Black Velvet Cake
The ultimate black velvet layer cake with black cream cheese frosting and chocolate coconut pecan filling.
Equipment
- 7.5 inch round cake pan I prefer silicon here as it limits the amount of greasing needed. This is a super delicate cake though, so you'll want to be sure to line any pan you're using. I opted for 3x 7.5" rounds, but you could make this recipe as 2x 9" cakes or other sizes - baking times may vary.
- Parchment paper
- rubber spatula
- hand held electric beater or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment
- Sieve for sifting dry ingredients
- saucepan medium sized for filling ingredients
- mixing bowls you'll want a few for this recipe
- wire cooling rack
Ingredients
Ingredients for Black Cocoa Cake Layers
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened at room temperature
- 2 cups superfine granulated sugar or caster sugar
- 2 large eggs ideally at room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cup all purpose flour or plain flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch in the UK called cornflour
- 1½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup black cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 cup buttermilk or soured milk
- ½ cup water recently boiled and cooled so as to be warm, but not hot
Ingredients for Chocolate, Coconut and Pecan Filling
- ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tablespoon all purposed flour or plain flour
- ¼ cup black cocoa powder
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened at room temperature
- 1 cup superfine granulated sugar or caster sugar
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Ingredients for Black Cocoa Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened at room temperature.
- 2 cup powdered sugar or icing sugar
- ½ cup black cocoa powder
- ½ cup spreadable cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon full fat milk or whole milk
Instructions
Instructions for Black Cocoa Cake Layers
- Start out by preheating your oven to 350ºF, grease and line your cake tins. Even if you're using silicon cake pans, I'd recommend lining the base with parchment paper. This is an extremely light and delicate cake and prone to sticking to the bottom.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together your sugar and butter until light and fluffy.1 cup unsalted butter, 2 cups superfine granulated sugar
- Next add the vanilla and eggs one at a time. Mix until just combined into a smooth batter.2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 large eggs
- In a small bowl, mix together the cocoa powder and vinegar. This will create a paste and help to activate the cocoa - making this deeper in color and richer in taste. Add this paste to the cake along with the buttermilk.1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar, 1 cup buttermilk, ¾ cup black cocoa powder
- Sift the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. This should be the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Mix this until just combined.1½ cup all purpose flour, ¼ cup cornstarch, 1½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Slowly add in the warm water, stirring until combined and smooth.½ cup water
- Pour the batter into your prepared cake tins and bake in the center of your pre-heated oven until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool until you are able to handle the pan. Gently remove the cake from the pans - any bits that fall apart can always be stuck together with some of the handy frostings!
Instructions for Chocolate, Coconut and Pecan Filling
- Start by heating the condensed milk, flour and cocoa in a small saucepan over a medium low heat. Whisk until thick and reaches a deep black shade. This is quite quick as the condensed milk will already be fairly thick. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.½ cup sweetened condensed milk, 2 tablespoon all purposed flour, ¼ cup black cocoa powder
- In a large bowl beat together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy (about 2-5 minutes).1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup superfine granulated sugar
- Add the condensed milk mixture to the butter mixture and beat to combine. Your goal is a thick consistency, a bit like a whipped cream.
- Finally add in the chopped nuts and coconut, folding to combine. The filling is now ready for adding to your cake!1 cup chopped pecans, 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Instructions for Black Cocoa Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream the softened butter and cream cheese to loosen it up until smooth.1 cup unsalted butter, ½ cup spreadable cream cheese
- Sift the dry ingredients on to the butter. This is the cocoa powder and powdered sugar. You can do this is a couple of additions to prevent the powders erupting from the mixing bowl!2 cup powdered sugar, ½ cup black cocoa powder
- Add the vanilla and a splash of milk, beating until smooth. You can add more milk if necessary for the sake of consistency, but do so sparingly as adding too much will make this runny.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 teaspoon full fat milk
Instructions for Assembly
- To assemble this cake, start off with a layer of cake. Place this in the center of your cake plate - you can secure it to the plate with a dollop of cream cheese frosting if you're worried about slippage.
- Spread a thin layer of the cocoa cream cheese frosting over the surface and the pipe a ring of frosting around the outer rim of the top of the cake layer. This will act as a border for your filling.
- Fill the ring of cream cheese frosting with about one third of the filling mixture. Spread as evenly as possible.
- Add another layer of cake on top of the filling and repeat the process of frosting and filling.
- Add the top layer of cake on and frost the top and sides in a layer of chocolate cream cheese icing. Reserve some of the icing to pipe a border around the top edge of the cake. For this one I tend to make a slightly more decorative finish than the inner borders. Spoon the rest of the filling on top.
Nutrition
Calories: 723kcalCarbohydrates: 78gProtein: 6gFat: 47gSaturated Fat: 27gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 124mgSodium: 257mgPotassium: 268mgFiber: 4gSugar: 61gVitamin A: 1244IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 84mgIron: 2mg
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