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Chocolate Caramel Drip Cake

Mindy Johnson
Four layers of moist chocolate cake filled with espresso ganache and frosted with caramel buttercream and a caramel drip.
5 from 4 votes
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Prep Time 1 hr 15 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 1 hr 45 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 20

Ingredients
  

Chocolate Cake
  • 1 cup dark or semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup hot coffee
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup buttermilk
Espresso Ganache
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tsp instant espresso powder
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped chocolate or chocolate chips
  • 1 tbsp salted butter
Caramel Buttercream
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup caramel sauce, plus more for decorating (recipe below or sub store-bought)
  • 1-2 tbsp heavy cream
  • Pinch salt
  • 1/3 cup chocolate sprinkles, optional
Caramel Sauce
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp instant espresso powder
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
 

Chocolate Cake
  • Preheat the oven to 350 and grease (or line with parchment rounds) four 6” cake pans or three 8” pans.
  • Place the chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Pour the hot coffee over the chocolate and allow to sit while you prepare the rest of the batter.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, cocoa, salt and baking soda. Whisk in the eggs, vanilla, oil and buttermilk. The batter will be thick. You can switch to a rubber spatula or mixing spoon at this point if it’s too thick to whisk.
  • Return to your bowl of chocolate and coffee and stir until smooth. Gradually pour the coffee mixture into the batter and mix until fully incorporated. Divide batter evenly between the cake pans. Bake for 33-35 minutes for 6" pans or 25-30 minutes for 8" pans.
  • Allow to cool a few minutes in the pan and then carefully, using oven mitts if the pans are still warm, invert each layer onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap tightly and place in the freezer until you’re ready to assemble your cake. I store layers in the freezer for up to a week. See more on making your layers in advance below.
Espresso Ganache
  • Heat the heavy cream and espresso powder over medium-low heat until it starts simmering.
  • Put the chocolate chips and butter in a bowl and pour the cream over top. Allow to sit for a couple minutes to melt and then whisk until smooth.
  • Cover and keep at room temperature for a few hours to thicken. You can also make the night before you need it and cover at room temperature. You want it to be spreadable, a similar consistency to peanut butter. If you are in a hurry you can refrigerate the ganache to thicken faster.
Caramel Sauce
  • Melt the butter and brown sugar together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a rolling boil and then continue cooking for another minute, stirring continuously.
  • Remove from heat and slowly add heavy cream, whisking until smooth. Whisk in the espresso powder and vanilla.
  • Pour into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. This will make more caramel sauce than needed for the cake. Refrigerate any extra (it's good served over ice cream!).
Caramel Buttercream
  • Beat the softened butter in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
  • Slowly add the powdered sugar a cup at a time. Add 1/3 cup caramel sauce. Reserve the remaining caramel for decorating the cake. Beat just until incorporated. If your buttercream is too stiff, add heavy cream a tablespoon at a time until it reaches your desired consistency. Add a pinch of salt, to taste.
  • At this point I like to run the mixer on low for 4 or 5 minutes while I'm leveling my cakes to get any air bubbles out so I can get a smooth finish on my cake.
Assemble
  • Once your cakes have thawed and you have your ganache, caramel and buttercream prepared you are ready to assemble.
  • Spread a small amount of ganache or buttercream on your cake board or cake stand/plate to hold your first layer of cake in place.
  • Using an offset spatula (or a table knife or back of a spoon), spread the espresso ganache between your cake layers. You will use ⅓ of the ganache between each cake layer for a 4 layer cake. If you are making a two layer cake you might not need all the ganache.
  • Now you want to use a small amount of buttercream to crumb coat your cake. That means frosting a thin layer around the cake to hold in all the crumbs before frosting a thicker layer of buttercream. Use a bench scraper or icing scraper to scrape any excess frosting off and then refrigerate the crumb coated cake for 15-20 minutes or until firm to the touch.
  • If using chocolate sprinkles, stir into the remaining buttercream.
  • Next frost a thicker layer of buttercream all around the cake. If you are using sprinkles in your buttercream you will want to smooth slowly and gently with your cake scraper very close to cake.
  • Using a spoon and the remaining caramel sauce gently guide your caramel drips around the cake (see video above). Then take another spoonful or two of caramel and spread it on the top of the cake.
  • Decorate with more sprinkles and enjoy!
  • Cake can be stored at room temperature for 2 days or refrigerated for up to 4 days. Cake is best eaten at room temperature.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 558kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5.7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4.4g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 362mg | Potassium: 9mg | Fiber: 2.5g | Sugar: 58g
This information comes from online calculators and these figures are only estimates.
Keywords caramel, chocolate, chocolate caramel cake, cupcakes, drip cake, espresso
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