Silky, smooth Italian Meringue Buttercream layered between rich, decadent chocolate mud cake to create this Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Cake topped with chocolate flakes and eggs.
Question. If you were chocolate, which would you be - dark, milk, white, or a mashup of two or more? I know, and have known since the beginning of time, that I am fully committed to the dark camp. I'll admit to occasional, brief dalliances with milk and white, but most often in the company and with the approval of dark. Yes, we're open like that. 😉
I once took a Chocolate Personality Test that confirmed my affinity for dark chocolate and revealed the following about my dark side:
- tends to question authority
- preference for red wine
- tendency for individual over group sports
- more likely to want to legalize marijuana
- prefers NPR to pop music
Another test indicated that I am 100% Dark Chocolate! Sophisticated, intelligent, and highly opinionated, I like my chocolate intense and strong. I have a flare for drama and I have deeply held beliefs and opinions. I'm energetic, decisive and successful. Fierce and bold, I am 100% pure, delicious dark chocolate! Ummm... HELLS YEAH! LOL
Speaking of delicious, dark things...
This Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Cake packs a serious chocolate punch with dark chocolate, dark cocoa, chocolate flakes and chocolate egg shells. It would have been pretty damn close to chocolate perfection, had I stuck with my original plan. Instead, I used buttercream in place of ganache. This mud cake is rich and moist, made even more moist with a generous swirl of salted caramel, can easily stand on its own. The addition of salted caramel ganache would have been overkill for certain someones, so I used it in another dessert (stay tuned).
I also made salted caramel buttercream, but found it too sweet paired with this particular cake. So good old vanilla buttercream it was, which I then clad in heaps of chocolate flakes. It was looking pretty brown, so I added random hints gold by lightly dusting with edible gold. To top it off and give it an Easter theme, I made some stylized egg shells (this post shows how I make chocolate eggs). A couple people felt these looked more like masks than eggs, but that's the beauty of art, I suppose.
It had been a while since I made mud cake (see here and here) and I could not remember where it fell on my yum-meter. Happy to report this Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Cake was a real hit!
But back to chocolate personalities... what's yours? Google 'chocolate personality tests' and find out. I'd love to know!
Recommended:
Ingredients
Salted Caramel:
- 300 grams granulated sugar 1 ½ cups
- 200 grams heavy cream just under a cup
- 5 grams sea salt 1 teaspoon
Cake:
- 200 grams dark chocolate 1 ¼ cup, coarsely chopped
- 255 grams butter just over a cup, cut into cubes
- 430 grams whole milk 1 ¾ cups
- 400 grams granulated sugar 2 cups
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 125 grams unbleached 1 ¼ cups, all-purpose flour
- 85 grams self-rising flour ¾ cup
- 85 grams cocoa powder ¾ cup
- 90 grams salted caramel ¼ cup
Buttercream:
- 125 grams water ½ cup
- 340 grams sugar just over 1 ¾ cups
- 250 grams egg whites 1 cup
- 113.5 grams sugar just over ½ cup
- 5 grams pure vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
- 675 grams butter 3 cups, cubed and room temperature
Decorations:
- chocolate flakes
Instructions
To make the caramel (can be made days in advance):
- Scald milk in a small saucepan and set aside.
- In a medium heavy-duty saucepan, dry caramelize sugar, stirring continually with a wooden spoon.
- Remove from heat and slowly add warm cream and salt, stirring until combined.
- Set aside to cool.
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 325ºF.
- Place sugar and milk in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar is completely melted.
- Remove from heat and stir in butter and chocolate until melted. Set aside to cool.
- Add the beaten eggs and sift in the dry ingredients. Whisk until smooth and without any lumps.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and swirl in a ¼ cup of caramel.
- Bake for 1.5 hours, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool completely in the cake pan before turning it out.
To make the buttercream:
- In a medium heavy-duty saucepan, combine water and the 340 grams of sugar and cook to soft ball stage (116ºC/240ºF).
- While the sugar is cooking, add the remaining sugar and egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- Begin whipping the egg whites on medium speed, once the sugar mixture reaches around the 110ºC/230ºF mark. You want the egg whites whipped to soft peaks by the time the sugar reaches soft ball.
- When the sugar reached sift ball, remove from heat and while the egg whites are still whipping, slowly and steadily pour the sugar syrup into the bowl, keeping the steam of hot syrup as close to the edge of the bowl as possible.
To decorate:
- Place the cake on a bowl, or cake pan that is slightly smaller than the cake's circumference and set on a sheet pan. This raises the cake up for easier application of the flakes, while the excess is contained in the sheet pan. You can also use a cake turntable to make rotating the cake easier.
Notes
If you want to omit the salted caramel, simply increase the sugar quantity by ¼ cup. As always, to achieve a full, fluffy meringue, be sure all equipment and utensils are free of grease. You can get super anal like me and have separate bowls and utensils reserved for meringues, or simply use lemon or vinegar to clean the bowl, whisk attachment and spatula prior to use. Be very careful when working with hot sugar. Keep the stream of syrup slow and steady and as close to the inner side of the bowl as possible.
Danya | Love and Cilantro says
I did a chocolate personality test, and I got medium-dark chocolate (prefer dark chocolate but I occasionally eat milk chocolate) - except I LOVE milk chocolate, and I could totally live without dark chocolate (I know, I'm sorry!). Anyway, this recipe looks AMAZING! I wish I was super baker, you've definitely got the skills 🙂
I Sugar Coat It! says
Live without dark chocolate??? The HORROR!!! 🙂
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
This cake looks so amazing and I love your photos!!! Thanks for sharing, I am going to try to make this soon 🙂
I Sugar Coat It! says
Thank you!! Hope you do!
Anne Murphy says
I always used vanilla buttercream with chocolate cake - I like the contrast. The sprinkles add another layer of goodness!
I Sugar Coat It! says
I agree, the contrast is striking and the flakes added the perfect amount of crunch!
Sandra Shaffer says
Oh, I love the flavor of dark chocolate, especially when paired with red wine. Although I won't turn away any type of chocolate! I so wish that I could grab a fork and help myself to your cake. Such a beauty and the eggs are exquisite!
I Sugar Coat It! says
No chocolate left behind...I like your thinking. LOL
Bella B (xoxoBella) says
This looks stunning! I am a huge chocolate cake fan! 🙂
I Sugar Coat It! says
Thank you!
Olivia @ livforcake says
Sigh. This is dreamy. I would eat the whooole thing no problem. Oh and I'm totally in the dark chocolate camp with you!!
I Sugar Coat It! says
Thanks, babe, but that sounds like a sugar coma in the making! Save you a slice? 😉
Cakespy says
How lovely are these sweet slices!? This cake not only looks gorgeous, but I can tell it tastes just as good!
I Sugar Coat It! says
Thank you!!
Paula says
This is beautiful and your chocolate egg "sculptures" are gorgeous. Hope you had a lovely long Easter weekend. I took two chocolate personality tests. One result came up the same as your second result, 100% Dark and the first result said I was medium-dark.
I Sugar Coat It! says
I think mood may have a lot to do with it...maybe. We had a great long weekend! Hope you did, as well.
Deb|EastofEdenCooking says
What a fantastic cake! The vanilla frosting really showcases that scrumptious cake! My Mr is all for dark chocolate, but won't turn down any other kinds of chocolate. Personally I like them all, even white chocolate can be wonderful!
I Sugar Coat It! says
I agree - there is a time and place for dark, milk and white!
Debi at Life Currents says
I'd like to dive right into your cake! It looks amazing! And those chocolate eggs look so glittery and delicate! I love dark chocolate! Great recipe!
I Sugar Coat It! says
Thank you!! I'll make you one, just so I can see you dive in. 😉
Molly Kumar says
I just wanna eat the cake right off my hands, it sounds so very delicious and what flavors ' Salted Caramel Dark Choc' - totally yummmmm!!!
I Sugar Coat It! says
Hahaaa... Let's get it in your hands and make it happen. 😉
Lucy - (Recipes @ Globe Scoffers) says
wow what a beautiful cake it looks delicious!
I Sugar Coat It! says
Thanks.
Ludmilla says
Your cake looks so beautiful!! I don't have words to describe how nice are those chocolate eggs on top... stunning!
I Sugar Coat It! says
Thank you so very much!!
ginger and scotch says
Oh wow - such a perfect cake! I don't know if mine would ever come out that way but there is always hope!
I Sugar Coat It! says
Oh, but I am certain it will!
Goreti says
This cake looks so delicious. Can't go wrong with chocolate & caramel.
I Sugar Coat It! says
You got it! 😉
Janice says
I'm staring at the picture of the sliced cake because the cake layers have such a perfect, even crumb! I've been struggling with my yellow butter cake recipe: recently, I've noticed I've got big bubbles in the baked cakes, and I don't know what I've changed in my technique, but something has affected the way the cake bakes!
Well, all that to say, I've been nerding out about cake crumb/texture, and this one is a clear winner!
P.S. I'm a dark chocolate girl too 😉