Reasons why I love drip cakes: (1) More chocolate is always a good thing, (2) It looks super impressive and involves minimal effort, (3) Did I mention it’s a freakin’ chocolate ganache topped cake? The more chocolate, the better, friends.

This Easter I wanted to make a cake that was impressive, but easy enough since I had lots and lots of Con Law readings to do. I already tried my hand at drip cakes this past Valentine’s Day and decided to make another one, but this time topped with those malted milk robin’s eggs to make it more spring-y.

I originally made four layers which was a bit ambitious since the cake would have been about 100 feet tall at that point (give or take), so I ended up using only three of the four layers. If you like big enormous cakes, then go ahead and use the fourth layer. Fresh strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries were sandwiched between the layers, and the cake was frosted with a cream cheese frosting. In the spirit of Easter, I made a chocolate “paint” to splatter on the sides of the cake to make it look more like a robin’s egg, like this cake from two Easters ago.

For the chocolate ganache, make sure it’s not too runny! You want a thicker consistency ganache so it doesn’t run down the sides of the cake. Make sure to chill the cake before topping with the ganache so you get those perfect drips down the sides. It all takes practice, so don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t work out the first time. Either way, you’ll have chocolate on top of your cake and that is always a good thing.

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“Robin’s Egg Blue” Drip Cake

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened

6 eggs

5 cups all purpose flour

5 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3.5 cups sugar

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups milk

For the frosting: 

2 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

4 teaspoons vanilla

10 cups powdered sugar

For the ganache:

4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup light corn syrup

For the filling and toppings:

A variety of berries: I used strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries

Whatever toppings your heart desires: candy, macarons, cookies, berries, sprinkles, etc.

 

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease and lightly flour four 9 inch round cake pans. Set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside as well.

In a stand mixer, beat the butter on high speed until creamy. Gradually add the sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating until fluffy, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Alternately add the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture, beating just until combined. Divide the batter evenly between the four prepared pans, smoothing the tops.

Bake in the preheated oven 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool the cake layers in the pan for ten minutes and then invert and cool completely on racks.

For the frosting: 

Beat the cream cheese and butter together in a stand mixer. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth and fluffy.

Assembly:

Place one layer on a plate. Spread a layer of frosting on top and top with slice strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. Place the second layer on top of the berries, spread with frosting, and top with berries. Repeat until you place the last layer on top. Frost the cake with the remaining frosting. If you like, you can color the frosting with food coloring to make it more festive.

Chill the cake for at least two hours.

For the ganache:

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside. Gently heat the cream and corn syrup until the mixture begins to steam and barely comes to a simmer.

Pour the cream over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. You may have to let it cool for 5-10 minutes so it reaches the right consistency to drip.

Pour the ganache over the top of the cake and use an offset spatula to spread the ganache so some of it drips down the sides of the cake. Make sure the entire top of the cake is covered!

Decorate the top with the cookies, candies, sprinkles, etc. This is the fun part! Be creative and decorate it however you like. The *cake* is your oyster.

Enjoy!

Serves: 12