Godiva Chocolate Liqueur (Coffee Cocktail) Cake
Uniquely flavored and absolutely delicious - make this Godiva Chocolate Liqueur Cake, featuring liqueur-infused layers and chocolate ganache!
Servings: 24 servings
Calories: 782kcal
Equipment
- Baker's floured cooking spray (optional, but I prefer this spray to parchment rounds)
- 1 10 inch cardboard cake circle (8" would work, but moving the cake is easier with a larger circle)
- Cake leveler (or a serrated knife + ruler)
- large offset spatula (to spread frosting)
- 5 Cake dowels or large plastic straws (I usually use dark straws, so they're visible when cutting the cake)
- Ruler (for spacing dowels or straws and centering top tier)
- 2 small piping bags + tips (I used a small star & round tip; linked is a set that contains bags & tips)
- Squeeze bottle (or additional piping bag; to add cake drip)
- 1 textured cake comb (optional; but I loved the look this Wilton comb gave the base tier)
Ingredients
Chocolate Liqueur Cake Layers
- 4 ⅞ cups all-purpose flour
- 4 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ cup unsalted butter (or 3 sticks, room temperature)
- 8 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk (room temperature)
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup espresso (I used my favorite instant espresso)
- ½ cup Godiva chocolate liqueur
- ¼ cup Bourbon (I used Eagle Rare)
Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 12 oz cream cheese (1 ½ packages; softened)
- 1 ½ cups butter (three sticks, softened)
- 9 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons bourbon
- 2-3 Tablespoons whipping/heavy cream
- ¾ cup cocoa powder (for cake filling; save & add later)
- 1-2 Tablespoons chocolate liqueur (for cake filling; save & add later)
Cake Drizzle (optional)
- 2 Tablespoons bourbon
- ¼ cup espresso
- ½ cup chocolate liqueur
Drip & Decorations
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (12 ounces; for drip)
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream (12 ounces, for drip - my favorite brand is very thick; you may need a bit less depending on the thickness of your whipping cream)
- 1 Tablespoon instant espresso powder (for drip)
- 10-20 chocolate-covered coffee beans (for decorating)
- 5-10 coffee beans (for decorating)
Instructions
Chocolate Liqueur Cake Layers
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8-inch cake pans and two two 6-inch cake pans with baker's floured cooking spray, or grease and line with parchment rounds.
- Mix together all dry ingredients (flour, sugar baking powder, and salt) in a stand mixer with a paddle until fully combined. Mix bits of room-temperature butter slowly into the dry mix, on a low speed. Continue to mix until no large chunks of butter remain, and the mixture looks crumbly.
- Pour in eggs and mix on low until just incorporated. Combine the buttermilk, vanilla, espresso, chocolate liqueur, and bourbon, and mix in on a low speed until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds.
- Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans (I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part – I ended up with about 690g in my large pans and about 450 in my smaller ones). This guarantees your layers will bake to be the same height.
- Bake for 34-37 minutes, (or until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean). Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans. Cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired.
- Once the layers have fully cooled, they can be leveled and any caramelized bits can be trimmed from the sides / top of the cake using a serrated knife if desired. Be sure the layers are completely cooled or chilled before trimming. If you try to trim the layers while they’re still warm, they will crumble and break. (This is a great time to make your frosting!)
Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with bourbon and whipping cream until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency.
- Reserve 1 cup of frosting and beat in cocoa powder and chocolate liqueur to obtain a spreadable consistency – this will be your cake filling!
Assembly
- Place a smear of frosting on your large cake circle (to keep the cake from sliding while you decorate it) and center your first large cake layer in the center of the circle.
- (I wanted a bit more of a liqueur kick to the cake layers, so I used a jigger to infuse each one with a few tablespoons of a bourbon, espresso, and chocolate liqueur mixture. Optional but recommended!)
- Pipe a small border of frosting around the outer edge of the layer, and spread a layer of chocolate filling in the middle. Add your next cake layer on top. Repeat the process with your remaining cake layers.
- Next, repeat the same process with your smaller cardboard circle and cake layers. Of note – if your circles aren’t pre-center-punched, be sure to grab a dowel or straw and make your own hole in the exact center of the circle! This will allow you to center the tier on the base tier later on.
- Now you're ready to crumb-coat . If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like – spreading a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake tiers to keep crumbs out of your final layers!
- Once your crumb coat has set (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add your final layers of frosting and smooth. I like to use an offset spatula and bench scraper for this part. (For my larger tier, I was able to smooth the frosting fairly well free-handed, but I struggled getting the sides smooth on my smaller one. Setting a second small cake circle on top and using it as a guide for smoothing my icing worked much more easily!)
- Once your base tier is covered, place the icing comb on the cake circle against your cake and run the comb around the cake to texture the frosting (if desired). Place both tiers into the freezer for about 20 minutes to set the frosting and get the cake cold enough to set the drip.
Okaaaay. The stacking process!
- I watched a few tutorials before I started, but ‘How to Make a Tiered Cake’ by Chelsweets was my favorite. To place cake dowels (to ensure the top tier doesn't crush the lower one, as well as keep it centered), it helps to have a ruler handy!
- Push dowels/straws down into the base tier just over one inch from the cake edge, placing them evenly at quarter intervals around the cake. Place your last, tallest straw or dowel into the exact center of the cake, making sure to keep it straight up as you press down.
- Now you’re ready – center the hole in the bottom of your top tier cake circle over the tallest dowel and let the top tier gently down onto the base tier. The dowel will poke into the center of the top tier to hold it in place.
- Pat yourself on the back; you did it! I found that my cardboard cake circle showed more than I was happy with, so I piped some frosting onto the base of the top tier with a small star tip to hide it.
Drip and Decorations
- Place chocolate chips and whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on 50% power in 30-second intervals until smooth, stirring in between. Add instant espresso powder and stir until smooth.
- When your ganache has cooled to a moderate temperature – it should feel slightly warm and still be fairly liquid – transfer it to your piping bag or squeeze bottle.
- Slowly drizzle ganache around the edge of the cake, pausing about every ¾ to 1 inch to let ganache flow down the side of the cake to create a drip. Pour a few tablespoons over the top of the cake and spread gently with an offset spatula, and then (if desired) pour a few tablespoons into the martini glass and turn it slowly to coat the inside of the glass. Turn the glass over and center it on top of the cake.
- Repeat the drip around the edge of the base tier.
- Add a few coffee beans around the base edge of the top tier, and a few chocolate-covered coffee beans around the bottom of the base tier!
- Step back and admire your amaaazing cake! Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 782kcal | Carbohydrates: 101g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 38g