This dramatic black and white cake contains two types of chocolate fillings – one with a dark chocolate and one with white chocolate. Add some chocolate shavings or curls on top for a fun, decorative flair!
Every year, my husband’s birthday falls near Father’s Day. In fact, his first Father’s Day happened to fall on his birthday. As a result, he gets to choose two different desserts in the same week. Someone (a certain 10-year old girl) got very jealous. She proclaimed it was unfair that her dad got to have two cakes in the course of 5 days. Sorry kid, that’s life.
I knew almost from the get-go that this recipe would work out better than the last. However, I wasn’t pleased with the way the instructions were written in Dorie’s cookbook. She had me baking the cake first, then making the frosting. However, the frosting needs to chill for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator before using. As a result, my cake dried out slightly. I wasn’t too thrilled about this, so I re-ordered the instructions below. Had my cake not dried out, it would have received a higher rating.
Despite the slightly dry cake, the dark chocolate cream and white chocolate whipped cream frosting were great. The dark chocolate cream is definitely something I could eat on its own. It’s similar to a pastry cream so it’s rich and smooth.
I had a baking FAIL on the first batch of the white chocolate whipped cream though. I turned my back for about 30 seconds while the cream was whipping in the stand mixer. When I turned back around, the cream had separated and started turning into butter. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to revive it so now I have some white chocolate butter in the refrigerator. I had to run out to the store to buy more white chocolate and heavy cream and kept my eye on the whipped cream the second time. Thankfully, the second time worked like a charm. I made the mistake of not chilling my frosting before I tried to layer the cake. As a result, the cake was slipping and sliding everywhere! After placing the frosting in the refrigerator overnight, it solidified and was easier to spread.
Would I make this again? Yes. But the next time, I would make the fillings first and then the cake to prevent it from being dry. Don’t make the mistakes I did – watch the whipped cream so it doesn’t turn to butter, and make sure you chill the whipped cream frosting thoroughly before attempting to use it!
Husband’s rating: 4 out of 5
Addie’s rating: 4 out of 5
My rating: 4 out of 5
Black and white chocolate cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 and ¼ sticks (10 Tablespoons) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup buttermilk
Dark chocolate cream
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 large egg yolks
- 6 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 7 ounces bittersweet chocolate melted and cooled
- 2 and ½ Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 5 pieces at room temperature
White chocolate whipped cream
- 6 ounces white chocolate finely chopped
- 1 and ½ cups heavy cream
Instructions
- Note: I highly recommend making the white chocolate whipped cream frosting first, since it needs to chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. I mistakenly made the cake first, and it dried out a bit while I waited for my whipped cream to chill.
Make the white chocolate whipped cream
- In a medium sized bowl, place the chopped white chocolate.
- Bring the ½ cup of the heavy cream to a boil (I placed it in a glass measuring cup and microwaved for 1 minute). Pour over the white chocolate and allow it to sit for 1 minute. Stir vigorously so the chocolate is smooth and there are no lumps. Allow this mixture to cool to room temperature - this step is SUPER IMPORTANT. You cannot use warm chocolate in the next step.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer), add the remaining 1 cup of cream. Beat on medium speed until you achieve soft peaks. Then add all of the melted white chocolate and beat on high speed until you achieve stiff peaks. DO NOT WALK AWAY. I accidentally did for just under a minute and the heavy cream started to separate and turn into butter! I wasn't able to reverse this so I had to start all over again...
- Transfer the whipped cream to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. The whipped cream will harden up in the refrigerator as it chills. Do not use the whipped cream until then.
Bake the cake
- While the whipped cream is chilling, bake the cake. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 8" or 9" round baking pans with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, cream the butter on medium speed until it is light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the sugar and beat for about 3 minutes. Then add the eggs, one at a time, and then the egg yolk. Add in the vanilla. The batter may appear curdled at this time, and that's OK.
- Alternatively add the dry ingredients with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until everything just comes together - do not over ix.
- Evenly distribute the batter between your two prepared pans. Bake in your preheated oven for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes back clean. The cake will be "springy" - if you gently poke the center of it, the cake should "spring" back into place.
- Allow the cakes to cool for about 5 minutes. Then remove the cakes and cool on a wire rack.
Make the dark chocolate cream
- In a medium sized saucepan (with the stove OFF), mix together together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt until it is well blended.
- Boil the milk (Again, I put my milk in a microwave-safe measuring cup and heat it up for about 2 minutes). Slowly stream the hot milk into the saucepan and whisk vigorously so there are no lumps.
- Turn the stove to medium and keep whisking until the mixture boils and thickens into a pudding-like consistency. Take the saucepan off the stove and add the melted chocolate. Mix well. Then add the butter and whisk vigorously until the cream is smooth and free of lumps. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Assemble the cake
- Cut each cake in half horizontally (you may need to shave off any parts of cake that domed - just eat those as scraps). Place one piece of cake (preferably one that was "bottom" of one of the cakes) on a cake pan or plate. Spread some chocolate cream on top and spread to the edges.
- Add one more cake layer on top. Then top with some white chocolate whipped cream and spread it evenly. Repeat with the remaining layers, alternating with the dark chocolate cream and the white chocolate whipped cream. You may have some leftover dark chocolate cream. Enjoy that with some cookies or eat it with a spoon.
- Cover the top and the sides with the remaining white chocolate whipped cream. Top with shaved chocolate or chocolate curls as desired. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before slicing and serving.
Today’s my birthday, and just reading your articles puts me in a great place, l can’t wait to try your recipe’s, and l love the fact your family is involved, and your honest like when your cake was slightly dried out, or how your husband preferred more subsistence to his fudge (l concur) it’s real and, refreshing thanks!
Author
Happy birthday, Elle!