chocolate buttermilk layer cake

chocolate buttermilk layer cake

• 12 Aug 2024

My next door neighbour, Minnie, recently celebrated a birthday. Now Minnie is the neighbour that doesn't like fruit, so I knew her birthday cake had to be a chocolate cake. As you know, I am not much of a chocolate cake fan, hence the large number of chocolate cakes I've made in an effort to find 'the one'. This time I made a version of Claire Saffitz's chocolate buttermilk cake, which I topped with my own chocolate cream cheese icing.

We've been experiencing a polar blast in Sydney recently, so I had all kinds of trouble making the icing in my unheated flat. The melted chocolate hardened whilst I was whipping the cream cheese; then the remelted chocolate hardened during the mixing process making a kind of chocolate chip version of the cream cheese icing, which though tasty, wasn't my goal. In the end I gave up and went with what I had and iced the cake with it's slightly lumpy icing.

The cake you see had been at room temperature for more than an hour, but it was still pretty firm when I sliced it. Look at those layers though!

Here's the recipe for you adapted from a Claire Saffitz recipe which makes a 3 tier 16cm layer cake. It will also make a 2 layer 17cm cake but it will take a little longer to cook and you won't need all the icing. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Chocolate Buttermilk Layer Cake 
Cake 
150g plain flour 
1 tsp baking powder 
Pinch sea salt flakes
1 tsp bicarb soda
85g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped 
1 teaspoon instant coffee dissolved in 60mls water
25g Dutch process cocoa powder 
80g buttermilk at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
85g unsalted butter, at room temperature
100g caster sugar
100g light brown sugar 
30g vegetable oil

1 egg and 1 yolk at room temperature

Icing
115g dark chocolate, broken into pieces 
30g Dutch cocoa powder, sifted
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
150g pure icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g cream cheese, at room temperature

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C, conventional. Grease and flour three 16cm cake tins and line the bases with baking paper, smoothing to eliminate air bubbles. Set the pans aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and bicarb soda and set aside.

In a separate heatproof bowl, combine the chopped chocolate, coffee, and cocoa powder. Set the bowl over a medium saucepan filled with about 1 inch of simmering (not boiling) water and heat, whisking occasionally, until the chocolate is melted, and the mixture is completely smooth. You can also do this step in the microwave oven. Remove from the heat and whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, caster sugar, brown sugar and oil and beat on low speed until smooth. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat, scraping down the sides once or twice, until the mixture is very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the egg, followed by the yolk beating well after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Add about one-third of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until the flour has almost disappeared. Add half of the cooled chocolate mixture, mixing just until incorporated, then add the remaining flour in 2 additions, alternating with the remaining chocolate mixture. When the last traces of flour disappear, stop the mixer and remove the bowl. Use a flexible spatula to scrape down the sides and fold the batter several times to make sure it's evenly mixed and no chocolate streaks remain.

Divide the batter among the three pans (if you have a scale, weigh out approximately 255g of batter per pan), smoothing the batter into an even layer. Transfer the pans to the oven, placing the tins onto the centre rack, staggering the pans so there is one at the front and 2 at the rear. Move the position of the tins every 10 minutes, moving the cake at the front to the back and the cake on the left side of the oven to the right to ensure an even bake. 

Bake until the cakes are risen and just starting to pull away from the sides, the top is firm to the touch, and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the centres comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool completely in the pans. Use a small offset spatula or paring knife to cut around the sides of the pans to release the cakes, then invert the cakes onto a wire rack and peel off the parchment paper. Be patient here. If the layers are even the least bit warm, the butter in the icing will start to melt as you try to frost them, and the whole cake will slide around.
Level the layers, if necessary, to create a flat top for easier stacking and assembly. If the cakes have just a slight dome, you can leave them as is. While the cakes are cooling, make the chocolate cream cheese icing.

Icing
Place the chopped chocolate into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high in 30-second bursts until melted. Set aside to cool before making the icing. 

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cocoa powder, butter, icing sugar, vanilla, cream cheese and a pinch of fine sea salt and beat on medium-low speed for 10 minutes until light and fluffy. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Pour in the cooled melted chocolate and stir to combine.

Place the first cake layer on a cake round, serving plate, or cake stand upside down (also cut-side down if you levelled the layers) and slide several strips of baking paper partially underneath and all around the cake to cover and protect the plate or stand during icing. 

Using a small offset spatula, spread ⅓ cup of the chocolate icing over the cake in an even layer all the way to the edges, then top with another upside-down cake layer and cover with another ⅓ cup of the icing. Place the third layer on top, upside down, and cover the top and sides of the entire cake in a very thin, even layer of icing. This is the "crumb coat," which is just a base layer of frosting, so don't worry if the cake shows through in several places. Refrigerate the cake until the icing has hardened, 10 to 15 minutes, then cover the top and sides with the remaining icing. (Originally I'd planned on making a naked cake, hence the generous top layer of icing, then I changed my mind. Next time I'd go with the naked version). Slide the paper strips out from underneath the cake before cutting into slices. 

Allow the cake to come to room temperature before serving. I cut the cake with a thin bladed knife, which I placed in hot water, then wiped clean between each cut.

I took a few slices of cake next door and Minnie said it was the best chocolate cake ever. I took the leftovers into work and I'm pleased to report that in our superheated work environment, the cream cheese icing softened to a delicious consistency. The cake is super rich, so I'd recommend seving it in small slices.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian