I made this cake for my daughter’s birthday – it’s actually a small 6″ size cake! I love to freeze cake layers for several days, or for a few weeks (tightly wrapped). The moisture content improves with this technique. I then thaw the layers while still wrapped in plastic.
For this cake I used 2 – 6″ chocolate layers, and 1 – 6″ vanilla layer. I wanted the filling to taste like “chocolate chip cheesecake”.
Here is the recipe:
1 stick salted butter, room temp
1/4 c light brown sugar
1 – 8oz pkg cream cheese, room temp
1/4 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c mini chocolate chips
Combine the butter, cream cheese, both sugars, and vanilla. Mix well in a stand mixer. Stir in the chocolate chips. Set aside.
Prepare buttercream frosting:
2 sticks salted butter
4 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Blend butter with a paddle attachment in a stand mixer. Add sugar, 1 c at a time, til well blended. Add vanilla, and whip til smooth and fluffy. You can soften it up a bit with 1-2 Tbsp of heavy cream or milk, if it seems too stiff.
Use a cardboard cake circle to begin constructing the cake. I started with 1 chocolate layer. I always pipe a ring of buttercream to help keep the filling inside the cake. Then spoon about 1/2 c of the cheesecake filling onto the top of the cake. Smooth til flat.
Next, top with a vanilla layer. Repeat the same filling process, then top with final chocolate layer. Make sure your cake layers are straight, and even. Press down gently to secure. Chill for 30 min.
Frost the cake with buttercream. I used a “scrape technique”, so that the cake layers would show. You can frost it completely if you prefer.
Add chocolate chips to the bottom of the cake, while the frosting is still moist. Frost the top, and chill for another 15 min.
Prepared chocolate ganache:
3 oz semisweet chocolate and 3 oz heavy cream. Microwave for about 1 min – til milk is “steamy”. Stir til chocolate is melted and smooth. Using a plastic bottle, drizzle chocolate gently around the cake, to create a slow drip design. Then fill in the top, and smooth with an offset spatula. Chill til set – about 20 min.
Finally, I topped my cake with some mascarpone whipped cream, piped on with a 1M open star tip. A few chocolate jimmies, and it’s done!
Mascarpone whipped cream:
1 1/2 c heavy whipping cream
3/4 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
8 oz mascarpone cheese
Whip heavy cream and sugar til stiff. Add vanilla, and whip. Add mascarpone cheese by the spoonful. Blend til stiff and well blended.
Don’t overmix.
