Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake
A rich chocolate layer cake with silky salted caramel filling and ganache. Showstopping enough for celebrations, but achievable with straightforward baking technique.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Servings
- 12
- Calories
- 485
- Protein
- 5g
Ingredients
- 1.75 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1.5 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup hot water
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup salted butter
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ tsp sea salt flakes
- 8 oz dark chocolate, chopped (60%)
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
- 2
Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- 3
Cream butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, ~3 minutes.
- 4
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
- 5
Alternate adding flour mixture and hot water, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined.
- 6
Divide batter evenly between pans. Bake 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- 7
Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes, then invert onto wire racks to cool completely, ~1 hour.
- 8
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and stir constantly, ~3 minutes.
- 9
Remove from heat. Add cream slowly, stirring until smooth. Stir in sea salt. Cool to room temperature.
- 10
Heat cream until it simmers. Pour over chopped chocolate. Let sit 1 minute, then whisk until glossy.
- 11
Place first cake layer on a plate. Spread half the salted caramel on top, leaving a 0.5-inch border.
- 12
Add second cake layer. Pour ganache over top, letting it drip down the sides. Drizzle remaining caramel over ganache.
- 13
Let ganache set at room temperature 30 minutes before slicing. Serve with a pinch of fleur de sel if desired.
Tools you’ll need
- two 9-inch round cake pans
- electric mixer
- whisk
- medium mixing bowl
- saucepan
- wire cooling racks
- offset spatula
- toothpick
- wooden spoon
Cook smarter
Get matched recipes for what’s in your fridge
CookSnap is a free iOS app that finds real recipes from the ingredients you already have. No more grocery-list aspirations.
