Wow! This was a labor of love. I had a piece of this traditional cake years ago at Commanders Palace in Las Vegas. I had forgotten it until this recipe popped up here and I had to try it. I have to admit that I have gotten into the habit of using cake mixes to whip up a birthday cake or a batch of cupcakes but making this made me remember how superior a good "from scratch" cake can be.I decided to combine my birthday and the upcoming Mardis Gras and this was perfect. Every step and ingredient was spot on and the person who submitted this did a great job on their instructions. The only off thing was the 25 minute cook time. There are many steps to this beauty and it took far longer than 25 minutes listed in the recipe. I did make one small change to the method. Instead of baking three layers and splitting the layers, I baked 6 layers (for about 11 minutes) I poured about 1 cup+ into 9 inch pans that had been lined with parchment and baked the six layers separately. That is so much easier than splitting cakes for me. That being said, this cake is fabulous and I am sure that my friends and neighbors will request this for their birthdays. Thank you Metread for posting this beautiful & perfect recipe. This will go into my "very special" file :)
I have to say end result was great! Best butter cake I've ever eaten! The frosting and ganache simple and easy...if you notice my photo...and see bits in them I totally and accidently tossed in Toffee Bits into the wrong bowl LOL...that's what I get for making 2 different sweet treats at the same time...Note to self not to do that. My only delimma was the custard. I had to make it a few times because I couldn't get it set up right. And when I did the tbsp of vanilla was overpowering to me. SO a 3rd time I made the custard and it set up I only used a tsp of vanilla and followed through with completing the cake really feel the custard issue was me and not the recipe but I was tickled when I got it to work. It was totally awesome. You only need to slice very thin slices for your kids and family. This cake goes a long way. It's rich creamy and very delightful. I will soo make it again! TY metread!!
I grew up eating bakery made doberge cakes and never ever thought to attempt to make one myself but wanted a chocolate raspberry variation for my daughter's birthday last September which local bakeries didn't have. I couldn't believe it when I found doberge on allrecipes!! So made it myself using this recipe and added a homemade raspberry sauce between the layers with the custard filling. Phenomenal! Well I plan on making it a third time and remembered to review it and give a warning...don't use this ganache recipe. It did not work for me either time I made it...equal amounts chocolate and cream is way too runny...that's why I only gave it 4 stars. I found a recipe that uses 1 part cream to 2 parts chocolate. Also give all your attention to the custard when making it...careful not to burn it or you will have to throw it out and start again(been there done that). All and all well worth all the effort!
Of the more complex layer cakes I've tried this was the most simple both in terms of ingredients and prep. The most challenging elements were: a) not burning the custard (it takes a looong time to thicken so be patient) and b) not making a huge mess with the ganache when pouring it over the frosted cake. Taste-wise it's great (and intensely sweet!) though a bit chocolate-heavy. Next time I will try vanilla buttercream frosting instead of chocolate. It might be a nice contrast with the ganache.
It was wonderful. I made changes to order of creation. I made my ganache first followed by the custard. Both of these needed to cool down to room temperature before going on the cake. Then I prepped my cake and popped it in the oven. While the recipe says after 5 minutes cooling in pans to invert onto a cooling sheet I found that tore up the bottom of my first cake. So with my next two cake pans I waited closer to 20 minutes before pulling out of the cake pan. They came out beautifully. While the cakes were cooking I prepped the butter cream frosting. Once that was finished I assembled the cake. I not only cut the cakes in half. I carefully cut off the rounded tops of two cakes in order to make my end result more aesthetically pleasing. DO NOT be afraid to use plenty of custard. I didn't use enough and way too much left over. When I applied the butter cream frosting I had a hard time getting it smooth. I sprinkled a SMALL amount of hot water on the top and very carefully started to smooth out my frosting. It was excellent and amazing. Small slices go a long long way.
Definitely took several hrs prep but the result was worth it! There's a lot of sifting that took a while with my squeeze sifter. White cake layers were super light but yet held together well and didn't crumble when slicing in half and frosting. Would use just the cake layer for other dessert ideas. Expected the chocolate pudding to taste more chocolately based on other reviews. However it seemed a bit bland and not very intense - I may have made an error there. I typically use all Green/Black's dark cocoa powder but this time used a mix of 1/2 Dutch process and 1/2 Green/Black's. The in-depth directions were helpful but do note for the cake batter step to beat butter sugar together you should beat the butter to creamy first and then gradually beat in the sugar. I forgot to do that standard method and had to throw out the first attempt at beating the butter/sugar because it wouldn't break down into creamy. Would make again for a special occasion and try the rasberry add on from other reviewer.
I made this for my mom's birthday which fell during the week after Mardi Gras this year. The only warning I would give is DO NOT follow the recipe's means of checking the cake's doneness. Bake it until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean. I lost one of my pans because of this so the cake ended up with only 4 layers instead of 6. Also I put strips of waxed paper under the cake as recommended but they ended up being buried by the ganache which was much too runny to spread even after chilling for a few hours. I actually had to put the cake plate onto a pizza pan to catch the overflow. Other than that it was delicious. I had (still have!) a ton of custard left over (partly because I had fewer layers but even so it seems like way too much) but it's being put to good use making parfaits with the salvageable bits of the unsuccessful cake pan.
As someone else said it is a labor of love. I thought there was too much cream in the ganache. Also I ended up with extra custard so that part should be cut down. The finished cake was delicious.
Aside from working and going to school (both full-time) for two years and taking the LSAT this may very well be the hardest thing I've ever done! It took FIVE HOURS to make this cake! I had to make three things from scratch I've never made before (custard filling buttercream icing and ganache) in addition to making and assembling the actual cake. Intense. That said...the cake is amazing. As with all other recipes of New Orleanian cuisine that originate elsewhere...it doesn't taste quite like doberge cake...but the flavor is amazing none-the-less. The custard was the hardest part to make. Also...the amount of butter this recipe called for would make Paula Deen blush. Lessons for next time: 1. Use a fondant instead of a ganache for both aesthetics (doberge is usually smooth in appearance and as you can see ganache just isn't viscous enough as you're pouring and spreading it in liquid form to accomplish that) and for more authentic flavor. 2. Make more batter so the layers come out better. As you can see the layers are uneven... some much thinner than others...because there wasn't enough batter to fill all the pans to adequate levels. 3. Find a way to make the cake retain moisture. You have to keep it refrigerated...and chill it several times in the assembly process. It makes the cake less moist. Not terribly so...but enough to notice and annoy me.
