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Chocolate Cream Cake
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4.60 from 22 votes

Chocolate Cream Cake

Moist chocolate cake layers are filled with a luscious homemade chocolate pastry cream, and frosted with chocolate cream cheese frosting in this amazing dessert!
Author: Melissa and Bebe

Ingredients

  • 2 cups 400g granulated sugar
  • 2 ¾ cups 322g All Purpose Flour
  • 1 cup 82g unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
  • 2 teaspoons 10g Baking Soda
  • ½ teaspoon 2g Baking Powder
  • ½ teaspoon 2g Salt
  • 1 stick + 5 Tablespoons 185g Unsalted Butter (I sliced the butter into 1 inch pieces onto waxed paper leaving on the countertop for 8 to 10 minutes. It will still be quite cool when adding to the dry ingredients. You should be able to make a fingerprint when you press the butter. If it becomes too soft, just refrigerate for a few minutes.)
  • 1 cup 242g Sour Cream
  • 1 c. 220g Milk
  • 4 eggs room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon 4g vanilla
  • 1 cup 220g Hot Coffee

Chocolate Cream Filling

  • ½ cup 100g sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons 27g cornstarch (cornflour in UK)
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 2 cups 484g whole milk (you could also use half and half)
  • 4 ounces 113g semi-sweet or dark chocolate baking bar, chopped into smaller pieces for easier melting
  • 2 teaspoons 14g butter
  • 2 teaspoons 8g vanilla extract

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 2 sticks 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 teaspoons 8g vanilla extract
  • 6 to 6 ½ cups 690g to 747g powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup 20g cocoa lightly spoon into cup and level
  • 2 8oz packages cream cheese (total weight 452g) I use full fat cream cheese.

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour three 8 or 9 inch pans. This recipe uses the Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing.
  • Add dry ingredients to the bowl of your mixer and mix for one minute to blend (sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt)
  • Add butter a few slices at a time and mix until it reaches a crumbly, sandy texture. Be careful not to over-mix beyond "sandy" consistency.
  • In another bowl, combine sour cream, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Using a fork, mix together. This is all of your wet ingredients except for the coffee, it will be added to the batter later.
  • Set a timer for 1 ½ minutes and SLOWLY add half of your egg mixture to your butter/flour mixture while mixing. Start mixer on low speed then increase to medium for the remainder of the 1 ½ minutes. Do Not Mix Above Medium Speed.
  • Stop mixer, scrape the sides and bottom of bowl, and add half of the remaining egg mixture. Mix on medium speed for 20 seconds.
  • Stop mixer, scrape down the sides if necessary, and add the last of the egg mixture. Mix for 20 more seconds on medium speed.
  • Slowly add HOT coffee and mixing for 30 seconds to blend. Batter will be runny but that is okay!
  • This recipe makes about 9 ½ cups of batter. Pour into 3 prepared 8 or 9" pans and bake at 325 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until the center of the cake springs back to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean. (If using 8 inch pans, you can make a few cupcakes too if you'd like!)
  • Chocolate Cream Filling
  • In a medium size bowl mix the sugar, cornstarch and egg yolks until combined.
  • In a saucepan over medium heat, bring milk to a simmer ( do not boil).  
  • Pour approximately 1 cup of the heated milk into mixture of sugar, cornstarch and yolks. Quickly whisk or stir  to prevent the egg yolks from cooking.
  • When this is throughly combined, pour back into the saucepan and stir.   Have the saucepan on low to medium low heat.
  • Add the chocolate pieces and stir constantly until the chocolate melts and the mixture begins to thicken.  This may take 5 to 10 minutes.  Stir constantly so it will not stick to the bottom of the pan.
  • When the mixture thickens remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.  Remember it will thicken further as it cools.
  • Pour into a dish to cool.  Allow to cool a bit then cover with plastic wrap, pressing it onto the top of the pastry cream to avoid a skin forming.  Chill for 2 to 3 hours before using.  This can be refrigerated for 3 days, possibly longer. Makes 2 cups
  • Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
  • Cut the butter into slices and add to the bowl of your mixer. Beat on low to medium speed until the butter is softened and smooth.
  • Add cocoa and mix until blended.
  • Cut the cream cheese into pieces and add to the butter, beating at low to medium speed until incorporated.
  • Add the vanilla. Gradually add the powdered sugar beating on low speed until blended.
  • Increase mixing speed to medium and beat until fluffy, don't over beat. If beaten too long it will become very soft. If this happens, just refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes.
  • This frosting will pipe best if used while still very cool. You can make it in advance, refrigerate and when ready to use let it soften slightly (do not microwave) and remix.
  • Will frost a 3 layer 8 or 9 inch cake.
  • Assembling the Cake
  • Place the first chocolate cake layer on the cake plate or pedestal. We like to pipe a dam of frosting around the edge using a piping bag with the tip snipped away.
  • Spread on the chocolate pastry cream filling within the dam and top with the second cake layer. (The purpose of the dam is to keep the filling from escaping). Repeat the steps. Top with the third cake layer and frost the cake!
  • We like to frost a thin (crumb coat) of frosting over the cake before chilling for about 15 minutes in the freezer to firm everything up. Then, apply the second coat of frosting and decorate. We used a cake comb for our cake, and piped the border with a large 1M star tip.
  • This cake needs to be refrigerated because of the filling and frosting. Remove from the refrigerator 2-3 hours before serving for best taste and texture.