Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F (163 degrees C). Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans by coating them with vegetable shortening or butter, lining the bottoms with parchment paper, and coating the paper. Flour the inside of the pans, shake out the excess, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir to mix.
- Add eggs, egg yolk, vegetable oil, yogurt, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Beat on low speed with an electric mixer until blended, then increase to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Reduce mixer speed to low. While mixing, pour in the hot coffee until blended. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides, and stir to ensure the batter is well combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until the cake tops are set and pulling away from the sides. Insert a toothpick into the center; it should come out with moist crumbs, not raw batter. Remove cakes from the oven and place on wire cooling racks.
- Let the cakes cool in their pans for 5 minutes. Invert the cakes onto wire cooling racks to cool completely before frosting.
- To assemble, place one cake layer right side up on a cake board. Spread a generous amount of milk chocolate buttercream over the top. Place the second cake layer upside down on top of the buttercream. Cover the entire cake with a thick layer of buttercream, smoothing the top.
- Press ground nuts around the bottom edge of the cake.
- Refrigerate the cake for 1 hour to firm up the buttercream. Prepare the ganache and truffles while the cake chills.
- Ensure the ganache has a pourable, pancake batter consistency. Adjust thickness by chilling briefly if too runny or microwaving for short intervals if too thick.
- Pour the ganache over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.
- Decorate the top of the cake with chocolate truffles.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve. The cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 hours, or refrigerated for up to 5 days. It is best enjoyed within 48 hours.
Notes
For the ground nuts, process about 3/4 cup of nuts in a food processor until ground. Be careful not to over-process into nut butter. Roasted and salted nuts are recommended, but raw nuts will also work.
Homemade chocolate truffles are made by chilling chocolate ganache, rolling it into balls, and coating them. Alternatively, use store-bought truffles.
Cake layers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours or frozen for up to 3 months. Chocolate buttercream and ganache can also be stored and reheated as needed.