the ganache is smooth and melted.

I made my ganache too liquidy? How can I fix it?

For ganache that is too thin and won’t set, reheat it and add a small amount of chopped chocolate at a time, heating it thoroughly until thickened.

For ganache that is too stiff, add additional warmed cream, a tablespoon at time to thin it out.

My ganache split and is greasy. Can I fix it?

Be sure to not overheat your chocolate, as well as taking care to not overheat the cream. Chocolate that gets too hot can cause the fats to separate causing a split and greasy chocolate mess.

It’s very easy to overheat chocolate in the microwave. Microwave in short increments to avoid overheating.

Flavor Variations

Ganache is chocolate and chocolate will be the dominant flavor, but infusing flavor into ganache gives you loads of options for pairing with different cakes and fillings.

Mint and fresh herbs

Salted Caramel

Flaky salt

Extracts

Espresso

Earl Grey/teas

Zests

Cookie Butter

Peanut Butter

Nutella

Alcohol

Spices

If you make ganache, let me know! Drop a comment or tag me on Instagram. I love seeing your creations.

Enjoy!

Ash xx

For more on ganache, check out these posts:

The Ultimate Guide to Chocolate Ganache Part 1

Chocolate Stout Layer Cake with Coffee Irish Cream Buttercream

Under the Sea Cake Tutorial

The Ultimate Guide to Chocolate Ganache: Part 1

April 11, 2021 By Ashley Leave a Comment

Chocolate ganache. Multi-functional, very delicious, and super easy, requiring only 2 ingredients – cream and chocolate. Ganache can be infused with different flavors and can be used for glazes, fillings, truffles, or even frosting cakes. With it rich, creamy and velvety texture, ganache is perfect for elevating any dessert and making beautiful cakes.

What is chocolate ganache?

Ganache is an emulsion consisting of chocolate and warmed cream to make a creamy, shiny and smooth mixture with various uses. The ratio of chocolate to cream determines how thick the ganache is and what it can be used for. The temperature of ganache also determines how it can be used. Warmed, it can be used for drips or glazes, cooled and set, it can be used as a cake filling, frosting or even chocolate truffles.

Uses for chocolate ganache

Drip cakes
Glazes for donuts, eclairs, cupcakes and more
Ice cream topping
Cake or cupcake filling
Topping brownies
Dipping cookies
Chocolate mousse
Whipped chocolate ganache frosting
Truffles
Frosting cakes
Dipping fruit

The importance of chocolate quality

When possible, choose chocolate bars rather than chips. Chocolate chips are made to retain their shape when baking. They do melt, as you can see when you eat a warm cookie, but they are made with less cocoa butter so the chips remain somewhat intact. This *can* make for a grainy, somewhat thicker and dull ganache. However, that’s not to say that you can’t use any chips. I prefer to use a higher quality chocolate chip. One that has a higher percentage of chocolate and cocoa butter, such as Ghirardelli 60%, or Guittard Extra Dark. For milk chocolate, I prefer to use chocolate bars only. It’s not as easy to melt milk chocolate chips, which can result in burning them or they can seize. I find that they make a clumpy, grainy ganache, but feel free to experiment to find your preference and what brands work best for you. My favorite bar chocolates are Callebaut and Guittard. Ghirardelli or Lindt are good alternatives that can be found in most grocery stores.

Chocolate to cream ratios

Depending on the ratio of heavy cream to chocolate depends on the consistency of the ganache is and how you can use it. The temperature of the ganache determines when you can use it. Freshly made ganache can be used for drips and glazes. Nearly set ganache, can be used for fillings, and firmer, cold ganache can be used for truffles. But all ganache will be thinner when just made, and set and harden more as it cools.

Semi/Bittersweet chocolate Ratios:

2:1 – 2 parts chocolate, to 1 part cream (by weight) creates a thicker, fudge-like ganache that when lukewarm can be used for drips, or when set to peanut butter consistency, can be used for cake fillings, topping brownies and frosting a cake. When the ganache is chilled or hardened a bit, you can use this ganache to make truffles. This is my preferred ratio for frosting a cake.

1:1 – 1 part chocolate to 1 part cream (by weight) creates a thinner ganache that can be used for glazes, drips and when cooled a bit, can be whipped to make a whipped chocolate ganache frosting or a mousse. You can also use this ratio for a cake or cupcake filling, but it will be a little bit softer.

1:2: 1 part chocolate to 2 parts cream (by weight) makes a thin, pourable ganache that can also be used as a glaze, or as an ice cream topping. You can also use this ganache for dipping fruit, or fondue as well as making hot chocolate.

Milk Chocolate Ratio:

Milk chocolate requires less cream than dark/bittersweet because it has a higher percentage of milk solids, less cocoa butter and has more sugar in it which allows it to stay liquid when heated.

3:1 – 3 parts chocolate cream to 1 part heavy cream (by weight) will make a thicker ganache like the bittersweet 1:2 ratio. You can also do 2.5oz of chocolate for a softer ganache.

Head on over to The Ultimate Guide to Chocolate Ganache part 2 to learn how to make ganache, how to flavor it, and how to troubleshoot any ganache issues.

Enjoy!

Ash xx

For more on ganache, check out these posts:

The Ultimate Guide to Chocolate Ganache Part 2

Chocolate Stout Layer Cake with Coffee Irish Cream Buttercream

Under the Sea Cake Tutorial

Chocolate Stout Cake with Coffee Irish Cream Buttercream

March 11, 2021 By Ashley 2 Comments

St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner! What better dessert to follow your corned beef and cabbage than this chocolate stout layer cake with coffee Irish cream buttercream and Irish whiskey ganache? This cake highlights some of Ireland’s best alcohols – Guinness Stout, Jameson Whiskey and Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur. The chocolate stout cake is out of this world delicious on its own, or with a variety of fillings and butter creams. But, layering and topping the cake with Jameson Whiskey infused chocolate ganache and a coffee and Bailey’s Irish Cream infused Swiss meringue buttercream takes this chocolate stout layer cake to a whole other level of amazing.

I actually have this stout cake on my wedding cake menu. It is one of my most popular flavors for groom’s cakes and is a huge hit with both beer lovers and non-beer fans alike. It’s a rich and chocolaty cake with deep coffee notes and a roasted flavor from the stout beer.

When I chose recipes for my business, I chose cakes with a tight, fine grain crumb, moist on it’s own without the need of moistening syrups, and incredibly flavorful, as well as being functional and a good foundation for stacked and tiered cakes. This chocolate stout cake is not only amazing because it tastes phenomenal, but also because it’s crazy functional. Especially, for making into a towering layer cake beauty. It can easily be scaled to make larger and smaller cakes, and it can also be carved for sculpted cakes.

The chocolate stout layer cake can be made with any stout beer you like. I used Guinness Stout because it’s easy to find and I enjoy the flavor of it. A chocolate milk stout would be fabulous here. I also baked my cakes in two pans, then sliced (or torted) those cakes into two. You can also divide the batter into three tins and bake as three separate layers if you wish.

You can use bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate for the ganache. The ganache is a standard 2:1 recipe, with two parts of chocolate to one part cream. This will allow you to use it as a drip consistency and as a spreadable frosting-like consistency between the layers. I like to add a little bit of corn syrup and butter to my ganache to allow it to have a bit more softer consistency when chilled. The butter and corn syrup allow it to be a bit creamier and gives it a bit more shine on the drip.

Avoid chocolate bark, low quality chocolate chips and candy melts for ganache. Use a higher quality chocolate here. The better quality the chocolate, the better the texture and the taste. I also add a little bit of Irish whiskey – I used Jameson – to my ganache for additional flavor. Allow the ganache to cool until it’s smooth and spreadable, like peanut butter.

I use Swiss meringue buttercream for this recipe as I love how well it holds the flavor of the coffee and the Irish Cream. Check out my post on Swiss meringue buttercream for the recipe and tutorial on how to make this silky and delicious buttercream. I flavored the Swiss meringue buttercream with cooled, prepared espresso (you can also use strong coffee) and Bailey’s Irish Cream. The coffee flavor complements the chocolate and the stout flavors from the cake. The Irish cream is the final touch, complementing the chocolate and the coffee so well. They are flavors that are meant to be. It’s so good! Definitely don’t leave out the Irish cream here.

I chose to keep the decoration on this cake pretty minimal. I was planning on doing a semi-naked drip but I actually loved how the Swiss meringue buttercream sort of had that two toned messy suede look, so I kept it. To get this look, I iced the cake completely and popped it in the fridge to chill. Once it chilled for 30 minutes or so, I pulled it out of the fridge, and filled in any holes or messy areas with buttercream. I used my cake scraper (or bench scraper) and smoothed the buttercream out completely, which blended both the chilled and room temperature buttercream and created that two tone look and some additional texture.

For the drip, I heated the remaining ganache just until it was the same consistency of what it was when I first made it. Then I poured it into a squeeze bottle to add the drips to the cake. You can also use a spoon to apply the drips instead, if you wish. I added the drips first then I filled in the top with the remaining ganache. Work quickly because the ganache wants to set up quickly on the chilled cake.

There you have it, chocolate stout layer cake with coffee Irish Cream buttercream and Irish whiskey ganache. After I was done shooting the photos for this cake, part of it went to weekend cake tastings and consultations, but the remainder of it was sent off with my husband to a business meeting where it was promptly polished off. They even sent me a video raving about the cake. It’s THAT good.

If you try this chocolate stout layer cake with coffee Irish cream buttercream and Irish whiskey ganache, let me know! Leave a comment in the comment area below and be sure to snap a photo and tag it #littlevintagebaking on Instagram. I love seeing your Little Vintage Baking creations!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Chocolate Stout Cake with Coffee Irish Cream Buttercream

A moist and chocolaty stout cake filled and dripped with dark chocolate Irish whiskey ganache and filled with coffee Irish Cream Swiss meringue buttercream

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 30 mins

Course: Dessert

Servings: 1" x 2" x 5" servings

Ingredients

Chocolate Stout Layer Cake:

1 cup (226g) unsalted stick butter, softened
2 1/4 cups (504g) light brown sugar, packed
2 1/3 cup (315g) all purpose flour
1 cup (120g) high quality cocoa powder, Dutch processed, sifted to remove lumps
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp fine sea salt
4 large eggs room temperature
1 bottle (12oz, 350ml) Guinness stout beer, or your favorite stout, room temperature
1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk, room temperature
1/4 cup (60g) mayo, room temp
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Irish Whiskey Ganache:

8 oz (227g) chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup (116ml) heavy cream
1/2 tbsp light corn syrup
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp Irish whiskey, I used Jameson
Pinch fine sea salt

Coffee Irish Cream Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

1 batch prepared Swiss meringue buttercream, omitting the vanilla
1/3 cup (80ml) brewed Espresso, room temperature
2-3 tbsp Irish Cream, I used Bailey's
1/8 tsp fine sea salt

Instructions

Make the chocolate stout layer cake:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter the bottoms and sides of 2 - 8" x 2" round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment. Create a parchment collar to go around the sides of the pans.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sifted cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine well.
In a measuring cup, combine the buttermilk and stout. Whisk to combine.
Place the softened butter and the brown sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the brown sugar on medium speed until it is very light in color and super fluffy, about 6-8 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of bowl with spatula after each addition.
Add one third of the flour mixture to the bowl and mix on low until just combined. Pour half of the beer mixture into the bowl and mix on low until just combined.
Remove the bowl from the mixer. Scrape the bowl to make sure the ingredients are incorporated. The mixture might look curdled at this point, but it will come back together.
Add an additional one third of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Add the remaining beer mixture and mix just until combined.
Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure the ingredients are incorporated.
Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure there are not any pockets of butter or flour remaining.
Place the bowl back on the stand mixer. With the mixer speed on low add the mayo. Mix for 10 seconds.
Combine the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl. Pour the mixture into the cake batter and mix on low for an additional 10 seconds.
Remove the bowl from the mixer. Portion the batter evenly into the prepared pans.
Bake the cakes on the center rack of the oven for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs. You will want to start watching for the cakes to be done, when the tops dome and start to crack a bit.
Remove the baked cakes from the oven. If they have domed at all, use a tea towel to gently press down the domes. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes.
Run a butter knife around the edge of the pans, remove the parchment collar and turn the cakes out onto a wire rack. Cool to room temperature.
Wrap the cakes tightly with a couple layers of plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill completely before assembling.
The cakes will keep tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a zip top bag in the refrigerator for up to three days. The cake layers can also be frozen, wrapped well in plastic wrap and placed in a zip top bag. I personally don't like to freeze longer than a week, but you can freeze these layers for up to three weeks. Defrost the layers in the refrigerator before using.

Make the Irish Whiskey Ganache:

Place the chopped chocolate and butter into a medium size bowl. Set aside.
Heat the heavy cream, salt and corn syrup in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat on the stove until the mixture begins to simmer.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let the mixture sit for a minute to allow the chocolate to melt. Gently whisk the chocolate and cream until smooth.
Add the Irish whiskey and whisk to combine.
Place the ganache into the refrigerator until it is a thicker, spreadable consistency, like peanut butter, about 30 minutes or so.

Make the Coffee Irish Cream Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

Add the salt, espresso and Irish cream to the prepared buttercream. Mix on low until incorporated completely and the buttercream is silky and smooth

Assemble the Layer Cake:

Work with chilled cake layers. Using a long serrated knife torte the layers, cutting them evenly in half. You will have four cake layers total. The tops of the cakes will be the center two layers of your cake.
Put one of the cake layers, cut side up onto an 8" cake board or directly onto a cake stand.
Spread a thin, even layer of the ganache on the cake layer with an offset spatula.
Spread about one cup of the buttercream on top of the ganache using an offset spatula to evenly distribute the buttercream. You're looking for the buttercream to be about 1/4 inch thick.
Place another cake layer on top, top up, and press down gently so that the layer is adhered to the buttercream. Repeat the previous two steps, applying the ganache and buttercream.
Place the third layer cake layer, top up, and press down gently so that the layer is adhered to the buttercream.
Add the final ganache layer. Add the final buttercream layer. Place the final cake layer (the bottom of one of the cakes) bottom side up on the buttercream, pressing gently to adhere.
Frost the cake with the remaining coffee Irish cream buttercream. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Microwave the remaining ganache in 3-5 second intervals, stirring after every interval until the ganache is loose and pourable but not hot.
Add the drips around the perimeter of the cake. Fill in the top of the cake with the ganache and smooth.
Slice into pieces and serve.
The completed cake will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Notes

To adjust the recipe for different size pans: (Creates 2 - 2" layer cakes to be torted, or you can divide them into three pans)

Halve the recipe for 6" cakes

One and a half recipes for 10" cakes

Two and a half recipes for 12" cakes

Cake layers adapted from The Sweetapolita Bakebook

Under the Sea Cake Tutorial

August 21, 2020 By Ashley 1 Comment

I love the sort of cakes where I can make all the decorative components in advance. Then, when the time comes to decorate, I can just pop everything on the cake, make it look fab, and then it’s done. My Under the Sea cake is that sort of cake. All the decorative components can be made and stored in advance. The decorative components themselves are also relatively quick to make, and don’t take hours like sugar flowers or sculpted figures, but are still impressive and beautiful. I absolutely loved making this impressive cake, and it’s certainly a cake that is sure to wow your guests or clients.

Supplies:

6″square cake

8″ square cake

bench scraper

white chocolate ganache – pale peach, cream and pale blue (recipe below)

royal blue, ivory, and orange gel colors

white chocolate, melted

modeling chocolate or fondant, pale peach

edible sand

ball tool

dresden tool

white non-pareils

pearlized white dragées

white rock candy

The ganache

I’ve really been embracing the “messy” cake look lately. Appreciating flaws, and still making something gorgeous even if it isn’t perfect. After years of making cakes with perfect buttercream and flawless fondant (perfect, perfect, perfect all the things), I’m really loving these intentionally rough edged, textured cakes. For this cake, I used white chocolate ganache. Ganache is a total dream to work with. I find that when I want a specific texture or a flawless finish, ganache is my cake covering of choice. On this cake, I wanted texture.

My preferred ganache ratio for covering a cake is 3:1. Three parts chocolate to one part cream. This makes a ganache that is firmer and spreadable, like peanut butter. I colored the ganache three different colors – cream, pale peach, and a soft, pale blue. I wanted the colors to be soft, muted and able to blend together well, so very little color is needed. Just add a little color with just the tip of a toothpick.

Covering and Texturing the Cake

1. Cover the tops of the cake and the upper third of the cake with the cream color ganache. Smooth out the cream colored ganache with a bench scraper. It doesn’t have to be perfect.

2. Add the pale peach ganache to the middle of the cake. Smooth out the ganache with a bench scraper, blending the cream and the peach colors together as you scrape and even out the ganache.

3. Cover the lower third, or bottom of the cake with the blue ganache. Smooth out the ganache with a bench scraper, blending the peach and the blue as you scrape and even out the ganache. Even out and clean up the edges of the cakes with an offset spatula to define the square edges.

4. Let the ganache firm up for 5 – 10 minutes or so, just so that it’s not wet to the touch. Use a bench scraper to lightly scrape the cake. This will create a light stucco-like, sandy texture in the ganache.

The Coral

I made three different types of coral for the Under the Sea cake. I made piped coral pieces with white chocolate, mesh coral pieces with cake lace, and sculpted coral with modeling chocolate. I made the edible lace coral with white cake lace and a cake lace mat with a mesh design. You only need a small batch of cake lace for this cake (I used SugarVeil). The mat I used is the SugarVeil Mesh Mat. Any white edible lace will work, and any mesh/netting type mat will work as well. Follow the instructions on the package to make the lace. Let the lace dry on the mat overnight, so that it’s still pliable but also firm enough to hold its shape. You can also bake it, according to the package directions if you wish to speed up the process. Tear pieces from the large sheet of lace, in round-ish shapes, with jagged edges to create coral-like pieces. Use piping gel to attach these to the cake, shaping some them to give them a bit of movement, while leaving others flat.

For the chocolate coral, place a piece of parchment paper or waxed paper over a printed off coral template. I found one in a google search for “coral template”. Any template you like when you search will work. Alternatively, you can pipe some freehand chocolate coral shapes, without a template. Then, pipe onto the parchment, over the template, with melted white chocolate. Make several of these as they are fragile and break easily. I found that the pieces I liked and used the most were mostly just fragments rather than whole piped pieces. Let the chocolate set up completely before using. Carefully place the coral onto the cake with more melted chocolate, and lightly hold in place for a few seconds. Overlap and leave gaps when placing your coral.

I created the shells and the starfish using moulds. Any seashell moulds will work just be sure they’re not too large. I used cream/peach colored modeling chocolate for my shells, starfish and sculpted coral, but fondant will also work too.

How to make sculpted coral

1. Roll the modeling chocolate into different size teardrop shapes. You want them to be various lengths and sizes.

2. With a ball tool, press into the large, rounded side of the teardrop shape to create an indentation.

3. Place them in clusters on the lower left bottom tier, and the lower right top tier, attaching to the cake with melted chocolate or piping gel. Place them close together, even sort of squeezing them together, so that they look like a mass of coral. Make 5-7 per tier.

4. For the smaller coral attached to the cake, roll out small pea size balls with modeling chocolate. Use the ball tool to make indentations.

5. Use piping gel to attach these close together to the side of the cake, trailing upwards from the clusters sculpted coral on the lower left bottom tier and lower right top tier. Make as many or as few as you would like.

6. Use the thin side of a dresden tool to make small indentations all over to give the coral some texture.

Finishing Touches

Once all of the of coral is placed on the cake, place the starfish on with piping gel or melted chocolate. Place the shells onto the cake or cake board. I only ended up using two shells and placed them on the cake board with the edible sand. To make the edible sand, mix together 1/4 cup of finely ground butter crackers, or Ritz crackers, and 3 tablespoons of light brown sugar.

Place some white rock candy in the sand on the cake board, but also attach some along with the coral with melted chocolate to fill any gaps, cover any big breaks, or to fill out the design. Add some white pearlized dragées around the coral with piping gel. I think these look like little bubbles or pearls, and I like the pearlized look they contribute to the cake.

I also used some white nonpareils to add some bubble like detail as well. Brush a little bit of piping gel onto the cake to attach them. I had a happy decorating accident when placing the nonpareils. You can see that in some areas I pushed in the nonpareils but they didn’t stick, leaving little holes in the cake. I had hoped they’d just stick to the ganache but no luck. Well, I totally loved the little holes and thought they added great texture so I left them.

One of the great things about this cake design is that you can really make it your own by rearranging the different coral, creating different shaped corals, adding more or less of a type of coral or shell, using different color palettes or adding some cool features – like octopus tentacles, oysters, and fish.

Please feel free to leave any questions you have below, and if you make this cake, be sure to tag me on Instagram so I can see your amazing cake!

Ash xx

For more cake decorating tutorials, check out these posts:

Woodland Tree Stump Cake Tutorial

Vintage Gilded Buttercream Cake Tutorial

Mini Tutorial: Romantic Roses Cake

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White Chocolate Ganache

Thick and creamy, white chocolate ganache that's perfect filling and coating cakes and cupcakes.

Ingredients

1 cup (227ml) heavy whipping cream
3 cups (680g) white chocolate, chopped or chips

Instructions

Place the heavy cream in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium low heat.
Meanwhile, place the chocolate in a medium size bowl.
When the cream begins to bubble around the edges, remove from the heat, and pour over the white chocolate. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.
Gently whisk the chocolate and cream from the center of the bowl to the outer edges of the bowl. Do not mix too fast as you want to avoid incorporating air.
If the chocolate isn't melted all the way, place in the microwave in 15 second increments, whisking after each session, until smooth. Do not overheat.
Let the chocolate ganache firm up until it's the consistency of peanut butter before using.

Woodland Tree Stump Cake Tutorial

April 2, 2020 By Ashley 14 Comments

After a couple weeks of rainy weather, I’m welcoming warm, sunny Spring days with this woodland tree stump cake tutorial. Tree stump cakes have been pretty popular for quite a while now, and I think (I hope!) they’re here to stay. Tree stump cakes are incredibly versatile, can be simple or extravagant and fits lots of themes – woodland, garden, lumberjack, and more.

I’ve done various tutorials on fondant tree bark for tree stump cakes on a couple online cake decorating schools, but after many requests for a tree bark tutorial without fondant, I created tree bark for this cake using chocolate. There are plenty of different ways to make chocolate tree bark, with relatively similar techniques, out there on the web, but this is my preferred go-to method to create them. This tree stump cake is easy and fast to make, and most of the components can be made in advance.

My woodland cake features edible moss, edible meringue mushrooms, sugar flowers, leaves, insects on a ganache covered cake with chocolate tree bark. Before decorating my cake, I made some meringue mushrooms. I’ve included the recipe for these in the bottom of the post. The recipe will make more than you need for the cake. The recipe can be halved, but if you halve it, I recommend using a hand mixer because it’s hard for a stand mixer to properly whip such a small amount of egg white. I used a Wilton 1A round tip to pipe various size stems and mushroom tops from about 1/2″ to 1 1/2″ diameter. I sprinkled a little bit of cocoa powder on top before baking. When they cooled, I attached the mushroom tops to the stems with melted chocolate.

To make the chocolate shards, you don’t need an expensive chocolate, nor do you need to temper it. You can use any type of chocolate including candy melts. I used half and half dark chocolate and milk chocolate chips because I had both on hand. I also used this combination because I didn’t want a super dark bark, so I cut the dark chocolate with a lighter color milk chocolate. Alternatively, you could make shards in various shades of brown – they don’t all have to be the same. I used 8oz of dark chocolate and 8oz of milk chocolate.

I melted the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments until melted, stirring after every 30 seconds until melted. One thing that I do love about this cake is that it is very forgiving. You’ll notice in my chocolate photos that my chocolate shards have air pockets and have lots of imperfections. Luckily, we’re not looking for pretty chocolate for this cake. In fact, the uglier, the better. I poured the chocolate onto a large piece of parchment paper, and spread it out thinly, and fairly evenly with an offset spatula. Place another piece of parchment on top of the chocolate and roll like you would cinnamon roll dough. How tight you roll the parchment/chocolate will depend on how wide your chocolate shards will be. I like mine pretty wide so I rolled up the parchment a bit loose. I secured the parchment with small binder clips (paper clips work too) to keep the parchment/chocolate rolled. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so.

Carefully unroll the parchment. The chocolate will break a bit to create the shards as it is being unrolled and flattened out. If the chocolate is still a bit soft towards the center of the roll, pace the clips back on, and pop it back in the fridge for a bit longer. You want the shards to be completely set, cooled and able to crack.

I used ganache as the outer layer of my cake. I suggest using ganache or a chocolate buttercream as the ganache will peek through some of the shards a bit. I placed the large shards on my cake first, adhering them to the ganache with melted chocolate. Once the large shards were in place, I filled in any gaps with smaller pieces of chocolate shards. I melted the remaining chocolate shards, and using a coarse pastry brush, I paint the melted chocolate evenly over the cake in vertical strokes, filling in gaps and texturizing the shards. I wasn’t heavy handed with the melted chocolate, just placing it where it was needed to achieve the look and texture. Let the chocolate set completely.

At this point, I wanted to add some depth and color to the bark so, with a dry pastry brush, I dusted areas of the cake with cocoa powder. I mixed in a little bit of cornstarch to lighten the cocoa powder and dusted some additional areas. This gives it a little bit more of a realistic look.

I opted for a moss covered top for my cake rather than the traditional tree stump rings. I used a mixture of desiccated coconut and crushed graham cracker mixed with leaf green, golden yellow and brown gel food color. Let the mixture dry on a parchment lined cookie sheet before using. I sprinkled the top of my cake with the moss and placed some up the sides of my cake as well. I also placed some around the bottom of the cake to cover the cake board.

To finish my woodland tree stump cake, I placed a few meringue mushrooms on top of the cake and the base of the stump. I added a few leafy vines, some blossoms, a gum paste butterfly and some gum paste ladybugs. To see my tutorial on gum paste ladybugs, check out this post here.

Check out these posts for more cake decorating tutorials:

Mediterranean Tile and Flowers Cake

Mini Tutorial: Romantic Roses Cake

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Meringue Mushrooms

Meringue mushrooms, perfect for topping cakes and Buche de Noels.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time1 hr 30 mins

Total Time1 hr 40 mins

Course: Dessert

Keyword: Meringue Mushrooms

Ingredients

2 large, fresh egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1-2 teaspoons cocoa powder
1/4 cup chocolate, melted

Instructions

Heat the oven to 225F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Place the egg whites and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer, and with the whisk attachment, mix on high speed until foamy.
Slowly add the sugar and whip until stiff, glossy peaks form.
Add the vanilla extract and beat to combine.
Transfer the meringue to a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2" tip (Wilton 1A). Pipe mushroom tops, about 1/2" to 1 1/2" diameter, leaving about an inch apart between them.
Put a little bit of water into a small bowl. Using a clean finger, dip your finger in the water, wiping off the excess, and gently tap down the peaked tops of the mushroom tops.
Pipe the mushroom stems by holding the piping bag directly above the parchment, about 1/2" or so from the parchment. Apply pressure to pipe a thicker base with a tapered, thinner top in a variety of sizes. It's best to pipe these as straight up and down as possible to keep them from falling over when baking.
Using a fine sieve, sift the natural cocoa powder on top on the mushroom tops. Sift as little or as much cocoa powder as you would like.
Bake the meringue mushrooms for about 60-75 minutes until the meringue is dry to the touch, and can be easily removed from the parchment. I start checking the meringues every so often about 50 minutes into baking. Let the meringues cool completely.
Fill a small piping bag with melted chocolate. Cut off the tip of the piping bag. You are going to need just a small amount of chocolate per mushroom.
Using a small paring knife, make a small hole in center of flat side of each mushroom top. Pipe a little bit of chocolate into the hole and fit the smaller end of meringue stem into hole. Let the chocolate harden before decorating with the mushrooms.