Almond Joy Layer Cake
Recipe by Dru Tevis
Click HERE to view the Recipe in Coastal Style Magazine
Day 1: Make all cakes and components and chill overnight
Day 2: Assemble cakes
Day 3: Frost and finish cakes
(Recipes make enough to assemble two cakes)
Coconut Cake (Makes 2, 4-layer, 10-inch cakes)
4 sticks butter, room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
1½ cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
¼ cup oil, blended
4⅓ cups flour
1⅓ Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Cream Butter
Paddle together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated. Scrape down the bowl several times throughout. Once all incorporated, paddle on high until pale in color.
Combine heavy cream, vanilla extract and blended oil. Combine dries. Add dries to butter mixture in three parts and the cream mixture in two parts, alternating back and forth, starting and ending with the dries. Mix on low each time, until nearly combined, before stopping the mixer and adding the next addition.
Stop the mixer as soon as the last streaks of flour are incorporated into the batter. Divide into four, 10-inch, round cake pans. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, until cakes are golden on top and cooked through.
Chocolate Cake (Makes 4, 10-inch cakes)
6 cups sugar
5 cups flour
2 cups Valrhona cocoa powder
2 Tbsp baking soda
2 Tbsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
8 eggs
2½ cups buttermilk
1 cup oil, blended
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups coffee, hot
Instructions
Sift sugar through salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk sour cream and eggs together, followed by buttermilk. Add the blended oil and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Stream in hot coffee, whisking just until combined.
Divide into four, 10-inch, round cake pans.
Bake at 350°F with the high fan setting for 20 minutes, turning every 10 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn fan down to low and continue baking until cooked through, about 5-15 minutes depending on oven.
Coconut Filling
½ qt heavy cream
3 cups coconut milk
2½ cups sugar
2 tsp salt
⅓ cup corn starch
3 Tbsp coconut rum
1½ lbs butter, softened
1 lb coconut flakes
Instructions
In a large pot, combine heavy cream and coconut milk and begin to heat on medium. Combine sugar and salt. Whisk about half into the heating cream mixture. Whisk the corn starch into the remaining sugar/salt.
Once the cream comes to a simmer, temper with the sugar/cornstarch mixtures, returning it all to the pot. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes, until thick. Stir in the coconut rum and then turn off the heat. Add the softened butter and whisk until incorporated. You can also use an immersion blender for this. Stir in the flaked coconut last. Pour into a large bowl, cover the surface directly with plastic wrap and chill overnight in the refrigerator.
Nutella Crunch
3 cups almonds, sliced and toasted
1½ cups Nutella
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup Rice Krispies (regular or chocolate)
Instructions
Paddle together Nutella, powdered sugar and salt. Stir in almonds, followed by Rice Krispies. Chill until assembling cake.
Chocolate Cream Filling
2½ cups heavy cream
¾ cup honey
2 sticks butter
16 oz semisweet chocolate
8 oz milk chocolate
2 tsp salt
1½ cups sour cream
Instructions
Combine heavy cream, honey and soft butter in a medium sauce pot and bring to a simmer (butter should be melted at this point). Meanwhile, put both chocolates in a bowl. When cream mixture starts to boil, remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Allow to sit 30-60 seconds to melt the chocolate and then whisk until smooth. Stir in the salt, followed by the sour cream, until there are no lumps. Chill in the refrigerator overnight.
Cake Soak
Combine 2 cups simple syrup, 2 cups whole milk and 1 Tbsp vanilla extract. Put in a squeeze bottle.
Cream Cheese Frosting
4 lbs butter, soft
3 lbs cream cheese, soft
3 lbs powdered sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Paddle cream cheese until smooth. Add butter and paddle until evenly combined. Add salt and powdered sugar and paddle on high until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and mix until incorporated.
Cake Assembly
Pull coconut and chocolate creams out of the refrigerator at least 2 hours ahead of assembling, so they are soft and spreadable.
Note: Assemble cake in the order listed below, from the bottom up.
Start by placing a round of coconut cake on your cake board. Pipe a tall boarder of cream cheese frosting around the edge of the cake. Scoop one-quarter of the total chocolate cream filling inside the boarder and spread out evenly with an offset spatula. Sprinkle about one-quarter of the Nutella crunch all over the cream. Press it down into the cream.
Top with a layer of chocolate cake. Drizzle the cake all over with the cake soak. Pipe a tall boarder of cream cheese frosting around the edge of the cake.
Scoop one-quarter of the total coconut cream filling inside the boarder and spread out evenly with an offset spatula. Sprinkle about one-quarter of the Nutella crunch all over the cream. Press it down into the cream. Top with a layer of coconut cake. Drizzle all over with the cake soak. Pipe an extra-tall board of the cream cheese frosting around the edge of the cake.
Scoop one-quarter of the total chocolate cream filling inside the boarder and spread out evenly with an offset spatula. Scoop one-quarter of the total coconut cream filling inside the boarder and spread out evenly with an offset spatula.
Top with the second layer of chocolate cake. Drizzle all over with the cake soak. Place the entire cake in the refrigerator (or freezer) to completely firm up before frosting and finishing.
Assembly Guide
Top of cake
¼ batch coconut cream
¼ batch chocolate cream
Coconut cake
¼ batch Nutella crunch
¼ batch coconut cream
Chocolate cake
¼ batch Nutella crunch
¼ batch chocolate cream
Coconut cake
Bottom of cake
Once cake is firm, cover the entire top and outside with the cream cheese frosting. Smooth out.
Optional step: Decorate sides of cake with a mixture of toasted coconut and toasted sliced almonds.
