This cake is a bit of a project, but the workload can be broken up over a few days if you like – both the cake and filling can be made ahead of time.
I love making smaller scale cakes – this one has two layers of chocolate cake, and is filled with a berry balsamic filling and finished off with a super silky chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream.
Prep time: 2 hours, plus chilling time
Bake time: 30 minutes
Makes: One 15cm layer cake
Serves: 6-8
READ MORE:
* Cloudy Kitchen’s banana muffins recipe
* Cloudy Kitchen’s brownie peanut caramel slice recipe
* Cloudy Kitchen’s lemon poppy seed loaf cake recipe
Berry filling
250g blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen do not thaw)
150g raspberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen do not thaw)
85g sugar
25g balsamic vinegar
Pinch of salt
Chocolate cake
160g plain flour
165g sugar
¼ tsp salt
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
2 large eggs, at room temperature
145g whole milk, at room temperature
80g neutral oil
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1 tsp espresso powder
50g Dutch process cocoa
135g boiling water (boil water then weigh out)
Chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream
95g egg whites, at room temperature
145g sugar
340g butter, either cold from the fridge or cool, cut into chunks
½ tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
190g dark chocolate (about 70% cocoa solids), melted and cooled
7g Dutch process cocoa (optional)
BALSAMIC BERRY FILLING
Put all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Put over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a boil. Cook for a further 5-6 minutes, then strain the mixture, reserving the fruit and returning the liquid to the pan.
Cook the liquid, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes or until reduced slightly. Return the reserved fruit to the pan and mix well to combine. Transfer to a container, cover, and place in the fridge to chill completely.
CHOCOLATE CAKE
Preheat the oven to 160C bake. Grease and line two 15cm cake pans with baking paper circles.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix to incorporate.
Boil the water and put the cocoa and espresso powder in a medium bowl (I use the same one I just used for the wet ingredients). Weigh the water directly into the bowl, then mix to combine until it forms a paste. Ensure there are no lumps.
Add the cocoa powder paste to the bowl with the cake batter in and whisk well to combine.
Divide the cake batter between the two pans using your scale (approximately 420g per pan). Get rid of any big bubbles by banging the pan on the counter top.
Bake the cakes for 35-40 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the centre comes out clean or the middle bounces back when lightly pressed.
Remove cakes from the oven and leave to cool in their pans for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack and remove the baking paper. Leave on the rack to cool completely.
CHOCOLATE SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
Put egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or a heat proof bowl. Put over a pot of simmering water, ensuring that the water does not touch the bowl. Heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture registers 70C on a thermometer and the sugar has dissolved.
Carefully transfer the bowl to the mixer, and fit with the whisk attachment. Whip the egg whites on high until they are snowy white and fluffy, 8-10 minutes. Add the butter one chunk at a time. The mixture may look curdled – but keep mixing. Once all the butter is incorporated, mix on high for a further 10 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.
While the buttercream is mixing, melt chocolate in a small heatproof bowl in 30 second increments in the microwave. Set aside to cool slightly.
Once the buttercream has finished mixing, and is smooth and silky, add in cooled chocolate, and sift in cocoa. Mix for a further 2-3 minutes, then switch to the paddle attachment and mix on low for 1 minute to remove any air.
ASSEMBLY
Level off the cakes if desired.
Transfer some of the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip or just with the end snipped off – this will be used to make a buttercream dam to hold in the berry filling between layers.
Secure one of the layers of cake to a cake turntable or serving platter using a little buttercream. Add about ½ cup of buttercream onto the first layer of cake, and smooth using an offset spatula.
Create a buttercream dam using the buttercream in the piping bag by piping a ring of icing around the outside edge of the first layer. Fill in the ring with the berry balsamic filling (leave any extra juicy stuff behind, you may not need all of it).
Put the second layer of cake onto the first, upside down to give you a flat top edge, pressing very lightly to secure, and sealing the joins with a layer of buttercream. At this point I like to pop the cake into the freezer for 10 minutes to ensure the buttercream dam will hold strong.
Crumb coat the cake – to do this, apply a thin layer of buttercream over the entire surface of the cake (top and sides), and smooth with a bench scraper or icing smoother. You can chill the cake now if you like, or you can continue on frosting it. I like to chill it if I am giving it a smooth finish, but found I do not need to if it is a rustic one like this.
Apply a second, slightly thicker layer of buttercream over the entire surface of the cake (top and sides), and smooth off briefly with an offset spatula and scraper. Using your offset spatula, create swoops in the frosting. Smooth off the top edge. Alternatively, finish as desired.
Store in the fridge until serving. Allow to stand at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before serving. Store leftovers in the fridge.
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