Gluten free Nutella Chocolate Decadence Mocha Cake, Christmas DIY Continues

Bon matin everyone!
You want a decadent and delicious showstopper of a dessert? Well, this one is it!

Isn't it beautiful? I was worried it wouldn't turn out because I had not done a drizzled ganache in years! Turns out, it's like riding a bike; you never forget.

Let me introduce you...

This is my Gluten-free, Nutella Chocolate Decadence Mocha Cake, and it is a delectable, rich, heavenly, girdle busting, celebratory, ooh's & aah's, sexy cake!

This is a new holiday treat that is going to become a classic in your holiday roster of desserts. It's labor intensive but worth all the effort.

It has 6 steps, from making the cake mix, to the cake, frosting's, fillings, and decorative touches.

Do not be stressed, take your time, read through the recipe two to three times, and you can even make it over 3 days should it be easier for you. I make it over 2-3 days, depending on the amount of work I have to do for a party and leave the final decorations for the morning of. If you need to, you can make the cake and freeze it in advance, however, you must make sure to wrap it well once chilled, so it doesn't get an off taste or pick up any flavours from your freezer. Do not keep it near fish, garlic, or strong flavours when chilling or freezing; as chocolate picks up and absorbs other flavours very easily. This cake costs too much, is too much effort, and so wonderfully delicious, that you don't want to end up having to throw it away. If serving from frozen, leave the cake out of the freezer on the counter for at least 3-4 hours, to ensure it's thawed.

I hope you are brave and enjoy getting messy when making this spectacular marvel of scrumptious yumminess!

It begins with Sarah's GF flour blend for cake and then my recipe for a rich tasting, moist, chocolatey cake, which follows, along with the scrumptious filling & frosting, down below.

Sarah's gluten free flour blend:

AUTHOR: Sarah Bakes Gluten Free

http://www.sarahbakesgfree.com/2012/05/sarahs-gluten-free-flour-blend.html 

SERVES: 9 cups

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups brown rice flour
• 2 cups sweet white sorghum flour or white rice flour*
• 2 cups potato starch
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour or starch
• 1/2 cup corn starch**
• 5 teaspoons xanthan gum

Gluten-free Nutella Chocolate Decadence Mocha Cake 

(This cake is 4 layers and easily serves 14-16 people, with leftovers.)

 

Gluten-free Chocolate Cake

(Makes 1 8" cake, you need 2 recipes of this cake, cut each cake in 2 when it has cooled.)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Sarah's Cake Flour Mix

3/4 Cup Chickpea flour

1 Cup Organic Brown sugar

1 Cup Organic Cane sugar

1 1/2 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Baking soda

3/4 Cup Brute Cocoa Powder (I use Cacao Barry)

2 tsp Pink Sea Salt

1/2 Cup Milk of choice (I use cashew milk)

1/2 Cup Good quality Hot Coffee

1/2 Cup Grape seed oil or Canola oil

1 tsp Vanilla Extract, the real one!

Method:

-Blend all sifted dry ingredients together

-Add oil to milk, vanilla, and hot coffee, mix & pour into the dry ingredients

-Whisk until well blended

-Pour into a greased and parchment lined 8" cake pan

-Place in middle rack of preheated oven and bake for 45-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center, comes out clean.

-Allow to cool completely before cutting and using to assemble cake.

(I cool, slice my cake layers in half, put wax paper between the layers, and freeze the cake in a ziploc bag, overnight before decorating.)

Whipped Decadent Nutella Filling

Ingredients:

475 ml Whipping cream (I use lactose-free whipping cream)

1 1/2 Cup Dark chocolate pistoles (I use Cacao Barry brand for all my chocolate)

1/2 Cup Nutella

1/4 Cup Unsalted butter

2 1/2 Cups Powdered sugar, sifted

1 tsp Real vanilla extract

1/2 tsp Pink sea salt

Method:

-In a saucepan, heat the whipping cream, butter, vanilla and sea salt to a simmer. DO NOT BOIL!

-In a heat-proof bowl, pour heated cream over chocolate and nutella. Mix well. 

-Whisk in powdered sugar. (You may add a bit more if it is not sweet enough but not too much as the mocha frosting is going to up the sweet flavour.) 

-Place a plastic wrap right to the edge of liquid so no skin forms while it cools. Place in refrigerator and chill completely.

-Once chilled, whip using beater until light in colour and fluffed up. Keep chilled until ready to use.

Mocha Frosting

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp Espresso coffee 

1 1/2 tsp Real vanilla extract

3/4 Cup Dark chocolate pistoles, melted and slightly cooled. (I use Cacao Barry)

2/3 Cup Butter softened (unsalted)

1 Cup Vegetable shortening

31/2 Cups Icing sugar

1/4 Cup Brute cocoa (I use Cacao Barry)

1/4 tsp Pink sea salt

Method:

-Beat Butter and shortening, add 1/2 of powdered sugar

-Add coffee, vanilla, cocoa, mix well

-Add melted chocolate and salt, mix well

-Add the rest of powdered sugar and beat until well blended

-It's better to use the frosting right away

Dark Chocolate Ganache Drizzle

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Dark Chocolate Pistoles (I use Cacao Barry)

1 Cup Whipping cream (I use lactose free)

1 tsp Real Vanilla extract

2 tsp Salted butter

1/2 Cup Powdered sugar

Method:

-Heat cream, butter and vanilla until simmering. DO NOT BOIL!

-Pour over chocolate and whisk until well blended

-Whisk in powdered sugar

-Allow to cool until slightly thickened but still a consistency you can drizzle.

For Decorations:

8-12 Hazelnuts, toasted in a dry pan for 1 minute on medium heat until a mild nutty warm smell comes up. Remove and switch to a bowl immediately, you do not want them to burn.

1 Cup chocolate sprinkles

1 Cup espresso coffee mixed with 3 Tbsp sugar

To Assemble Cake: (Please view pictures below, for step by step visuals, and take your time, no worries because you can do this!)

-On a cake turntable, place the first base layer of chocolate cake, that you sliced in half and chilled well or froze(I freeze all my cakes to ensure fewer crumbs, before frosting).

-Using a pastry brush dipped in the sweetened coffee (see decorations section) gently brush coffee evenly over cake. This is not to drown and make the cake soggy, it's to ensure the cake stays moist and adds some extra mocha flavour without being overwhelming.

-Using a piping bag, pipe a circle around the edge of the cake with the mocha frosting, then taking a cupcake sized scoop, scoop 3 scoops of the nutella filling and smooth out with a spatula.

-Continue to do this with three layers, when you get to the fourth layer, moisten with the sweetened coffee and use the mocha frosting to coat the whole cake.

-Use an edging triangle to spin around the cake and leave ribbed edging.

-Using the sprinkles coat only the base edge of the cake, you can go up halfway or skip the sprinkle step all together. I only use them because I adore sprinkles and frosting.

-With the remaining mocha frosting, using a star tip and piping bag, pipe an edge around the top of the cake and a few big frosting mounds to place the roasted hazelnuts on the cake. I had some leftover frosting and chose not to waste it and piped extra edging on the bottom of the cake; it hid the sprinkles but I didn't care to lose expensive ingredients and my freezer was too full to store the remaining frosting.

Now for the fun part, drizzle time!

-Using your dark chocolate ganache drizzle, pour some on top of the cake and with a small spatula smooth and allow to drip a bit. For the more stylized edges, I use the drizzle and a small spoon, to make sure that you don't get big gobs of ganache running down. (If your drizzle is too thick warm it slightly, but not too much because it's not supposed to be too runny. You need it to retain some of it's thickness for it to hold when it drizzles).

-Then place your hazelnuts nicely on top of the larger piped decorations on the top of your cake and drizzle lightly with some of the remaining ganache drizzle. Don't go overboard, as more is less. You want elegant, not kindergarten disaster.

I hope this works out well for you, as always there are pictures to guide you along and feel free to ask any questions or leave comments down below. Don't forget to subscribe and share this recipe with those you love.

Happiest of holidays and may God bless you and yours.

Nutella filling pictures:

                             Chocolate cake pic, cut cakes, chilled, then moistened with coffee:
                                          Roasting hazelnuts in dry pan:
                                          Piping with Mocha frosting and filling cake with Nutella filling:
                                          Continuing to add the layers:
Frosting the outside with Mocha frosting and finishing the look with a triangle edging tool:
Adding the sprinkle edging by putting some in my hand, carefully holding the cake and gently pressing into the sides. Then using my finger, I carefully wiped off any extras:
Making sure the Ganache Drizzle is ready and then pouring, smoothing, and adding side drizzle to make it gorgeous:
                                          Piping edges on top and on the bottom:
               Placing hazelnuts & the last decorative drizzle touches, to get a beautiful end product: