the six-and-a-half stick cake

food never ceases to amaze me, especially the food that my friends -- in their tiny, ugly kitchens just like mine -- manage to create with very little hoop-la or to-do.
it's like we've all been cooking all our lives, or had the whole day luxuriously stretched out before us to bake and whisk and taste and tweak and salt and sift. this is usually not so.
we've all got jobs (or some bill-paying scheme that requires at least a modicum of attention), and other friends, and books to read, and places to see. so, it was with familiar wonderment that I beheld a behemoth chocolate cake a guest at a new year's day dinner transported from brooklyn to the east village, via subway, beautiful in its iced glory and mounted on a glass cake stand.

the cake wasn't all looks, either. it was delicious. three chocolate tiers, with a salted caramel frosting between each layer, topped with a caramel-and-chocolate ganache and a liberal sprinkling of fleur de sel. pas mal, n'est ce pas?

despite the massive amount of leftovers at my apartment from the new year's brunch we'd hosted that morning (think bagels for life), I somehow ended up going home with a slice so large it had to lie down, and was really more like a cake slab, or a wedge. we ate it all, and I scored the recipe for jake's quickly approaching (and now passed) birthday.

in making it I was delighted to find that the cake contains up to six-and-a-half sticks of butter in all (4 alone for the ganache), which is undoubtedly responsible in large part for its immense delicousness.
mine did not turn out nearly as pretty as the original (I am, admittedly, a sloppy icer), but it was as good as I remember,
and I've got nothing against ugly.


here's the facts:

for the chocolate cake layers:
3/4 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cup hot water
2/3 cup sour cream
2 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening (I used 1 stick of butter)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

for the salted caramel:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup (I used agave)
1/4 cup sour cream

for the whipped caramel ganache frosting:
1 pound dark chocolate (60-70% cacao) chopped
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
to assemble the cake:
2 teaspoons fleur de sel, plus more for garnish

to make the cake layers:
preheat oven to 325. butter 3 8-inch round cake pans, dust with flour and knock out excess flour.
in a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, hot water, and sour cream and set aside to cool.
sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening on medium speed until ribbonlike, about 5 minutes. add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla and beat until incorporated. scrape down the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds.
add the flour mixture, alternating with the cocoa mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
divide the batter among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. invert the cakes onto the rack and let cool completely.

to make the salted caramel:
in a small saucepan, combine the cream and fleur de sel. bring to a simmer over very low heat until the salt is dissolved.
meanwhile, keeping a close eye on the cream mixture so it doesn't burn, in a medium saucepan, combine 1/4 cup water, the sugar, and corn syrup, stirring them together carefully so you don't splash the sides of the pan. cook over high heat until an instant read thermometer reads 350 degrees. remove from heat and let cool for 1 minute. (I don't have a thermometer, so I waited until the mixture has large bubbles on the surface.)
add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. whisk in the sour cream. let the caramel cool to room temperature, then transfer to an air tight container and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the cake.

make the whipped caramel ganache frosting:
put the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and set aside.
in a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over very low heat.
meanwhile, keeping a close eye on the cream mixture, in a medium saucepan combine 1/4 cup water, the sugar, and corn syrup, stirring them together carefully so you don't splash the sides of the pan. cook over high heat until an instant read thermometer reads 350 degrees. remove from heat and let the caramel cool for 1 minute. (same deal with bubbles as before.)
add the cream to the caramel and stir to combine. stir slowly for 2 minutes, then pour the caramel over the chocolate. let the caramel and chocolate sit for 1 minute, then, starting in the center of the bowl, and working your way out to the edges, slowly stir the chocolate and caramel mixture in a circle until the chocolate is completely melted. let the mixture cool, then transfer it to the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment.
mix on low speed until the bowl feels cool to the touch. increase the speed to medium high and gradually add the butter, beating until thoroughly incorporated. scrape down the bowl and beat on high speed until the mixture is fluffy.

assemble the cake:
place one cake layer on a serving platter. spread 1/4 cup of the caramel over the top. let the caramel soak into the cake, then spread 3/4 cup of the ganache frosting over the caramel. sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the fleur de sel over the frosting, then top with the second cake layer. spread with caramel frosting and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon fleur de sel. then top with the third layer. spread with caramel. crumb coat the cake and put the cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up the frosting. frost the sides and top with the remaining frosting. garnish with a sprinkle of fleur de sel.