Blackout Cake

Blackout Cake

  • Prep Time: 5 hrs
  • Total Time: 5 hrs 40 mins
  • Servings: 12-16

    • About This Recipe

    “Barbra Streisand’s favorite chocolate cake. Growing up in Brooklyn, a local bakery used to make this. Not sure if it’s the same one, but I have never come across another recipe for Blackout cake, so if this isn’t it, it must be awfully close! A great, sinfully rich cake! Prep time includes chilling time”

    Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cupssoftened butter
  • 3cupssugar
  • 3eggs
  • 2teaspoonsvanilla extract
  • 4ouncesunsweetened chocolate, melted
  • 3cupsflour
  • 3teaspoonsbaking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoonsalt
  • 3/4 cupbuttermilk
  • 1 1/3 cupsboiling water
  • 3/4-1cuproasted slivered almonds

    • Ganache

  • 18ouncessemi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 cupsheavy cream
  • 2tablespoonsbutter, cut up
  • 1teaspoonvanilla extract

    • Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Grease and flour 2 9-inch cake pans.
  • Tap out excess flour.
  • In a large bowl beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
  • Add eggs and vanilla extract; beat till well blended.
  • Add melted chocolate and beat 1-2 minutes.
  • Mix together flour and baking soda and salt.
  • Add to chocolate mixture in 2 additions alternately with the buttermilk.
  • Beat till well blended.
  • On low speed, add boiling water and beat till smooth.
  • (Batter will be thin.) Pour into prepared pans.
  • Bake for 35-40 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean.
  • Let cool in pans for 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Turn out onto wire racks and cool completely.
  • For Ganache:Melt chocolate chips and cream together and stir until smooth.
  • Stir in butter and vanilla.
  • Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until ganache holds its shape and is thick enough to spread on cake layers.
  • Cover one layer with a little more than 1/3 of the ganache.
  • Top with second layer; frost top and sides with remaining ganache.
  • Press almond slivers into sides of cake.
  • Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours for ganache to firm back up for easier slicing.

    • Reviews

  • “Yooper!What a great cake – thanks!I made it for a co-workers b-day today and it was such a hit!One gal thought it was from our local bakery for sure…she just couldn’t believe that I’d made it.It’s very, very chocolatey – the cake is dense and moist, and the genache is heavenly.My cakes overflowed the cake pans when they baked, so I just cut off the ‘lips’ before frosting.And my middle fell a bit – maybe I should have cooked a bit longer than 40 min, even though my themometer was right at 350.Just delicious and a keeper!!:)”

  • “This cake is not only delicious, it makes an impressive presentation.This is an easy recipe to make, just allow yourself enough time.I made the ganache first, which gave it plenty of time to cool while I made the layers. The cake itself is dense and moist, and my layers didn’t fall at all after taking them from the oven.I made the ganache not using chocolate chips, but semi-sweet dark chocolate fondant- living in Belgium, I have easy access to the best chocolate!The ganache was so beautiful, it was almost a shame to add thealmond slivers and hide the lovely sheen.Next time I think I’ll try hazelnuts, though the almonds were tasty.This recipe is definitely a keeper, perfect for those special occasions when you want something both luscious and ultra-professional looking.”

  • “This was an amazing,jaw dropping treat. By far the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had and a huge hit for Father’s Day! It isn’t traditionally sweet, definitely more european in flavor as it is super dark and rich. Wow. One thing I have to point out is it makes enough batter for three 9in round layers. I made the ganache (using dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet chips) but then after chilling it for 4 hours I whipped it in my kitchen-aide and added some more whipping cream and two TBS of powdered sugar to firm it up and stretch it to cover the extra layer of cake. Topped it off with fresh raspberries and the toasted almonds…you won’t find a better tasting dark chocolate cake!”

  • “I follwoed the directions exactly and don’t know what I did wrong.There was way too much batter for my cake pans and the cake layers cooked over.I even made 2 custard cup ‘cakes’.My cake fell in the middle when I took it out of the pans.Nevertheless, the flavor is delicious.Next time I will use a 9×13 pan and not do layers.Even so, I will definitely try it again.”

  • “This is a very rich, chocolate-y cake.I made it yesterday as a birthday cake for my son, and my chocoholic family inhaled it.However, it is not the original Brooklyn blackout cake that I grew up on.The cake I remember from my childhood was from Ebinger’s, which closed in the 70’s.It was a dense, 3-layer cake with a chocolate pudding filling.It was frosted with chocolate icing, and covered with cake crumbs.I have a recipe that’s supposed to be the original which I will post today.That said, this was really delicious.”

  • “Yooper this was fantastic!Thank you so much for posting this recipe!The only made 2 changes. I added a little confectioner’s sugar to the frosting and I used Chocolate chips to garnish the frosting instead of almonds. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!”

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