Go Back

Classic Chocolate cake with Chocolate Faux Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Chocolate cake layers with smooth chocolatey buttercream
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: birthday cake, buttercream, chocolate
Servings: 16

Equipment

  • mixer with whisk and paddle
  • kitchen scale
  • 3 6 in cake pans
  • oven thermometer
  • bowls
  • spatulas
  • cake turntable
  • offset spatula
  • cake scraper or bench scraper

Ingredients

For the cake layers

  • 325 g all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2.5 tsp baking powder
  • 550 g sugar
  • 6 oz unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 eggs, room temp
  • 270 g buttermilk, room temp
  • 4 oz hot coffee
  • 2 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 3 oz cocoa powder preferably dutch process

For the Chocolate buttercream

  • 6 oz egg whites, pasteurized in a carton
  • 24 oz confectioners sugar
  • 3 oz cocoa powder
  • 18 oz unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 tsp salt

Instructions

For the cake layers

  • Preheat the oven to 330 degrees.
  • In the bowl of your mixer combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Combine the mixture with the paddle attachment in your mixer to distribute the ingredients.
  • In a medium bowl put your chocolate chips and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Pour the hot coffee over the top of it and let it sit for a minute to warm the chocolate.
  • Add the warm buttermilk and stir to combine until the whole mixture is smooth.
  • Add the eggs to the chocolate mixture and combine until smooth and set aside.
  • Add the softened butter to the dry mixture and allow that to mix making a coarse sand like texture, about 1 minute.
  • With your mixer on low, add around half of your wet ingredients. You really just want to add enough liquid so that everything is a little wet without forming a dough texture, it should resemble cake batter. Then turn it to medium and let it mix for 2 minutes. Set a timer and do not go over. This helps develop the structure of the cake, without over mixing.
  • Scrape your bowl after the 2 minutes. With your mixer on low add the rest of the wet ingredents. Mix just until totally combined, about 15 seconds. Scrape the bowl again if needed.
  • Prepare the pans by spraying with baking spray and lining the bottom with parchment paper.
  • Divide the batter evenly between 3, 6 inch pans. I used 17 oz per 6 in pan.
  • Cover the cakes with aluminum foil and bake for 55-65 min or until done. They are done once they start to pull away from the sides of the pan or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Allow the cakes to cool on a cooling rack until the pan is cool enough to touch. Remove the cakes from the pans and let them cool completely before wrapping in plastic wrap to freeze or to decorate.

For the Chocolate Faux Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • Weigh out your egg whites in the bowl of your mixer. Sift your confectioners sugar and cocoa powder into the bowl.
  • Make sure your mixer has the whisk attachment on. Begin mixing it on low, slowly increasing it to high and let it go for about 6 minutes.
  • Change out your whisk attachment for the paddle.
  • Turn the mixer on low and add your butter in 1 stick at a time.
  • Add your salt and let the mixer go on low for about 10 minutes.

For Assembly

  • On a cake board, put a small dollop of buttercream and put the cake top side down on the board.
  • Smooth buttercream on the top. Add the next cake on top and repeat.
  • Add the last cake layer, seal the sides and coat the whole cake in a thin layer of buttercream to lock in any crumbs. Refrigerate that for about 15 minutes before your final coat of buttercream.
  • Add your final layer of buttercream, smooth and decorate it as you wish.
  • I chose to add some sprinkles to the top. I added chocolate buttercream swirls with a 1M tip then added more sprinkles on top of that and to the bottom sides.