Meet The Chocolate Trifecta….where chocolate frosting, chocolate mousse and chocolate glaze come together in this unique and decadent cake! Of course, it wouldn’t be perfect without the addition of a cheesecake layer. Hey, we all know cheesecake makes everything better! The inspiration for this cake came from my friend (an awesome foodie with great taste buds!) who ate a yummy bakery cake and thought I could replicate it. Well, by the time we were done texting back and forth, deciphering the picture, brainstorming and thinking… this cake turned out to be a completely different animal! (what can I say? I like to tweak things! LOL) The good news? She said it was even better than the bakery one! Score! Hope you love this extra tall Chocolate Trifecta Cake-just imagine the happy crowd you’ll have if you whip this out at your next party! Go for it!
You’ll Need:
8 inch cake pan
8 inch parchment rounds (so easy!)
HUGE spatula
Cheesecake Layer
Ingredients
- 8 Tablespons softened butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1.5 ounces cook and serve vanilla pudding (use half a package)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Grease one 8 inch pan with shortening, line the pan with parchment and then grease the parchment. Lightly butter the pan sides and Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment.
- Add cream cheese a little at a time until smooth.
- Add eggs one at a time.
- Add remaining ingredients.
- Mix again until smooth.
- Pour in pan..
- Bake approx 60 mins till golden on top and cooked through.
- Do not turn out cheesecake when it is finished baking.
- Pop in freezer and leave until frozen solid.
- Turn out frozen cheesecake layer and peel parchment from the bottom.
3 Chocolate Cakes
Ingredients
Cake
- ¾ cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- 1 cup boiling water
- ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons soft butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup sour cream
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Spray 3 8-inch round baking pans with pam, line bottoms with parchment paper, grease again and set aside.
- In small bowl combine cocoa and boiling water with a whisk until smooth. Cool.
- In medium bowl stir together flour, baking soda and salt.
- In a mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time and vanilla.
- Slowly add the cocoa mix.
- Add ⅓ of the flour mix, then the milk. Then ⅓ of flour and the sour cream. Then, add the past of the flour.
- Mix well and divide into the pans.
- Bake 28-30 mins until the toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool and pop out of pans. Remove parchment.
- Freeze until firm.
Cake layers adapted from my friend Vera at OMG Chocolate Desserts!
Chocolate Frosting for bottom 2 layers
Ingredients
Chocolate Frosting
- 1 cup salted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 8 cups powdered sugar
- ⅔ cup very warm water
Instructions
Chocolate frosting
- Beat all together on low to combine. Beat on high 2 mins until fluffy!
Peanut butter frosting
- Beat all on high until fluffy, about 2 mins.
- This will frost the bottom 2 layers-I did not use it all-eyeball a generous amount on each layer and use the rest on cupcakes or brownies. Can keep in the fridge for a few days!
Frosting Adapted from Cookies and Cups
Chocolate Mousse for 1 layer and Outside of Cake
Ingredients
- ½ c. hot water
- 4 T. cocoa powder
- 1½ c. chocolate chips
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 T. granulated sugar
Instructions
- Dissolve cocoa in hot water and stir smooth. Set aside.
- Melt chips gently in the microwave until smooth.
- Gently which the cocoa mixture into the chips until well combined.
- Cool completely!!!!
- In a mixer, whip the cream to soft peaks.
- Fold in the cooled chocolate and chill until ready to use.
Chocolate Glaze for outside of the cake
Ingredients
- ¼ c. milk plus 2 T.
- 3 T. cocoa powder
- ½ cup butter
- 3¾ cup confectioner's sugar
Instructions
- In a saucepan, combine milk, cocoa and butter.
- Boil and then remove heat.
- Whisk in powdered sugar until smooth.
- Pour through a fine strainer and into a bowl to remove any sugar clumps.
- Cool at least 10 minutes. I popped in fridge for a few mins and stirred until cooled and thicker.
Mousse/Glaze adapted from Tastes Better From Scratch
Chocolate Trifecta Assembly Directions
Ingredients
- Prepare the cheesecake, 3 chocolate layers, mousse, frosting and glaze -all listed above.
Instructions
- Lay the first chocolate cake layer on your dessert plate.
- Topo with a generous amount of frosting.
- Add second chocolate cake and an equal amount of frosting. (Reserve extra for cupcakes)
- Add third chocolate cake and top it with some of the mousse.
- Lay the cheesecake layer on top next.
- Frost entire cake with the mousse and pop in the fridge until completely set and cold! At least 2 hours to be safe!
- Prepare the glaze and slowly drizzle it on the cake and let it drip down the sides.
- Top with shaved white chocolate if desired! (I used a Ghirardelli bar and a carrot peeler!)
Susan says
Oh my, this is pure goodness. I baked it this weekend. Lots of work, but wow – chocolate deliciousness
Hugs & Cookies xoxo says
yay!!!!
Sheila says
This cake looks like it was prepared by a professional. The chocolate drippings certainly brought it to a whole new level. I have never imagined I would be capable of making a dessert this good. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hugs & Cookies xoxo says
Wow, thank u!!