Black and White Chocolate Cake
 
 
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours
Author:
Recipe type: cake
Serves: One 9" round cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
  • 2 cups (220 g) cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 10 tablespoons (142 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup (200 g) sugar
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup (173 g) buttermilk
For the dark chocolate cream
  • 2 cups (460 g) whole milk
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 6 tablespoons (75 g) sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 7 ounces (200 g) bittersweet chocolate, melted
  • 2½ tablespoons (36 g) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut in ½ in pieces
For the white chocolate cream:
  • 6 ounces (170 g) premium quality white chocolate (such as Valrhona Ivoire), finely chopped (Note: I find for the white chocolate cream it really helps to use a high quality white chocolate. Otherwise it is very easy for the white chocolate cream to curdle into a mess when you mix the chocolate and cream together because of the high fat content. Try a different white chocolate and keeping everything cold if you are having trouble with the white chocolate cream.)
  • 1½ cups (345 g) heavy cream
Instructions
For the cake:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9" round x 2" high cake pans, dust lightly with flour, and line bottoms with rounds of parchment paper. Place pans on a baking sheet.
  2. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
  3. Beat butter in stand mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed until very soft and creamy, about 3 minutes.
  4. Add sugar and beat until light and creamy, about 3 minutes.
  5. Add eggs one by one, beating between additions. Add egg yolk and beat to combine.
  6. Add in the vanilla and beat to combine.
  7. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add dry ingredients and buttermilk in five alternating additions, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat just to incorporate the ingredients.
  8. Divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth out tops with a rubber spatula.
  9. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, rotating halfway through. The cakes should be golden brown and spring back in the centers when touched.
  10. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Unmold from pans and finish cooling on rack.
For the dark chocolate cream:
  1. Place milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
  2. While milk is heating up, whisk egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a separate large saucepan.
  3. Pour about ¼ of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from cooking. When incorporated, add in the rest of the milk and whisk to combine.
  4. Place saucepan over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil.
  5. Let cook for another minute, whisking constantly. Remove from heat.
  6. Add in the chocolate and whisk to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes.
  7. Add in the butter and whisk to combine. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the chocolate cream and refrigerate until fully chilled.
For the white chocolate cream:
  1. Place white chocolate cream in a heatproof metal bowl and put bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water.
  2. Stir the chocolate to ensure it melts evenly. Meanwhile, bring ½ cup of the cream to a boil.
  3. Remove melted chocolate from the heat. Pour the cream into the chocolate and let sit for a minute.
  4. Carefully stir the mixture until combined. Let sit on counter until it has cooled to room temperature. If it is still warm when you add the whipped cream it will melt the cream into a mess.
  5. Beat the remaining 1 cup cream in a stand mixer with whisk attachment to soft peaks.
  6. Add the cooled white chocolate mixture to mixer and beat until whipped cream holds firm peaks.
  7. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the white chocolate cream and refrigerate until fully chilled.
To assemble the cake:
  1. Use a long serrated knife to level the cake layers. Slice each layer horizontally in half to create four layers total.
  2. Place one layer on a cake round or plate.
  3. Remove dark and white chocolate creams from refrigerator and whisk to loosen up.
  4. Using a long icing spatula, spread about 1 cup of the dark chocolate cream evenly over the cake layer.
  5. Place a second cake layer over the cream. Spread about 1 cup of white chocolate cream over this layer.
  6. Place a third cake layer over the cream. Spread the remaining dark chocolate cream over the top.
  7. Place the final cake layer over the cream. Spread the remaining white chocolate cream over the top and sides of the cake to fully cover. See tips in my post for frosting a cake smoothly.
  8. Decorate with chocolate shavings as desired.
  9. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight before serving.
Recipe by Dessert First at https://dessertfirstgirl.com/2006/10/black_and_white.html