Triple Chocolate Cake!
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Triple chocolate cake with dark, milk and white layers and a chocolate drip!
Triple chocolate cake!
Welcome triple chocolate cake! It’s not midway through the year, and I thought it was about time to post a showstopper. I’ve made a few ‘insane’ bakes this year so far such as my millionaires cookie bars and my Lindt chocolate cheesecake, but nothing as unapologetically chocolattey as this.
This is a beauty I’ve made at home a few times before. However, as I was posting similar layer cakes quite close together, I wanted to hold off and give this one its moment. When I finally revisited it and tweaked the design slightly, it turned into something genuinely glorious.
And honestly… just LOOK at it. If you love chocolate, this is absolute heaven in cake form. Triple chocolate sponges, triple chocolate buttercream, and a glossy chocolate drip running down the sides, it’s intense, dramatic, and completely irresistible.
Combination of recipes
The look came from various other cakes I have done in my time, all combined together. My drip cakes so far have been one tone in frosting (such as my Oreo drip cake), but when I mashed the idea with my neapolitan cake, I knew I had a winner.
Decorating it is slightly faffy to explain, but in reality it’s much easier than it sounds. The key is starting with a simple crumb coat of plain buttercream before adding the flavoured layers. Trying to go straight onto sponge with three different flavours can get messy very quickly.
Once you have that base layer chilled and smooth, the rest is just piping and scraping. It’s one of those cakes where patience pays off. Take your time and it all comes together beautifully.
Chocolate
Some people can say ‘ you can’t taste the difference between the milk and dark layers’, but that tends to be because you’re using the incorrect chocolate. I use my favourite chocolate in the recipe as I love baking with it and its tastes deeeeelicious!
Dark chocolate wise, I prefer to stick to 80%+, but 70% will do. Milk chocolate tends to come in at about 35% usually, so there is quite a difference. White chocolate isn’t even really chocolate!
I decided to use slightly less cake mix in comparison to my other cakes, with only 350g of everything in comparison to 400g, because the chocolate gives extra weight to the mix.
It also makes the cakes slightly heavier, which is why I used the baking powder in this beauty. This is optional, but cake with chocolate in always turns a bit more madeira like (particularly the dark chocolate sponge)!
Bake
Baking wise, it’s hard to get definitive layers because the outsides of the cake brown somewhat, which is why I went for surrounding the cake in frosting, so that it’s obvious that there are three flavours! When you cut into the cake however, you get the definition!
One of the main ‘issues’ with this bake, is the pure amount of bowls that are required. It’s slightly mad, but having to melt chocolate basically SIX times is a bit much. However, a bit of washing up never hurt anyone, and having a dishwasher is even better. I personally think a bake like this is completely and utterly worth all the washing up, as its one of the most satisfying bakes to look at, and eat.
Decadent drip
The drip is what takes this cake from impressive to dramatic. A mix of dark and milk chocolate with double cream creates a silky ganache that flows beautifully down the sides. It shouldn’t be too hot or too thick, you want controlled drips, not chocolate waterfalls.
Pipe carefully around the edge first to create the drips, then fill in the top and spread evenly. Let it set slightly before piping any leftover buttercream on top. The contrast between matte buttercream and glossy ganache is so satisfying. Finish with chocolate curls for the ultimate triple chocolate statement. At this point, there is absolutely no confusion about what flavour this cake is.
Tips & tricks
- I use supermarket own chocolate for all three layers, I wouldn’t recommend stuff like Galaxy or Dairy Milk for the milk layers – just go with the cheap!
- This cake lasts for 3-4 days at room temperature!
- For this Cake I used:
- These piping bags for the buttercream
- These piping bags for the drip
- This cake turntable to make decoration easier
- This Scraper for the buttercream
- This dark chocolate
- This milk chocolate
- And this white chocolate
- You can just slather the buttercream on in any which way, but I have tried to describe it as best as possible. You basically want the buttercream of each flavour, to match each sponge, and then wipe round so its all smooth!
Triple Chocolate Cake!
Ingredients
Cake
- 350 g unsalted butter
- 350 g caster sugar
- 7 medium eggs
- 350 g self raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 125 ml whole milk
- 100 g dark chocolate
- 100 g milk chocolate
- 100 g white chocolate
Buttercream
- 350 g unsalted butter (room temp)
- 750 g icing sugar
- 85 g dark chocolate
- 85 g milk chocolate
- 85 g white chocolate
Drip Ganache
- 75 g milk chocolate
- 75 g dark chocolate
- 150 ml double cream
Decoration
- Chocolate curls
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat your oven to 180ºc/160ºc Fan, and line three 8"/20cm cake tins with baking parchment.
- Melt your dark, milk and white chocolates carefully, and leave to cool whilst doing the cake mix!
- In a stand mixer, or a large bowl, beat together your butter and sugar until light and fluffy and lovely!
- Add in your eggs, baking powder, and flour, and milk and beat again until combined well.
- Split the mixture between three bowls, and to each bowl add one of the melted chocolates - mix until smooth.
- Add your dark chocolate mix to one tin, your milk chocolate to another tin, and the white chocolate to the last tin.
- Bake the cakes in the oven for 35 minutes, or until baked through - check with a skewer to make sure they're done!
- Leave the cakes to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, and then take out and leave to cool fully on a wire rack!
For the Buttercream
- Melt your dark, milk and white chocolates carefully, and leave to cool whilst doing the buttercream!
- Beat your butter on its own for minute or two, to soften it and loosen it.
- Add in your icing sugar 1/3 at a time, and beat fully after each addition - you shouldn't need to add any liquid in!
- Take out about 150g of buttercream and leave separate. (This is for a crumb coat)
- Split the rest of the mixture evenly between three bowls, and just like the cake mix, add each chocolate to its own batch of buttercream.
- Mix fully, until delicious.
Assemble
- I started with my dark chocolate sponge on the bottom, and spread about 2tbsp of buttercream onto the cake.
- My milk chocolate cake went second, and the white on top!
- Use the spare buttercream to make a crumb coat around the cake and to make it smooth!
- Add each flavour of buttercream to a large piping bag, and pipe rings around the cake - I did two layers of buttercream for each layer of cake (this is so hard to describe)
- Once the three flavours are on the cake, scrape around the cake just like you would other drip cakes, and smooth it all over! Be careful when you are doing it as you'll be able to save the rest of the buttercream for piping!
Ganache
- Add your chocolates and cream to a microwave proof jug/bowl, and heat for 30 seconds. Stir well, and microwave on 10 second bursts till the ganache is smooth, stiring each time.
- Add your ganache to a piping bag and snip a small amount off the end of the piping bag
- Pipe drips down the side of the cake, and then fill in the top and spread it over.
Decoration
- Leave this to set for a minute, and then pipe the rest of the buttercream on top as decoration!
- I finally sprinkled on some triple chocolate curls!
Notes
- I use supermarket own chocolate for all three layers, I wouldn't recommend stuff like Galaxy or Dairy Milk for the milk layers - just go with the cheap!
- This cake lasts for 3-4 days at room temperature!
- For this Cake I used:
- These piping bags for the buttercream
- These piping bags for the drip
- This cake turntable to make decoration easier
- This Scraper for the buttercream
- This dark chocolate
- This milk chocolate
- And this white chocolate
- You can just slather the buttercream on in any which way, but I have tried to describe it as best as possible. You basically want the buttercream of each flavour, to match each sponge, and then wipe round so its all smooth!
Beautiful cake, I adapted this recipe for a gluten free cake and I’ve never tasted such a soft gluten free sponge!, thank you so much for the recipe.
Will definitely be trying more!
Hi Jane I love you recipes 🥰 I’m going to make this cake for my friends birthday .. can you tell me is the drip just melted chocolate?
Thanks 😊
Yep, just chocolate as on the recipe! And thank you!! x
Hi Jane, I’m wanting to make a 3 layer chocolate cake rather than one darker choc, one milk and one white. Can I just use all of the above ingredients and 300g chocolate and then split between the 3 tins? For a standard chocolate cake, do I use dark? Same question for the buttercream as well!
Thank you!
Yes that’s exactly what you would do! x
Just the recipe I have been looking for. But can I ask if the baking time is different for each cake and will the white chocolate one need a lower temp?
thank you
Hello – No, the timings and temperature is all listed on the method.
Really fun to make and clear instructions. It does take a bit of time and lots of bowls but its totally worth or. Really delicious!
Hi Jane
I’m in the middle of baking this cake and I’ve realised I don’t have a scraper for around the sides of the cake. Is it possible to use a palette knife to do it?
If left it too k lol ate to buy a scraper now 😞
It is possible, its just practice and giving it a go!! Some people only use palette knifes x
Hi Jane! Thinking about making this with Nutella buttercream as opposed to the triple chocolate buttercream. What measurements would you recommend for this? Thanks! 🤗
I would use my Nutella buttercream recipe from my Nutella Cake and double it!
Hi Jane
Huge fan of this recipe. I don’t know if it’s already been asked sorry if it has. I want to make this for my nieces birthday! I was just wondering what the measurements would be like for 12 inch ones? Would I just times it by 1.7?
Thanks in advance
According to the website I use for increasing tin sizes, you actually need to use 2.3x the recipe (12″ tins are VERY big in volume!) http://www.cakebaker1.co.uk/apps-for-bakers/baking-tin-size-conversion-calculator/ x
Hi Jane- this cake looks amazing! I have a really basic question so my apologies in advance! The light brown (milk chocolate) buttercream- I would like to try a cake with just that buttercream so would I use 3 times the 85g of milk chocolate, so 255g of milk chocolate? I’m sorry to ask such a basic question! Thank you!
Don’t worry about it – any question is fine!! And yes, you would do exactly that!
Thank you Jane!
Hi Jane, I wanted to make a 9 inch version of this cake what would i times the quantities by? Also I only have 2 9 inch cake tins so would it be possible to divide the ingredients and do 2 layers first then do the last third after to avoid the mixture sitting around waiting for the cake tins? Sorry if that sounds confusing
So usually I would increase the recipe by about 1/3 for 9″ – and yes I would make two first, and bake, and then the third so that the mixture isn’t say there for too long! xx
I made this cake at the weekend and oh wow, everyone loved it. The recipe was easy to follow and the cake tasted great. I only had 2 cake tins so had to leave the last cake mixture stood in the bowl (without the chocolate!) whilst the other 2 cooked and I think it impacted how well that cake cooked. It was very stodgy and less well cooked in the middle 🙁
My fault!
Yes it definitely can do – cake mix needs to be used straight away, especially ones with melted chocolate in as that can continue to set xx
Hi Jane,
When you talk about icing the cake? Am I using the extra crumb coat icing in between the layers or is it the actual chocolate icing in between each layer?
Hey – so on step 4 of the buttercream section it says to leave out 150g worth of buttercream to use as a crumb coat. Then, you split the rest into the three flavours!
I’ve made this cake a couple of times now and whenever I do it my milk choc sponge Comes out perfect along with my white chocolate one, but my dark always cracks and crumbles on me? Please could you let me know why that may be please? X
How strange! It sounds like it could be over baked?! Maybe add a little milk to the dark chocolate mix and make sure not to over bake! x
hi jane, i was wondering if i could make this as a tier cake and stack a 6 inch version on top? obviously using dowels to support it ? would this work if so what would the measurements for a 6 inch version be? thanks
Yes it would work well! Typically I say for a 6″, to use 2/3 of an 8″ recipe! x
Just wondering how long do you normally beat the butter and sugar together first for and then whole batter for ? Love your recipes
It depends on the mixer you are using, the temperature of the ingredients and the temperature of the kitchen – it’s just until the butter and sugar are combined well and lighter and fluffier, and then again until the cake mix is formed!