Chocolate Noir Layer Cake

Rich Noir Chocolate Layers topped with 

Swiss Meringue Peanut Butter Buttercream 

       Peanut butter and chocolate will ALWAYS be one of my favorite flavor combinations in a cake. The chocolate noir layers are rich and moist, fluffy and not too dense..and the super smooth peanut butter Swiss meringue buttercream compliments them perfectly. 

        The first thing you'll need for this recipe that is ESSENTIAL is black cocoa powder. I recommend using a Dutch pressed cocoa powder. It's a European style of processing that neutralizes the ph in cocoa and in doing so, its color changes from brown to black. With balanced acidity, the resulting flavor is smooth, earthy and mellow. I've used The Cocoa Trader in the past and have loved it. Dutch pressed powder is a little more expensive than regular cocoa powder but the flavor is so unique and lovely that it's worth it. I paid around $13.00 for this on Amazon. **Note, I haven't seen this in local grocery stores, so be sure to order this ahead of time or pick up at a speciality shoppe. 

  

        The second speciality ingredient in this recipe is powdered peanut butter. This is used in the Swiss meringue buttercream. Regular peanut butter won't work because all the fat and oil from it would weigh down the buttercream. This however, I did find at my local grocery store and of course, can be ordered online too. 

        Lastly, you'll need cream of tartar in the merengue buttercream. Cream of tartar is super helpful in stabilizing egg whites in merengue and other baked goods. It can even help thicken up whipped cream with its natural thickening properties. If you don't have any, you can find it at your local grocery store; it's pretty common. It's also just a "good idea" to have if you're a baker.

        This is how I pretty much start all of my cakes. I use Wilton's piping tip #789 because it's super big and flat. You can see it covers a lot of area. Be generous in this step. **I piped butter cream in between my cake layers as well. 

Next, I smoothed it out. I didn't do this step 'perfect' because I used a comb to give the cake a textured side in the next step. 

I used a Wilton cake comb for this but any cake comb of your preference will work.

Because I did a ganache drip, I decided to pipe my border beforehand. ****Make sure you transfer your cake off the turn table and onto a cake platter or stand BEFORE you pipe the border. 

The cola bottles are obviously optional! I customized this cake for my husband! Lol. He LOVES Root Beer and these little Cola candies so I couldn't resist adding them to the decoration. 


Next, I added the ganache drip and the Reese crumbles on the top. This is abut 3 or 4 Reese cups chopped finely and sprinkled on top.



Then, I piped on a swirly design in between Reese cups that I halved. 


And finally, I added a little chocolate piggy that I made using chocolate melts and topped the cake with sparklers, candles, and a Happy Birthday cake topper I found on Amazon. 


Chocolate Noir Layer Cake Recipe

Yields : 3-8" Cake Rounds

 Ingredients:

  • 2 1/4 cups flour (285 g)
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar (450 g)
  • 1 cup black unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Cocoa Trader's Black Noir) (120 g)
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 Tbs baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt 
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil (180 ml)
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (room temperature) (360 ml)
  • 1 cup coffee (240 ml)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs (room temperature)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom of three 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper cut into rounds. 

  2. In a large mixing bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, black cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt). 
  3. In a separate bowl, combine all of your wet ingredients (buttermilk, coffee, vegetable oil, and vanilla) then whisk in the eggs. 
  4.  Next, add your liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk until it's smooth. This should only take a minute or so. 
  5.  Divide the batter equally among the 3 cake pans. 
  6. Bake the cakes for about 23 minutes. The cake centers will be fully set and a tooth pick inserted into the middle will come out clean. **Do not over bake. Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack in their pans.
  7. Remove from pans gently and peel off the parchment paper. Let the cakes finish cooling on the racks. When ready to assemble the cakes, refrigerate for 30 mins or longer to ensure the cakes are set and ready to be frosted. 





Peanut Butter Swiss Meringue 
Buttercream Recipe

Ingredients:
  • 1 lb (4 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature)
  • 6 egg whites
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup powdered peanut butter
Directions:
  1. Create a double broiler with a heat proof bowl (I use a medium sized metal mixing bowl) over a medium pot of simmering water. The water needs to be about a 1/3 full. Add egg whites and sugar to the bowl and whisk continuously to ensure that the egg whites don't cook. Whisk until the mixture is warm and all the sugar is dissolved, and the mixture thickens slightly. **Be careful not to cook the eggs! That's why you cannot stop whisking. If the eggs start to cook, you will have to start over with new egg whites.
  2. Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, transfer the egg white mixture to the bowl of your stand mixer. Whisk on low speed until the eggs become foamy, then add the cream of tartar and salt and turn the mixer to high speed. Mix on high until your mixture cools and you have solid peaks. This is the process of turning it into a merengue. It'll take around 10 minutes.
  3. Once you have solid peaks in your merengue, turn the mixer to low and add the room temperature butter one Tbs at a time. Once all the butter is completely incorporated, add the vanilla and continue to whisk until incorporated. 
  4. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Switch out the whisk attachment on your mixer and replace it with the beater blade attachment. Mix on the lowest speed for another 5 minutes. 
  5. Add the powdered peanut butter and mix until creamy and fully combined. 



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