Choco Smash Cake
Inspired by the Disneyland California Adventure cake, my copycat version is made with layers of brownie, peanut butter filling, vanilla cake, dulce de leche, chocolate crisp pearls, and chocolate buttercream.
Ingredients
Brownies
- 1 box Dark Chocolate Ghirardelli Brownie Mix
- OR
- 1 batch Homemade brownies, my favorite recipe
Vanilla Cake
- 3 cups (345 g) cake flour
- 2 teaspoons 8 g baking powder
- 1 teaspoon 6 g salt
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (72.6 g) vegetable oil
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup (300 g) buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) vanilla extract
Filling
- 1 13.4 oz dulce de leche
- 1/2 cup Chocolate Crisp Pearls, this is the brand I use
For the Peanut Butter Filling
- 1 cup 230 g heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup (62.5 g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (250 g) peanut butter smooth
For the Chocolate Buttercream
- 1/3 cup (77 g) heavy whipping cream
- 10 oz. dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter, slightly chilled
- 5 cups (625 g) powdered sugar, measured then sifted
- 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
For the Garnish
- salted roasted peanuts
Instructions
For the Brownies
- Follow the instructions on the box, except you'll bake the brownies in two 8-inch round cake pans for 20 minutes. See note above in the blog post for prepping your pans.
- Allow to cool completely before using.
For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare two 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray, parchment paper on the bottom of the pan, and another coat of spray. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, and sugar on high until fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time to the bowl, making sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl between additions. Add the vanilla. Continue to beat on medium-high speed for an additional two minutes. The mixture should be smooth and fluffy.
- Turn the mixer on low and alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk, starting and finishing with the flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on low for another 30 seconds.
- Evenly distribute the cake batter among the two 8-inch pans and bake for about 35 minutes, or until toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it.
- Remove cakes from the oven and let cool in pans for 15 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks.
- When cakes are completely cooled, divide the layers in half horizontally using a serrated knife of cake leveler. You’ll have four thin cake layers. Wrap the cakes (2 layers can be wrapped together like a full cake layer), and freeze for at least an hour before stacking. The cake layers are easier to handle, assemble and frost when they are chilled.
- You can also freeze the cake layers for several days. Just be sure to let them thaw for about 30-60 minutes before using.
For the Peanut Butter Filling
- In a stainless steel bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed until still peaks form.
- Fold the peanut butter into the whipped cream.
- I like using this right away (so you can make it when you're ready to assemble your cake), but you can also make it ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to use.
For the Buttercream
- In a microwave safe bowl, heat the chocolate chips and the cream for about one minute. Stir until mixture is smooth. Allow to cool slightly.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for about 2 minutes on medium-high speed.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the cooled ganache. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and then mix on medium-high speed for about a minute, until the mixture is smooth.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, followed by the vanilla and salt.
- Buttercream can be store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a week.
- When you're ready to frost the cake, bring the frosting back to room temperature and mix by hand with a wooden spoon to push out all of the air pockets.
Assembly
- Place one brownie layer on a cake board or cake stand. Evenly spread half of the peanut butter filling over the brownie layer.
- Place the first cake layer, top side up, on the peanut butter filling. Cover the cake with half of the dulce de leche. Sprinkle on the chocolate crisp pearls and gently pat into place.
- Place the second cake layer on top of the filling.
- Evenly spread 1 cup of the chocolate buttercream on top of the cake and then top with the third cake layer.
- On the third cake layer, evenly spread the rest of the dulce de leche and more chocolate crisp pearls.
- Place the fourth cake layer on top and cover with the remaining peanut butter filling.
- Finish stacking the cake by placing the second brownie layer on top of the peanut butter filling.
- Cover the entire cake with a thin layer of buttercream. Freeze the cake for 10 to 15 minutes to set the crumb coat.
- Once the crumb coat is set, finish frosting the cake with the remaining buttercream.