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Triple Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Filling
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • ½ teaspoon espresso powder
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Cake
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder
  • 1 cup milk buttermilk
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water
Chocolate Ermine Frosting
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cup milk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups butter room temperature
  • 1 ¾ cups sugar
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
To make the chocolate filling:
  1. The filling needs to set overnight, at least for 12 hours, so make this the day before you bake the cake. Put the chocolate chips, salt, sugar, and espresso powder in a food processor or powerful blender and pulse until finely ground.
  2. Add the egg and pulse until everything is combined.
  3. Heat the cream in a bowl in the microwave or in a pan on the stove on medium-high heat. Heat until the cream just starts to bubble. If you have a thermometer, it should be at least 205 degrees F. Heating the cream is crucial because it helps cook the egg, otherwise the filling won’t set properly.
  4. Turn the blender or processor on low and slowly add in the cream. Add in the vanilla and combine everything well.
  5. Pour the filling in a bowl and refrigerate until its chilled and set, overnight is best.
To make the chocolate cake:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder to a large bowl or into a stand mixer. Whisk or stir until well combined.
  2. Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together until well combined. Carefully add boiling water and keep mixing until everything comes together.
  3. Distribute cake batter between two prepared 9” cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. When done, turn them out onto cooling racks and let cool completely to the touch before handling.
To make the chocolate frosting:
  1. Whisk together the flour and milk in a small pot while cooking over medium heat. Stir constantly until it starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. If it’s too warm it will melt the butter and make the frosting greasy. I put it in the fridge to speed the process up.
  2. While waiting, in a bowl or stand mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt until it starts to get fluffy. Mix in the vanilla extract. When the flour mixture has fully cooled to room temp, add it in to the creamed butter. Keep mixing until the frosting is whipped.
Assembly:
  1. Make sure that your cakes are completely cooled. Carefully, place the first cake layer on the surface where you will be leaving the cake (cake stand, plate, etc). Using a sharp serrated knife, slice the cake in half and move the top portion to the side for now. Coat bottom layer with half of the chocolate filling.
  2. Top with the thin-cut cake layer. Top with ¼ of the chocolate frosting. Place second layer of cake on top. Cut horizontally, moving the top portion to the side. Cover the 3rd layer of cake with the remaining chocolate filling.
  3. Place the last layer of cake on the top. Start frosting the outside of the cake using an offset spatula – this is only the first coat or crumb coat, so you don’t need to cover it entirely. Place the cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes until the frosting is a bit hardened and easier to put a second coat of frosting on.
  4. Frost final layer of chocolate frosting, using as much of the rest of the frosting as you need or want. Use your imagination for the decoration! For this cake, I rolled two sleeves of Oreo's in a plastic bag with a rolling pin and then gently placed it around the perimeter of the cake. Now go savor every last bite of your masterpiece!