Cardamom Blackout Chocolate Cake

In time for this month's heart-shaped festivities.

Chocolate lovers, this chocolate cake asks you to swap out frosting for a luscious espresso and cardamom chocolate pudding. Inspired by my love for chocolate, Brooklyn Blackout cakes, and cardamom, this cake seems to never dry out (even if you mess it up) and will relieve you with its “not too sweet” decadence.

Feel free to make parts of this cake ahead of time to save yourself any baking stress. Make the pudding filling or cakes 2 days ahead of whenever you want to assemble and serve the final cake. Pudding on Wednesday. Bake cakes on Thursday. And have a Happy Valentine’s Day on Friday.

Tip: You can make this a tall layer cake using two 6-inch cake pans or a single layer cake using one 9-inch cake pan. Adjust assembly instructions accordingly.

Serves 10-12

Cake

• 2 large eggs

• 1 cup (200g) packed dark or light brown sugar

• ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar

• ¾ cup (150g) canola or vegetable oil

• ¾ cup (180g) buttermilk

• ½ Tbsp vanilla

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 ½ cup (180 g) all purpose flour

• ¾ cup (60g) cocoa powder

• ½ tsp kosher salt

• ½ cup (120g) hot water

• 1 Tbsp instant espresso powder

Pudding Filling

• ½ cup brown sugar

• ¼ cup corn starch

• ¼ cup cocoa powder

• 2 Tbsp instant espresso powder

• ½ tsp kosher salt

• 5 cardamom pods

• 4 large egg yolks

• 2 cups whole or skim milk

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter

• 4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

Chocolate Ganache Topping

• 8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Method

Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line and grease two 6 inch cake pans with parchment paper rounds and butter. Set aside.

2. Whisk the eggs, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl until sugar has begun to dissolve and the mixture looks glossy and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Add the oil, buttermilk, and vanilla and stir again until combined.

3. Sift in the baking soda, baking powder, flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Gently whisk the dry ingredients into the wet.

4. In a mug or heat proof measuring glass, mix the hot water and instant espresso powder and add it to the batter. Give the batter one final stir until the consistency is homogenous.

5. Equally divide batter into the prepared cake pans. Gently drop or tap the cake pans on the counter, allowing any excess air bubbles to pop. Place cakes in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or 40-45 minutes if using one 9-inch pan, just make sure the cakes do not jiggle and spring back when poked. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes and then gently invert cakes onto a wire cooling rack.

Cakes can be made 2 days in advance when wrapped tightly with plastic wrap and stored in the fridge. For more than 2 days, double wrap cakes and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Pudding Filling

1. In a medium sized saucepan, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, instant espresso powder, and salt together until the sugar granules break up any lumps of cocoa powder and cornstarch. Add cardamom pods to the dry mix and set aside.

2. Separate egg yolks into a medium sized bowl. Add the milk and whisk until the egg yolks are completely broken down and cohesively mixed in with the milk.

3. Pour the milk mixture into the saucepan of dry ingredients and set the saucepan on medium heat. Immediately begin to whisk the mixture, making sure to scrape the bottom of the saucepan as you mix. Continue to whisk over medium heat until the pudding begins to thicken and produce bubbles in the center of the pudding, about 5-6 minutes. Once the whisk begins leaving visible traces in the pudding, remove the saucepan from the heat. The pudding should be rather gloopy, dropping in large globs from your whisk back into the pot.

4. Immediately after removing the pudding off the heat, add the butter, chopped chocolate, and vanilla extract, stirring to combine.

5. Transfer chocolate pudding into a large glass baking dish or bowl and cover with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap is pressed onto the exposed surface of the pudding. This will prevent the pudding from forming a “skin” from air exposure. Before frosting the cake, store pudding in the fridge until completely thickened and cooled, about 3 hours and up to 48 hours.

Chocolate Ganache Topping and Assembly

1. Slice each cooled cake into 2 layers, creating a total of 4 cake layers. Feel free to snack on one of the layers and only use 3 layers for the final cake. Or use all four if you’re feeling an extra tall cake!

2. Using an offset spatula, spread the ⅓ of the chocolate pudding on the first layer of cake, leaving a ¼ inch margin around the perimeter to allow the pudding to spread when the next layer is stacked. Place the second cake layer on and repeat the step using another ⅓ of the chocolate pudding to spread. Place the third cake layer on top. Use the final ⅓ of pudding to spread around any gaps or cracks around the top and sides of the cake. Place assembled cake in the fridge for an hour to cool before finishing with glaze.

3. Make the glaze: Place chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Simmer heavy cream in a small saucepan on medium heat until bubbles form and pop near the edges of the saucepan and steam rises from the cream. Pour cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 3 minutes. Whisk the glaze until chocolate is fully incorporated into the cream and no streaks remain. Continue whisking until the glaze has thickened and is shiny. It is ready when you raise the whisk and thick ribbons of glaze fall back into the bowl and slowly disappear. If they do not disappear at all, the glaze has thickened and cooled too much. If the ribbon is runny, it needs more whisking and cooling.

4. Remove the assembled cake from the fridge and set on a plate or wire rack on a surface you don’t mind getting messy. Slowly pour the glaze in a circular motion onto the top of the cake, ensuring an even pour down the sides of the cake. Pause and assess the momentum of the glaze and continue to pour in any uneven areas, or on the top center of the cake (this will push the glaze down further on the sides of the cake). Decorate cake with dainty raspberries, strawberries, or cherries and store in the fridge to further set the glaze.