Chocolate Blackout Wedding Cake with Coconut Buttercream

Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay

Show: Throwdown with Bobby FlayEpisode: Wedding Cake

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (17)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(17)

Cook Time:
45 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
1 cake (about 12 servings)

Times:

Prep: 30 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 45 min
Total:: 1 hr 15 min

Recipe Tools:

Select a Card Size

Add To My Recipe Box

Success

This recipe was added to your Folder_Name folder.

Do not show this message again

Add To My Recipe Box

Please sign in to add this recipe to your Recipe Box.

Ingredients

Cake:

1 1/4 cups cake flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (best quality like Valrhona)
3 tablespoons ancho chile powder, optional
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 cup hot coffee

Whipped Ganache Filling:

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (recommended: Valrhona)
1/2 pound semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (recommended: Callebaut)
1/2 cup toffee bits

Coconut Buttercream:

6 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 cups (1 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sweetened coconut milk (recommended: Coco Lopez)
2 pounds thick flaked unsweetened coconut (can be found at health food stores)

Cake:

Directions

Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. F. Lightly grease 2 (9-inch) cake pans and line the bottoms with disks of parchment paper.

Sift the flour, cocoa, ancho chile powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper. Sift again.

Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat at high speed until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Continue beating, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary, until light and fluffy, about 5 more minutes. With the mixer on low speed, beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture. Beat in the vanilla, half of the buttermilk and half of the coffee, then another 1/3 of the flour mixture. Beat in the remaining buttermilk and coffee, then the remaining flour mixture.

Spread the batter evenly in prepared pans. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the centers spring back when lightly pressed. Cool the cakes in the pan on a wire rack.

Whipped Ganache Filling:

Bring heavy cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Place chocolate in a large bowl, pour heavy cream over and let sit for 1 minute. Gently whisk until combined.

Place the ganache over a bowl filled with ice water to chill slightly, whisking occasionally. Remove ganache from the ice and whip with a whisk until light and fluffy. Fold in the toffee bits.

Coconut Buttercream:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a wire whip attachment, beat the egg yolks at medium-high speed until creamy and pale yellow, about 5 minutes.

In a nonstick saucepan, combine the sugar and corn syrup. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a full rolling boil without stirring and cook until it reaches soft-ball stage (238 to 242 degrees F) on a candy thermometer. Immediately pour the mixture into a buttered heat proof measuring cup to halt the cooking.

Add a small amount of the syrup to the beaten egg yolks, turn on the mixer to high speed, and beat for about 5 seconds. Continue stopping the mixer, adding syrup, and beating in the same manner until all of the syrup is incorporated and the mixture is cooled completely.

Add the butter, 1 piece at a time, and beat until incorporated before adding the next piece. When all of the butter has been blended in, add the vanilla and coconut milk and continue beating until combined.

Assembly:

Slice each cake in half horizontally to make 4 layers total. Place the first layer down and spread with a thin layer of the Ganache. Repeat with the remaining cake layers and ganache, ending with a cake layer.

Spread a thin layer of the buttercream over the entire cake. This is called a crumb coat. Chill the cake for about 30 minutes. Frost entire cake with the remaining buttercream. Press coconut into the sides of the cake.

Next Recipe

More recipes? Try these recommendations:

Similar Recipe

Chocolate-Glazed Tea-Cakes

Similar Recipes

Recipes Like This

All About…

Recipe Collections

Showing 1-10 of 27

View all 27 Comfort Food Collections

Comments & Reviews

recipe Chocolate Blackout Wedding Cake with Coconut Buttercream
Todd Atlanta, GA 09-19-2009
Flag

Cake: Great! Ganache: Great! Frosting: Dud!
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

I am not a novice baker and things were going swimmingly well until the buttercream. I will NEVER attempt a frosting with a... "candy" base again. I tried 3 times to get this frosting to come out right. 1 1/2 dozen eggs later, I ended up pulling the giant candy ball out of the bottom of the bowl and discarding it. I replaced the candy base with powdered sugar and was able to salvage the box of butter. Of course by the time the frosting was done, the ganache was hard as a rock. I'm sure that I've ruined it by heating it in the microwave to get it spreadable, but that is yet to be determined. My recommendation, use the cake recipe, use the ganache recipe, but find another buttercream recipe. Unless you've got a chicken coop in your backyard for all the eggs you'll waste trying to get it right. :)Read more
recipe Chocolate Blackout Wedding Cake with Coconut Buttercream
Lisa Davis, CA 03-04-2009
Flag

My favorite cake
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I love this so much that I made it for my sister's wedding she dioesn't like coconut so I didn't cover it in coconut but made... the receipe exactuly as is except for the coconut. I will never make a traditional buttercream again.Read more
recipe Chocolate Blackout Wedding Cake with Coconut Buttercream
Anonymous 06-01-2008
Flag

Chocolate Blackout Wedding Cake with Coconut Buttercream
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

The cake part of this recipe would have tasted better if I hadn't added the chili powder. The recipe asked for 3 tablespoons... and I put 1 tablespoon in and it was much too strong. The cake was moist but would fall apart easily when cutting into layers. The ganache was good but I would use less bittersweet chocolate next time. The icing was a different texture than my family is use to, and thought with the coconut milk it tasted like cough syrup. The icing sounded so good with the eggs and butter and when the icing hardened it was like a candy, and very easy to spread after doing the crumb coating. It looked beautiful and for all the work this beautiful cake ended up in the trash.Read more
recipe Chocolate Blackout Wedding Cake with Coconut Buttercream
Verna Houston, TX 05-19-2008
Flag

Chocolate out of this world
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I made this cake for Mother's day and everyone was moaning with pleasure. The cake was simply magnificant. I did replace... the optional ingredient with cinnamin and used a chocolate icing with some of the gananche. Additional i made four cake pans and made about 7 layers. Family and friends are still raving about it.Read more
recipe Chocolate Blackout Wedding Cake with Coconut Buttercream
Anonymous 05-03-2008
Flag

Perfection!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This was all very easy and very delicious to eat. I must admit, I tweaked things here and there. I made the ganache as... instructed, and the buttercream was made into an espresso flavor instead, and I used yellow cake instead of chocolate. If you follow the steps and basic format of this recipe, you will not be disappointed. The best buttercream I have ever tasted(if it isn't setting up for you, just pop it in the fridge for a while till it chills, and then whip it again), and the toffee bits in the ganache REALLY steps it up a notch. Utter perfection.Read more
recipe Chocolate Blackout Wedding Cake with Coconut Buttercream
Jonathan San Antonio, TX 04-22-2008
Flag

The buttercream and ganache were great, the cake was too overpowering and sharp
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I was excited to try this cake. I even found new shopping resources in order to collect the specific ingredients. After... baking two of these cakes I found that the cake was powerfully strong for my taste. The chili was more prominent and gave an edginess to the already very sharp taste of the coffee/chocolate flavors. I think if I try the cake again I will leave out all or most of the chili and replace the coffee with another 1/2-cup buttermilk. Probably would take away the whole Bobby concept, but it was very strong. I?m letting my cakes rest a day to see if the flavors set up any better with time. Maybe they?ll mellow. On the other hand I was totally impressed with the butter cream. I generally do not like any butter creams they are usually overpowering and sweet, and often have an aftertaste?I don?t usually like them. But, this butter cream was VERY NICE. It was pleasantly sweet and yet not overpowering, and I will use this again. I did not find the recipe difficult. On the contrary it came together very nicely just following the directions. The Whipped ganache filling was also wonderful. I love the way it sets up and even though it was a little strong on the chocolate side it would be very easy to adjust the flavors to my liking. I started imagining all the great ways this could be used, layered duo with a filling layer of peanut butter. I even decided I would try to put together a chocolate and mango cake using mango slivers like a spoke on each layer and covered with the ganache as a tasty combo filling. I could create a mango and sugar puree and replace the coconut milk in the butter cream for the icing. Have know Idea if it will work, but it would be fun to try. The cake contains wonderful ideas, I wish I could have pulled it off as Bobby intended. It was a little expensive, but on the other hand I learned so much from this recipe. Now what to do with these cakes.Read more