Naked Devil's Food Cake with Dripping Chocolate Ganache
This Naked Devil's Food Cake is perfectly spooky for Halloween. Rich and decadent super moist chocolate cake is layered with creamy vanilla buttercream and raspberry preserves. The cake is topped with thick chocolate ganache that drips down the sides. It's truly a cake to die for.
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Servings: 12
Ingredients
Devil's Food Cake
- 2⅔ cup all purpose flour (do not use cake flour, see notes)
- 1¼ cup cocoa powder
- 2⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¾ cup vegetable or melted coconut oil
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups buttermilk
- 1½ cups very hot coffee, brewed strong
Raspberry Preserves
- 4 cups fresh raspberries
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- splash of water
Vanilla Buttercream
- 2¼ cups unsalted butter at room temperature
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1½ tablespoons heavy cream
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Chocolate Ganache
- 8 ounces (2 bars) semi sweet chocolate bars, roughly chopped (I used Bakers brand)
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Make The Cake
- Combine the dry ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 3 cake pans with parchment paper. In a large bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Mix the wet ingredients. To the bowl of a stand up mixer add the oil, eggs and vanilla and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the buttermilk and mix until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet. Add the flour mixture into the mixing bowl and add the hot coffee. The hot coffee will help break down the cocoa and deepen the chocolate flavor. You can use decaf! Mix until just combined, the mix will be thin.
- Bake the cake. Pour the cake batter evenly into the 3 pans. Bake for 23-25 minutes. The cake may sink a little in the middle but this is normal for a cake made with cocoa. Don't worry if this happens it will even out when layered!
Make the Raspberry Preserves
- Add the raspberries, sugar, water and lemon juice to a medium saucepan. Heat on high until rapidly boiling. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the sauce has thickened, around 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
Make the Vanilla Buttercream
- Beat the butter and sugar. To the bowl of a stand up mixer add the butter and sugar and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, around 2-3 minutes.
- Add the heavy cream and vanilla. and beat until creamy, an additional 2 minutes.
Make the Chocolate Ganache
- Melt the chocolate and heavy cream. Add the chopped chocolate and heavy cream to a microwave safe bowl. Heat in 20 second increments until the cream and chocolate are melted together.
Assemble the Cake
- Frost the cake. Place a layer of the cake down onto a cake spinner or stand. Add a layer of buttercream and smooth it out. Place a thin layer of raspberry preserves on top of the buttercream and smooth across. Place another cake layer on top and repeat. Add just buttercream to the top of the cake. Using a spatula, spread frosting around the side of the cake. Take a bench scraper and start to smooth out and remove most of the frosting so the cake gets a naked effect.
- Drip the ganache. Using a teaspoon, dip the spoon in the ganache. Touch the spoon to the edge of the cake and form drips. More ganache/ thinner ganache will result in longer drips, see notes above. Drip around the entire cake. Using a spatula, take the ganache and spread it evenly over the top of the cake, connecting it to the drips. Place in the fridge to chill and harden the ganache.
- Cut the cake, serve and enjoy! I placed red black baccara roses on mine for an added spooky effect.