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I can be vengeful when provoked.

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I can do really evil things.  Like bake chocolate cakes with over a pound of chocolate in them. Cover them in ganache and buttercream flowers.

And then serve them at birthday dinners to unsuspecting individuals who think they’re getting a slice of run-of-the-mill cake box chocolate cake.

Yeah.  I’m a veritable terror.

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But this is what happens, I suppose.  When I tell people, “I can make you anything you want.  Anything in the world.”

And they respond with “vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting”.  Or “chocolate cake with chocolate frosting”.  Or, “hey, can you just give me a six pack of Bud Light and some chicken mcnuggets and we’ll call it a day?”

Who are these people.  Why am I friends with them.  Why am I related to them.

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And.  The most important question.  What choice am I left with but to take things to extremes?  In a very “be careful what you wish for” kind of way.

This cake was so rich.  So chock full of the most chocolatiest of chocolates that money could buy (or at least that my limited student budget could buy.).  That it managed to serve 24 people.  With leftovers.

People were falling over left and right from chocolate comas.  (Good thing we were at a table full of medical students!  We could do super helpful things like measure heart rates and order people to call ambulances!).

And all I could say, smugly, was, “Don’t look at me.  You people asked for it.”

Next time maybe they’ll learn from their mistakes.  Request something akin to a croquembouche.  An opera cake.  A mille feuille.

If not…well.  Let’s not go there.  I wouldn’t want to say anything that could be used against me in a court of law.

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Remember to send me your recipes for Regional Recipes: PUERTO RICO!

Double Chocolate Layer Cake
Makes one 10-inch round double layer cake, adapted from Smitten Kitchen who adapted it from Gourmet

For Cake:
3 oz fine quality semisweet chocolate, I used Scharffenberger
1 1/2 cups how brewed coffee
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (NOT Dutch process)
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well shaken buttermilk
3/4 tsp vanilla

For ganache frosting:
1 lb semisweet chocolate, I used a mix of Scharffenberger and Ghirardelli
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1/4 cup unsalted butter

1. Preheat oven to 300 and grease two 10×2-inch round cake pans.  Finely chop chocolate and combine, in a bowl, with hot brewed coffee.  Stir until chocolate melts.

2. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  In another bowl, beat eggs with an electric mixer until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes).  Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs.  Mix until combined well.  Add sugar mixture and beat on medium until just combined well.

3. Pour into cake pans and bake 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

4. Cool layers completely in pans, on racks.  The cakes can be made a day ahead of time with good results.

5. Finely chop the lb of chocolate needed for the ganache.  Bring the heavy cream, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil on the stove over low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Stir in the chocolate and butter until melted.  Allow to cool until it is of a spreadable consistency or put it in the fridge to speed up the process.

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You are reading this post on Eats Well With Others at https://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of Eats Well With Others. All rights reserved by Joanne Bruno.
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105 Responses to Double Chocolate Layer Cake

  1. Little Inbox says:

    Oh my! It so rich! One small piece is enough. 🙂

  2. Woah, now that’s chocolately goodness Joanne.

  3. Yosha says:

    Nice! Oh hey you can terrorize me anytime! 🙂

  4. wow! um, I’ll happily take some of those leftovers off your hands… 😉

  5. OMG! The spoon full of ganache is a torture to look at without being able to taste it… Would you consider sending leftovers by courrier?

  6. newlywed says:

    Mmm! I think I happily gained a pound just looking at these pictures!

  7. This looks mighty decadent, my friend! My b-day is coming up, want to make one for me 😉

  8. Victoria K. says:

    Now that is a chocolate cake… omg 🙂

  9. Mo 'Betta says:

    I’m sure I gained 5 lbs just by reading (and salivating over) this post. Chocolate is my fav, and extreme chocolate…well, even better. Sure wish you could have made my bday cake. Of course, that wouldn’t help with my 10 lb weight loss goal! Hope school is going well!

  10. SE says:

    What an indulgence !!!yummy !

  11. Ameena says:

    That first frosting photo? It almost killed me. It is still Ramadan Joanne, have a little consideration. I beg you.

    I will be dreaming of this all day, thanks to you!

  12. Eliana says:

    Oh – you are such a bad bad girl!

  13. Shannon says:

    ooh, do you know how to make mille feuille??!?! i totally want to after lusting over the one in italy…

  14. Swathi says:

    Double chocolate layer cake is awesome Joanne. I love them.

  15. Marisa says:

    Did someone say “chocolate coma”? Cos I’m okay with that.

    PS: Who’s birthday was it? Lucky duck.

  16. pajamachef says:

    oh yum! i made choc cake lately too… and rich chocolate cake is the best! 🙂

  17. Sanjeeta kk says:

    Beautiful chocolaty treat!

  18. Wow, i’ll bet that was excellent!! I so wanted to see the inside though!! Actually, better that I didn’t. It’s annoying to clean up drool off the keyboard.

  19. I mean seriously…I can taste it by your description and these photos (which should be illegal to post by the way) Looks SOOOO GOOD!

  20. You’ve evoked memories of my grandmother = )!! She made the best chocolate cake and her frosting, like yours, did not contain confectioner’s sugar. This looks yummy. My birthday is January 12. I’ll remind you again after Christmas.

    Best,
    Bonnie

  21. Amy says:

    Well, hello Lover. My name is Amy and you wouldn’t last a day in my house. You’re almost as rich as the the life-size sculpture of cow made from butter I recently saw. The only thing more rich is if you were both deep fried. For the record, I would still love you.

    Glad you’re back on land, J.

  22. elra says:

    Very very decadent cake, I’d it quarter of that my self Joanne. But, you and your friends have to sit close by me to watch, just to make sure … you know what I mean 🙂

  23. elra says:

    I mean I’d eat :))))) not I’d it, sorry, my brain doesn’t function well after seeing the first photo.

  24. I can definitely relate to this post! Whenever I ask my family what they want me to bake, I get answers like the ones you mentioned. Or they want the same thing again and again. 🙂 Your cake looks so, so good!

  25. sweetlife says:

    Oh you did not let us down, perfect monday recipe…we all need an extra helping of sugar to make it throuhg mondays..lol

    sweetlife

  26. You came back with a vengeance! What a decadently-delicious looking cake. I would love to fall into a chocolate coma from that!

  27. Juliana says:

    Joanne, this chocolate cakes looks awesome…the shiny ganache on top is just so pretty…would love to have a big bite of this cake 🙂

  28. tigerfish says:

    Chocolate cakes with over a pound of chocolate in them? That’s NOT evil. Only evil when you don’t let me eat it ;p

  29. Katerina says:

    Joanne I am very glad you live so far away. If I was there, I wouldn’t leave a piece. It looks so “chocolatey”

  30. Monet says:

    Doesn’t a bit of coffee do amazing things in chocolate cakes? I love this post, and I love this recipe. I’m sitting in hot Texas wanting a slice of this cake and a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream!

  31. Pam says:

    Who knew you had such an evil side. My chocolate loving daughter would dig this cake.

  32. Maria says:

    Oh my! I am craving chocolate now!

  33. Julie says:

    My chocolate sensors could take this on, I’m sure I wouldn’t go into a coma. Please mail me a piece?

  34. WoW! I think I just drooled on my keyboard! (totally kidding)

    I’m in a chocolate comma just fromt he pictures.

  35. girlichef says:

    Me and my giant glass of cold milk are patiently waiting for the leftovers to show up on our table. YUM!

  36. teresa says:

    lol! i once wanted to throw a bday lunch for a friend of mine and told her i would make her whatever she wanted. what did she want? a pb and j! wthell! i feel your pain.

    i love your idea of vengeance, i could eat that entire cake!

  37. Satya says:

    double chocolate layer cake looks delicious dear ..love it ..yummy

    Satya
    http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

  38. Suman Singh says:

    WOW..cake looks incredible..very rich indeed.

  39. Simply Life says:

    wow, nice work! That looks like a delicious bday celebration!

  40. Mo Diva says:

    my birthday is on Thanksgiving this year… i want a chocolate cake shaped like a man… so i can have my very own chocolate man.

    its gorgeous!

  41. Alisa says:

    Oh holy icing. Just pass me a spoon and I will lower the chocolate load for your friends by stealing the icing 🙂

  42. grace says:

    some people are so boring. 🙂
    i love the devilish darkness of this impressive cake, and good for you for being willing to accomodate such a mundane request. 🙂

  43. What a gorgeous lovely birthday cake!!! so sweet of you to do it with the schedule you must have!!

  44. I would gladly go into a chocolate coma while eating this with you. Then you could rescuitate me. It would be a great learning experience. The things I do for friends…. 🙂

  45. Faith says:

    Wow Joanne, this is gorgeous! Your friends are some seriously lucky people!

  46. Kristin says:

    Yum!! You could make me this cake for my birthday and I wouldn’t complain.

  47. Carolyn Jung says:

    Man, I need to be related to you! hah
    I’d gladly take that cake — and a chocolate coma — for my next birthday. 😉

  48. RamblingTart says:

    You are so fabulous, Joanne! 🙂 Love that uber thick scrumptious icing. 🙂

  49. Raina says:

    Amazing cake Joanne! It looks so sinful and decadent…I love it:) I want some now. Thanks for sharing it you evil thing you..lol

  50. Megan says:

    Wow, I want to reach through the screen and eat that cake right now. Yum! This looks amazing!

  51. Jess says:

    Your cake looks beautiful!

    It’s amazing the lack of imagination some people have when they’re offered ANYTHING THEY WANT. I think I need to start handing out little questionnaires that have a list of potential ingredients and little checkboxes next to them and people can fill them out saying what ingredients they might like in some sort of baked item. Because they’ll all inevitably say something like you’ve outlined (chocolate cake with chocolate icing, vanilla cake with vanilla icing, etc) and I’ll be like “Well… you like beer, would you like me to try to get some sort of stout or porter into some sort of dense dark chocolate cake?” and their eyes pop out of their heads in amazement of the mere concept. Maybe I’m just too used to thinking outside the box.

    I baked brownies once that had over a kilogram (2.2 pounds?) of chocolate in them. It was a terrifying experience.

  52. I’d be glad to come to one of your dinners, knowing full well I might be served an insanely chocolate cake 😉 This looks so yummy!

  53. Natalie says:

    you have lucky friends! this looks heavenly!

  54. forget cruel to them, what about us who can’t even taste those cakes. I have actually stopped asking people what they want. I just try to deliver what I think will make them happy.

  55. LOVE IT! You already know but I’m totally with you on the “I can make anything” to which people respond “like.. VANILLA CUPCAKES?” Um.. yeah. I hope you brought 3 gallons of milk with you when you served this cake because, to me, that’s the only way to do it.

  56. What a chocolate delight! I really want a spoonful of that frosting- it looks decadent!

  57. OohLookBel says:

    I thought I was chocolated-out after a weekend of inhaling cake, brownies and choc truffles. After seeing your amazing cake, I realise I’m not… 🙂

  58. wow what a superb cake,very very tempting…

  59. Joanne, please remove this post immediately! I keep coming back to check on you and find this cake staring me in the face. I stare back. I drool. I get weak because my blood sugar says “give me a piece NOW”! So please, for the sake of my health and sanity–move on to a few lettuce leaves with a light dressing or cottage cheese with half a banana or……!!

    Best,
    Bonnie

  60. Tomorrow is my birthday Joanne.. so if you fed-ex it tonight I will have it in time for my birthday yay! hahah… but for real, when I read the Happy Birthday on the cake , for a minute I thought it was for me hehe!

  61. Kristen says:

    What a way to start the morning….visiting your blog first thing is dangerous! What a cake!!!!!

  62. Kim says:

    Wow – this is like chocolate cake to the max and I love it! Everything about this is sinful, decadent and pure evil. Just the way a dessert should be…….especially on one’s birthday!

  63. Bob says:

    If you would be so kind as to inflict these horrors upon me, that would be awesome. Thanks. 😉

  64. I could eat an entire bowl of ganache, all by myself. I may throw in some of those cute little flowers, but that’s just optional. It’s the ganache I’m after.

  65. Cristie says:

    Chocolate cake with ganache. What a lovely way to get even with someone. This person must have really done something bad to you to deserve such horrible treatment . . . Delicious the whole thing.

  66. Superb cake. My wife would overdose on this for sure. Bravo.

  67. Catherine says:

    Wow Joanne! This cake looks incredible and mouthwatering.
    I love the way you decorated it with the flowers…oh so lovely!
    Cheers~

  68. Julie says:

    my birthday is may 13th. three words: rainbow. cookie. cake.

  69. Sanem says:

    I so want to eat a piece of this right now.. or maybe two… It looks super delicious…

  70. Pierce says:

    I need to bring a plate over………goodness….that’s a sexy, decadent cake!

  71. I’ve been bad… beat me, hurt me, make me eat chocolate cake!

  72. I have a very practical suggestion for you. We will each give you something, we would like to have with out birthday. You then can make it on that date and eat it, on that date. We will take pleasure in seeing how dream dessert come to fruition and we will be happy for you, eating it as well as your new look, fifty pounds heavier. (I will be in hiding for a while)

  73. This is a beautiful cake and I would have had my tiny piece, if I were at your place. You have a generous heart. Just ignore My Sweet and Savory. I will speak to her.

  74. OH WOW, that looks absolutely delectable. You can see how thick and heavy (in a good way) it is just by looking at the outside.

    I LOVE a good vanilla cupcake… But not a boring one. So, I’d love to see what you could do with that!

    Sues

  75. katecooks says:

    i would not complain if someone made me that cake for my birthday…it looks so amazing, i want a slice right now. chocolate coma is my favorite kind. mmm, how did you refrain from eating the whole thing??

  76. Debbie says:

    Now that is a chocolate cake….the one cake that I can never, ever, ever resist! It looks so delicious Joanne!!!!

  77. Lynn says:

    What can I say but yum. Yum. And yum. I usually count on you to provide inspiration for healthy eating. I’m delighted to see that, in this post, anyway, you have been lured to the dark side 🙂

  78. polwig says:

    All I have to say is “thank goodness I don’t like chocolate” or “you can’t get me”

  79. Cara says:

    Well, now that I know what I’m in for, I know who’s making my next birthday cake! I’m totally up for the challenge of eating 🙂

  80. Reeni says:

    How sinfully delicious this sounds Joanne! Insert swoon. And it looks so pretty! Love how you decorated it. You have some VERY lucky friends!

  81. Wow, the cake looks gorgeous, so rich and chocolatey!

  82. How does one get a slice of this delicious cake 🙂

  83. Haha! I totally understand! When my husband and I first started courting, I kept asking what he wanted for dinner and he always said Tostinos Pizzas or Hamburger Helper. i was SO offended! Turns out he thought he was helping me by preventing me from having to put forth any effort. 🙂

  84. Ok, Ok, Joanne, no fair with the photo of the chocolate ganache frosting. Not when you’re in NY and I’m in California, so there is no chance I would ever get a bite of this gorgeous cake. Nice work.

  85. All I can think about is trying to induce a chocolate coma of my own. That sounds divine right now! Great job on the cake! Looks delicious!

  86. Yasmeen says:

    An occasional indulgence is perfectly alright with me,especially when such a decadent cake is served 😀

  87. Barbara says:

    Naughty you! And please pass the plate!

  88. Stella says:

    Really beautiful cake, Joanne! I never make layer cakes, as mine end up looking like Shrek tried to make a pretty cake;)
    p.s. thanks for your sweet comment about the David K. stack! He was so happy when he saw the post and comments on my blog…

  89. That is one monster of a chocolate cake, Joanne! But like a really amazingly delicious monster that I adore :). I totally understand your frustration! I get the plain jane choices a lot OR it’s “make anything you want, except I don’t like this and this and this and this and this.” But it looks like you made the most of the situation as you’re wont to do :).

  90. Sinful SINFUL! but I love it!

  91. Dana says:

    Sorry to say it but that is probably what I would request for my birthday too. All chocolate all the time in my world. I’ve actually made that cake and have had trouble with it. Time to give it another go!

  92. Karen says:

    I guess people who don’t cook or bake just have the very simplest requests. “Oh, just a chocolate cake.” “You made it from scratch??” “What did you DO to this cake???” “OMG!” Great job – I’m sure the birthday boy/girl was thrilled!

  93. Kerstin says:

    Oh my, I SO wish I had a piece of that right now! I always think it’s funny when people think a homemade cake = boxed cake mix!

  94. Megan says:

    24 servings? Not in this house.

    MAYBE 8.

    Maybe.

  95. Debinhawaii says:

    I am pretty sure I just gained 5 pounds from looking at the pictures… 😉

  96. Chris says:

    I think I’m in a diabetic coma after reading this. Quick, someone call a med student!

    Six pack and mcnuggets….fuhggin funny.

  97. Deborah says:

    OH my goodness – that is chocolate heaven!

  98. Hannah says:

    Oh my, I could absolutely just eat the big spoonful of frosting by itself! Positively luscious photo!

  99. I love how seriously chocolatey this cake is!!

  100. Liz says:

    I just made this tonight and it is THE MOST DECADENT AND BEST CAKE EVER! My dad will love it for his birthday! 🙂

  101. […] Anu’s cake last year, which was almost too intense to eat, this was delicious and rich without being overly so.  The […]

  102. […] fruit over chocolate (I know, I’m crazy).  But, ever since I read Joanne’s post on Double Chocolate Layer Cake, I cannot stop thinking about getting my hands on some chocolate.  Her cake looks so moist and […]

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