Chocolate Truffle Cake

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The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Book of Desserts is a treasure trove of doable cakes (try The Cake Bible for a challenge). I made the Chocolate Truffle Cake for my friend's wedding as her centerpiece cake - the one they cut. I personally think traditional wedding cakes are pretty but taste awful. However, the cakes that I think taste best are real pickles when it comes to decorating and making sure they can withstand heat, transportation, and the storage between baking the cake and serving it. I just feel that the moist crumb of a spongecake or smooth mouth feel of a rich buttercream are worth the trouble. I wanted this delicious cake to look good too.

Ingredients

16 ounces of unsweetened chocolate squares (in one ounce squares)
1 cup and 6 tbsp butter, softened
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 2/3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
10 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate (one ounce squares)

Notes on ingredients

Please do yourself and your guests a favor and use good quality chocolate, fresh eggs, and real butter. When working with the truffle mixture, be prepared to work quickly because this mixture tends to separate a little. I think the next time I attempt this cake, I'm going to look up a different truffle recipe.

Instructions

	Preheat the oven to 325 F. Brush three 9-inch round cake pans with melted butter, place a sheet of parchment paper in each pan and rebrush with melted butter.
	In a heavy saucepan heat 12 ounces of unsweetened chocolate over low heat with 1 cup of butter and 2 1/2 cups of water. Stir frequently until the mixture is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and let mixture cool slightly.
	Whisk together the eggs and vanilla in a separate mixing bowl. Beat in the chocolate mixture slowly.
	Next add the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt and continue to mix until batter is smooth.
	Pour batter into the three pans evenly and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes (test on the early side as this cake tends to dry out quickly). Position the pans in the center of the oven, do not let the pans touch each other or the sides of the oven. If you must (which I did) bake the first two and then bake the third. Unless you have a convection oven, don't put the third pan on a lower or higher rack.
	Cool cakes in their pans on wire racks for 10 minutes and then remove from pans and let cool completely. Level the tops if necessary with a 10- or 12-inch serrated knife. Set the first cake bottom down on a cake circle. Place strips of wax paper underneath the edges of the cake to protect the circle from glazing.
	Make the truffle mixture by heating 4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate over low heat in a saucepan until melted. Remove and let cool slightly. Stir in 6 tbsp butter and 1/4 cup cream, then stir in the confectioners' sugar until blended. Spread 1/3 of the truffle mixture on the first cake layer. Top with the second cake (bottom down). Spread another 1/3 of the truffle mixture on top. Top with the third layer, top down. Wedge additional truffle into gaps between layers and smear remaining mixture around side of cake with a spatula to make a "crumb coat".
	In a saucepan, on low heat, melt 8 ounces of semisweet chocolate with 1/2 cup cream. Stir until melted and smooth. Allow the glaze to cool, but do not let it thicken too much. Pour it over the assembled cake and then spread the glaze evenly over the entire cake with a spatula. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes.
	Use a knife tip to trim the base of the cake on the wax paper. Then gently and carefully pull the wax paper away from the cake base. Use the knife tip to press sections of glaze back to the cake if it should release from the sides.

Decorating

I am a big fan of edible or fresh garnishes. To make chocolate leaves, you must start with nice, waxy, non-toxic leaves like citrus leaves or camellia leaves. Do your homework and make sure the leaves you use aren't poisonous. Wash the leaves and pat them dry. I chopped up two ounces each of white and dark chocolate and placed them in separate little bowls. I microwaved the chocolate on high for a minute, stirring every 20 seconds until the chocolate was melted and warm.

With a paintbrush, paint the back of a leaf with chocolate in a coat thick enough that the chocolate won't break when you peel the leaf off. Set on a plate and freeze for about 5 minutes.

Remove the leaves from the freezer and QUICKLY peel the leaf off of the chocolate taking care not to touch the chocolate with your hands (unless you want to have them melted all over your fingers).

Arrange the leaves on the cake. To afix them, you can dab a tiny amount of melted chocolate at the bottom tip and "glue" the leaf to the cake top.

Arrange berries, then add orchids. I had some purple dendrobiums, but I thought the purple would overpower the raspberries, so I clipped the unopened green buds and opened a few of the larger buds and tucked them among the leaves. I added some gold ribbon at the base of the cake because I was too tired to make a bunch of tiny chocolate leaves and I was out of green orchid buds.

Decorating
	I am a big fan of edible or fresh garnishes. To make chocolate leaves, you must start with nice, waxy, non-toxic leaves like citrus leaves or camellia leaves. Do your homework and make sure the leaves you use aren't poisonous. Wash the leaves and pat them dry. I chopped up two ounces each of white and dark chocolate and placed them in separate little bowls. I microwaved the chocolate on high for a minute, stirring every 20 seconds until the chocolate was melted and warm.
	With a paintbrush, paint the back of a leaf with chocolate in a coat thick enough that the chocolate won't break when you peel the leaf off. Set on a plate and freeze for about 5 minutes.
	Remove the leaves from the freezer and QUICKLY peel the leaf off of the chocolate taking care not to touch the chocolate with your hands (unless you want to have them melted all over your fingers).
	Arrange the leaves on the cake. To afix them, you can dab a tiny amount of melted chocolate at the bottom tip and "glue" the leaf to the cake top.
	Arrange berries, then add orchids. I had some purple dendrobiums, but I thought the purple would overpower the raspberries, so I clipped the unopened green buds and opened a few of the larger buds and tucked them among the leaves. I added some gold ribbon at the base of the cake because I was too tired to make a bunch of tiny chocolate leaves and I was out of green orchid buds.