Triple Chocolate Cake

Beatty's Chocolate Cake
1 3/4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup good quality cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup hot water or hot chocolate (can use coffee if desired)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line pans with parchment paper and spray lightly. Use 2-9" round pans---may have extra batter---bake extra in a small pan and enjoy. Mix dry ingredients with whisk, add wet ingredients and mix just till smooth. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until spring back when touched lightly. Let cool in pans.
Adapted from food network recipe.


Chocolate Mousse Filling
1 cup (6 oz) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
pinch salt
1/3 cup sugar

Melt chocolate in microwave---set aside
Whip cream to soft peaks--refrigerate while you cook the eggs
Put eggs in top pot of double boiler or use metal bowl over pot. Make sure water does not touch bottom of bowl. Beat eggs, pinch of salt, and sugar until very fluffy and warm to touch, about 3 minutes. Remove the bowl from the heat and continue beating on high speed until thick ribbon falls from beater when lifted out of bowl--about 5 min more. Fold a quarter of egg mixture into chocolate to lighten, then fold in rest of egg mixture. Fold into whipped cream. Let set in frige until firm---use between layers of cake---works best to refrigerate before stacking top layer.
Adapted from food network recipe.


I use one of the following for frosting:

Chocolate Ganache
1 cup(6oz) chocolate chips --good quality--I like Ghirardelli or Nestle
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
Place chocolate chips in small bowl. Heat cream and vanilla in small saucepan over medium low heat. Cook until small bubbles appear on the outside edge of the cream. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate chips. Using a fork gently stir until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth Let cool and spread on top and side of cake.
Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis.
This is also fun topped with chocolate covered strawberries

Chocolate whipped cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
cocoa to taste
powdered sugar to taste
beat cream, add cocoa and sugar---play with amount until it is as chocolaty and sweet as you want it, doesn't take much. Spread on refrigerated cake, refrigerate after frosting
This is the frosting I used on the sprinkle cake. Had extra mousse, so just mixed mousse, whipped cream and small amount of powdered sugar.