Dark Chocolate & Caramel Cake
This is my first post!!
Wooooo!!!
Yeyyyy!!
Ok, got that out of my system.
Honestly though, it took me a while to make something I felt was worthy of a first post. I think I’ve found it! And, not only is it something I feel is worthy of a post, I’ve been searching for this recipe for a long time - a truly chocolatey cake. I found that most chocolate cake recipes I followed didn’t actually have a strong chocolate flavor; and when I tried to pack them in with more chocolate, the texture or moistness of the cake would suffer. However, I think this cake maintains a great texture, moistness, AND flavor.
The initial inspiration for this cake comes from Molly Yeh’s chocolate cake recipe. I’ve made a few tweaks to get the flavor just the way I like it, and also experimented with a cocoa powder. I was researching the different types of cocoa and found a recipe that recommended this particular cocoa powder, which I also liked because it gave the cake a jet-black look. However, I don’t think it’s necessary to get a great flavor. You could replace the two powders (the special black and the natural Hershey’s) with Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa, which is a blend of natural and dutch processed cocoa and should achieve similar results.
I also love the frosting on this cake. You can use store bought soft caramel sauce and make it really easily, or make your own caramel to mix in. The light, fluffy whipped cream makes for a nice contrast to the rich chocolate.
I hope you enjoy this cake as much as we did!
Best, Dana
- Makes a 2 layer 8in cake.
- 30 minutes
- 30 minutes
Ingredients
For cake:
- 1 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cocoa powder: 1/2 unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder and1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder, OR 1 cup Hershey’s special dark cocoa
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup canola/vegetable oil
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup brewed coffee
- 1/2 tbsp vinegar
- 4oz good quality dark chocolate (I’ve used between 62% - 72%)
For frosting/decorating:
- 1/2 cup caramel sauce + extra for drizzling (can use store bought or make your own. I followed this recipe.)
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream.
Directions
- Grease two 8 inch pans and cover with parchment paper.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl, except for chocolate. Mix wet ingredients except for coffee in a separate large bowl.
- Melt chocolate either in the microwave (heat for 30 seconds and then stir vigorously, then heat in 10 second increments as needed) or in a double boiler.
- Add wet ingredients to dry. Stir in coffee. Stir in melted chocolate.
- Pour batter into the two prepared pans and bake at 350 F for 30-35 minutes. Check the cake is done by inserting a toothpick. Toothpick should come out clean.
- For frosting:
- Start whipping frosting using beater attachment. As cream begins to thicken and get fluffier, start slowly adding in caramel until you’ve added a 1/2 cup. Whip until whipped cream holds stiff peaks.
- Assembly:
- After cakes have cooled completely (you can even freeze the layers before assembling to prevent crumbs), place one layer on cake board. Put on a generous layer of frosting. Put second layer on top. Proceed to frost outside of cake evenly. Pipe edges around the top and bottom of cake, and drizzle remaining caramel on top.