If you need to make a festive birthday cake for an adult – this is the one you want! Chocolate layer cake filled with coffee and whiskey cream, all topped with vanilla cream, chocolate and whiskey ganache, dark chocolate sheets and candied nuts. A great dessert that will make everyone say “WOW”.
This chocolate layer cake is perfect for birthdays and special occasions, and all of you coffee and whisky lovers are simply going to love it.
Photo: Natalie Levin
Whiskey and Coffee Chocolate Layer Cake
For chocolate and whiskey cake:
- 2 large eggs
- 300 grams (1 1/2 cups) sugar
- 185 ml. (2/3 cup + 2 tbsp.) milk
- 60 ml. (1/4 cup) whiskey
- 125 ml. (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 240 ml. (1 cup) boiling water
- 2 tsp. instant coffee powder
- 280 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 60 grams (6 tbsp.) cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
For coffee and whiskey cream:
- 225 grams (1 pack) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
- 30 ml. (2 tbsp.) whiskey
- 1 tsp. instant coffee powder
- 50 grams (5 tbsp.) icing sugar
- 20 grams (2 tbsp.) instant vanilla pudding powder
- 250 ml. (1 cup) cold heavy cream
For vanilla cream:
- 250 ml. (1 cup) cold heavy cream
- 2 tbsp. sugar powder
- 1 tbsp. instant vanilla pudding powder
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
For chocolate and whiskey ganache:
- 100 grams dark chocolate
- 75 ml. (1/3 cup) heavy cream
- 30 ml. (2 tbsp.) whiskey
Decoration:
- Dark chocolate sheets with candied nuts
- Chocolate whiskey cake: preheat oven to 170 degrees and grease the pan well.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, milk, whiskey, oil, vanilla and salt until mixture is smooth.
- In a separate cup, mix coffee and boiling water until it dissolves.
- Add the hot coffee into the mixture while vigorous whisking until incorporated.
- Add flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda and beat well until you get a smooth batter. The mixture is very sparse and that’s fine.
- Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until the cake is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs.
- Cool completely at room temperature and then cool for about 1 hour in the refrigerator. =
- Using a long serrated knife, slice the cooled cake into 3 layers.
- Coffee and whiskey cream: in a bowl of a mixer with a whipping-attachment put mascarpone cheese, whiskey, instant coffee, powdered sugar and stabilizer and whip on high speed until blended.
- Add cream and continue beating at high speed until creamy and very stable.
- Transfer the cream into a piping bag fitted with 2 cm round piping tip.
- Assemble the cake: place a cake layer on a serving plate and drizzle over about 1/2 of the cream in an even layer.
- Put another cake layer over the cream and drizzle the remaining cream. Close with third cake layer and press down slightly.
- Vanilla cream: in a bowl of a mixer whip cream, powdered sugar, stabilizer and vanilla until creamy and very stable.
- Transfer the cream into a piping bag fitted with 2 cm round piping tip.
- Pipe the vanilla cream evenly on top of the cake. Refrigerate until ganache is ready.
- Dark chocolate and whiskey ganache: chop the chocolate and put in a bowl.
- Add heavy cream and solvents together in the microwave or over double boiler.
- When everything is melted and smooth, add whiskey and stir until you get a shiny ganache.
- Cool the ganache for about 1/2 hour in the fridge until it thickens slightly.
- Pour the ganache over the vanilla cream and let it drip over the sides of the cake as well.
- Before serving, garnish the top of the cake with chocolate sheets with candied nuts.
- It is recommended to make the cake a day in advance, because it is set and the flavors are absorbed during cooling.
- Keep the cake in a closed container in the refrigerator up to 3-4 days.
Photo: Natalie Levin