Chocolate Fudge Cake (6 Layers!)
Six tall layers of dark cocoa cake with a glossy chocolate fudge frosting. Inspired by Cheesecake Factory, and much better!
Yield:14-16 servings
- Prep Time:
- 1 hr
- Cook Time:
- 35 mins
- Chilling Time:
- 1 hr, 30 mins
- Total Time:
- 3 hrs, 5 mins
Ingredients
Chocolate fudge frosting:
- 1 batch chocolate fudge frosting, this makes the perfect amount for this cake
Chocolate cake:
- 3 cups all purpose flour (390g)
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar (500g)
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil (220g)
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (360g) – make your own with 1 1/2 cups whole milk mixed with 1 1/2 tbsp vinegar
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise (60g)
- 3/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder (75g)
- 1/4 cup black cocoa powder (25g)
- 3 tsp instant coffee
- 3/4 cup boiling water (180g)
Assembly:
- Mini chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 335F (conventional / no fan). Grease and line three 8 or 9 inch round cake pans with parchment paper
- First, prepare a batch of the chocolate fudge frosting. Pour the frosting into a 9×13 pan, cover with cling wrap (touching the surface) and place in the fridge to set
- For the cake, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl
- Add the eggs, oil, buttermilk and mayonnaise. Whisk gently until just combined and no lumps remain
- In a separate bowl, mix the Dutch cocoa powder, black cocoa powder and instant coffee with boiling water until smooth and glossy. This step blooms the cocoa powders
- Add the bloomed cocoa mixture into the rest of the cake batter. Gently whisk and fold until fully combined – avoid over mixing. The batter will be on the runny side
- Divide the cake batter evenly between the three prepared pans (I recommend using a scale to be accurate)
- Bake the cakes in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with light, moist crumbs (no wet batter)
- Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then carefully take them out of the pans, and wrap them in cling wrap. Place in the freezer for 30-45 minutes until thoroughly chilled
- When the cakes and frosting have both chilled, it’s time to assemble. Remove the cakes from the freezer and carefully unwrap them (be gentle with them throughout). Trim off the domes to make them perfectly straight on top. Use a long serrated knife to cut each cake into 2 even layers horizontally so you have 6 layers in total
- Divide the frosting into 8 portions. This doesn’t have to be exact! I just use a spatula to make a 4×2 grid in the 9×13 pan the frosting is inside
- Place one cake layer onto your serving plate (or cake board). Ideally place the serving board on top of a turntable as it makes stacking and frosting easier. Add one portion of the frosting on top and spread it evenly with an offset spatula
- Cover with the next cake layer and repeat until all cake layers are stacked. Keep things as even as you can. If at any point it feels like the frosting is too soft or the layers start to slip around, wrap the cake in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. By the end, all 6 layers will be stacked and you will have 3 portions of the frosting remaining
- Now frost the whole cake with the remaining frosting on the top and sides. If you want, you can do a crumb coat first. Optionally, press mini chocolate chips on the sides of the cake
- Slice, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Black cocoa: this is what makes the cake so dark! If you only have Dutch processed cocoa powder, use 1 cup total; the cake will be slightly lighter in color but still delicious
- Six layers vs three: for an easier cake, don’t divide the cake layers into 2 and make a 3 layered cake instead. Put a thick layer of frosting between each
- Storage: You can keep this cake covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. I recommend leaving it at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving for the ideal temperature (in fact, I personally like to microwave my slice for 20 seconds!)