This chocolate truffle cake is the perfect cake for any celebration! Add edible gold leaves for more drama!
It’s Christmas week and the question I seem to hear everywhere I go is “Are you ready for the holidays?” Umm, my initial response is no because I still have a million things to do, and the main reason for it is every free minute I get I spend baking!
I’ve wanted to make this cake as soon as I posted my White Christmas Truffle Cake last Christmas and my desire got even stronger when the cake became insanely popular with you, my friends.
Many of you loved the simplicity of that cake but some people still struggled with the execution, so I commissioned a bunch of my friends in the US to make the cake following the recipe exactly and I tested it again with white and then with dark chocolate.
So what you have here is the reverse White Christmas Truffle Cake, it is Dark Chocolate Truffle Cake and it is glorious!! I treated this chocolate truffle cake to a splash of brandy and gold leaves for decoration because it’s Christmas and everything deserves a touch of glitz and glamour!
As I was carefully placing very thin and delicate edible gold leaves on this chocolate truffle cake with tweezers, I was realising the task was more intricate than I had first expected.
The gold leaves were tearing easily and sticking to my fingertips. I kept licking my fingers, then washing them off, then continuing with the arduous job only a ‘goldsmith” could have handled better.
Can you believe I was literally licking gold off my fingers?! That’s a sentence I never thought I’d say!!
Because I got quite a few questions about the White Christmas Truffle cake and some people mentioned that a video would’ve been helpful, I decided to make this cake on Instagram Stories.
Since they only last 24 hours I also posted them on my Facebook page, where you can see what the process is like!! That’s a first for me and I found talking while cooking so difficult!!
How to make Chocolate Truffle Cake
What I learned from making this cake is the dark chocolate layer sets firmer than the white one, probably due to it being less creamy.
If you want the truffle layer to be very smooth you have to mix mascarpone into the chocolate and cream mixture before it’s completely cool, as the residual heat helps the blending process.
This method will work for everyone in the UK. As I am less familiar with dairy products in the US, I would suggest whipping your mascarpone or cream cheese and then gradually add cooled cream and chocolate mixture and whip again to obtain the consistency of thick sour cream.
The result will blow your mind, I tell you! Silky smooth truffle layer sits atop a chocolate cake layer, you will only want a small slice of this indulgent dessert to satisfy your cravings!
- ⅓ cup/ 85 ml Guinness or other stout
- 2 tbsp strong black coffee
- ½ cups/ 115 gr unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup/ 4 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup/ 150g all purpose flour
- 1 cup/225 g sugar
- 2/3 tsp baking soda
- ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 large egg
- 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup/125 ml creme fraiche/sour cream
- 1¼ cups/ 300 g double cream/heavy cream I used 48% fat double cream
- 12 oz/350 g dark chocolate chopped (measured by weight)
- 9 oz/250 g mascarpone or cream cheese full fat only
- 2 tbsp brandy optional
- Edible gold flakes and gold sanding sugar for decoration
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Preheat the oven to 325F/160C.
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Grease a 9" round cake pan and line the bottoms with greased parchment paper. Set aside.
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In a saucepan heat stout, coffee and butter together until the mixture comes to a gentle simmer, add cocoa powder while whisking continuously to avoid lumps until smooth. Set aside to cool.
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Blend flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a different bowl. Mix eggs, vanilla and creme fraiche with an electric mixer in bowl no 3.
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Now check on your chocolate mixture and make sure it’s cool enough to continue the process.
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Add the chocolate mixture to the egg and creme fraiche mixture and blend them together.
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Add flour mixture a little bit at a time and beat on low speed until combined. Pour into the pan and level.
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Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 min. Always test your cake for doneness with a toothpick or a cake taster. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes , then take it out and cool completely a wire rack.
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Bring the cream in a saucepan to a boil and take it off the heat. Add chopped dark chocolate and stir with a whisk until the chocolate in melted and completely incorporated into the cream. Let the mixture come to a room temperature, mix in brandy if using.
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Add mascarpone and whip with a hand mixer until smooth. If using cream cheese instead of mascarpone, whip the cheese until light and fluffy before adding cream and chocolate mixture and blending the ingredients together.
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Put the sponge layer back in the springform.
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Pour the truffle mixture on top of the cake in the springform pan and chill in the refrigerator for at least for 2 hours or better overnight.
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Hold a knife over hot water for a minute, then wipe it dry with a towel, run a hot knife along the sides of the cake to release it from the pan, then carefully unmold it and move to a cake stand.
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Decorate with gold flakes and gold sanding sugar if desired.
Hi, I am hoping I just read this incorrectly, but the beginning says to line 9″ cake pans for the sponge layer. Then says to put the sponge layer “back” into the spring form pan. Am I to bake the sponge layer in a spring form? If so what size is recommended?
Hi Sabra, yes, you are to bake the sponge layer in a spring form pan, the same 9″ one mentioned earlier in the recipe. You are putting the sponge layer back in the pan to assemble the cake.
I just made this so we could have it on Christmas. I could not be more disappointed. When I poured the truffle back over the cake and refrigerated it leaked through the pan and went all over my fridge. I pulled it out, threw the cake in a bowl and poured what was left of the truffle mix over top. Disaster in every way. I find it hard to believe that my springpan which is expensive is the only one that would do that!! I was really excited to find your site but this has ruined my Christmas dessert. We’ll be eating store bought cheesecake instead.
I’m sorry to hear that Teresa. I think the only way this could happen is if the bottom of the springform pan wasn’t lined up with the grooves. If it were, even water shouldn’t be able to leak through, let alone the truffle mix. In this recipe, as can be seen in the videos linked to in the post, the truffle layer is quite thick so shouldn’t have any chance of flowing through a springform pan.
Julia,
For us “teetotalers” reading–what would you substitute liquid for the Guinness/ stout? I adored the white chocolate version of this and thought this might make a nice Valentine’s cake.
Uh, sorry, distraction created a grammatical nightmare. What liquid would you substitute for the Guinness/stout.
I would try to replace it with strong coffee, Carla. Let me know how it goes!!
Ha! Ha! This gives a whole new meaning to the name Goldfinger. But well worth it because it gives this cake that extra sparkle that is so warranted at this time of year.
And can we talk about how irresistible this beauty is? I mean that creamy, dreamy layer perched beautifully on top of that cake layer. . .cut me a slice. . .and STAT!
Thanks so much, Lynn! That cake is so luxurious it deserves to be embellished with gold! 🙂
Oh my it looks totally amazing!! I am literally getting that mouthwatering sensation and I desperately want to sink a fork into that chocolate. Perhaps you can make it when we next visit… (hint!)
Oh that cake is so decadent!! I can definitely make it when you are over, Lucy! I know you’d appreciate its chocolate goodness!
I am thinking to try using the chocolate cake layer with your white chocolate truffle layer. Both recipes look fabulous! Do you think that will work?
Absolutely, I love your mix and match approach, Sue! It will also look striking!