*I’m sharing this post on behalf of SHARFFEN BERGER as part of a sponsored series by Social Stars.
One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is making and drinking my famous Thick Spiced Italian Hot Chocolate. I love it so much that I decided it needed to make in a more substantial form – cake. The most important part of any chocolate cake? The quality of the chocolate used. SCHARFFEN BERGER Unsweetened Cocoa Powder fit the bill flawlessly. Organic and non-gmo, SCHARFFEN BERGER Cocoa Powder is Rainforest Alliance Certified and sourced from small cocoa farms.
SHARFFEN BERGER Cocoa powder is pure in flavor, unbeatable in quality, and was the perfect cocoa powder to do my spiced hot chocolate cake justice.
The cake is pure chocolate. Soft and rich. Layering it with a spiced buttercream brings it to life. Grass-fed butter is whipped with powdered sugar, cinnamon, and just a dash of cayenne pepper. The cayenne adds a little bit of heat and is what sets this cake apart from other hot chocolate-inspired cakes. I topped the cake with little meringue mushrooms and cinnamon sticks, but if you wanted an easier way to decorate it, cinnamon sticks and rosemary sprigs would suffice. I like to store the cake in the fridge, but let it sit at room temperature for an hour or two before serving.
- FOR THE CAKE;
- 3 cups Flour
- 2½ cups Raw Cane Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
- 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 cup SCHARFFEN BERGER Cocoa Powder
- 1½ teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt
- 1 teaspoon Espresso Powder
- 3 Eggs
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla
- ¾ cup Coconut Oil (liquefied)
- 1½ cups Milk
- 1 cup Boiling Water
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- 1 Pound Salted Grass-fed Butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons Vanilla
- 1½ teaspoons Cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper(ground)
- 1 Pound Powdered Sugar
- FOR THE GANACHE:
- 1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips(I used 60%)
- ¾ cup Heavy Cream
- TOP WITH:
- Powdered Sugar
- Cinnamon Sticks
- Mini Pinecones
- Meringue Mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- ½ cup Boiling Water
- FOR THE CAKE:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 8 inch round baking pans. Line the bottoms of each pan with a circle of parchment paper.
- Place the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and espresso powder in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the egg, oil, milk, vanilla, and water to the dry ingredients and whisk in just until smooth. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until puffed and firm on top and a tester inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean, with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Remove and let cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Remove cake layers from pans and let cool completely before frosting.
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- Place the butter in a large bowl along with the vanilla, cinnamon, and cayenne. Beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Beat on low, adding the powdered sugar a few tablespoons at a time, until all of the sugar has been whipped in. Scrape the bowl down, turn the speed up to medium, and beat the frosting for another 30 seconds.
- FOR THE GANACHE:
- Place the chocolate and cream in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat. Whisk together as the chocolate melts, until a smooth mixture forms. Remove from heat.
- TO ASSEMBLE:
- Frost the cake using the spiced frosting. Pour the ganache over the top of the cake spread just to the edges of the top of the cake. Chill until ganache is set.
- Dust the cake with powdered sugar and top with cinnamon sticks, mushrooms, and greenery.
