Ingredients
-
-
3/4 cup butter, softened
-
3 cups sugar
-
3 eggs
-
1 tablespoon vanilla
-
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate squares, melted
-
3 cups flour
-
3 teaspoons baking soda
-
1/2 teaspoon salt
-
3/4 cup buttermilk
-
1 1/3 cups boiling water
-
-
1 (12 ounce) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
-
1/2 cup butter
-
1/2 cup half-and-half
-
1 tablespoon almond extract
-
-
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
-
2/3 cup lt corn syrup
-
4 tablespoons butter
-
1/2 cup half-and-half cream
-
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
-
-
2 cups heavy cream
Instructions
- CAKE:
- Preheat oven to 350*. Grease 3 round cake pans(I also line the bottom with waxed paper). Set aside.Put water on to boil.
- Mix together flour, soda and salt. set aside.
- Beat together butter and sugar until light.
- Add eggs and vanilla.
- Add chocolate and beat 1-2 minutes.
- Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, alternating with buttermilk.Beat until smooth.
- Slowly add boiling water, beating until completely smooth-batter will be thin.
- Pour into pans. Bake 35-40 mins, until tester comes out clean.
- While baking, make ganache, caramel and whipped cream.
- Cool cakes in pans for 10 mins, then unmold onto racks to finish cooling.
- CARAMEL-cook sugar, corn syrup and butter over low heat until 242*. Remove from heat and add cream and vanilla.Cool. Will thicken as it cools.
- GANACHE-Melt butter, chocolate chips and cream over low heat.Whisk in almond extract. Cool.
- WHIPPED CREAM- Whisk cream until it just begins to thicken, then add pudding powder. whisk until ready.Refrigerate.
- PECANS- put butter on a cookie sheet& melt in oven (can toast pecans while baking cake)- when butter is melted, toss pecans in pan until coated. bake @ 350 until toasty smelling (~10 mins- watch carefully, they burn easily!)Salt to taste.
- When everything is cool, assemle the cake:
- Place first layer on cake plate. Plop 1/3 of the whipped cream onto cake. Drizzle caramel and chocolate over cream. Repeat for next 2 layers, but be a little "artistic" with the top layer-oozing the caramel and chocolate over the sides of the cake. Sprinkle liberally with pecans!