Ingredients
Scale
Chocolate Cake
- 2½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (70 g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk, room temperature
- ½ cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
- 1 cup (240 ml) hot freshly brewed coffee
Chocolate Orange Buttercream
- 2 cups (454 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 6 cups (720 g) powdered sugar, sifted
- ¾ cup (70 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- Up to ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
Chocolate Cookie Crunch
- 1½ cups crushed chocolate sandwich cookies
- ¾ cup crushed chocolate wafer cookies
- 4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Pinch of fine salt
Dark Chocolate Ganache
- 10 oz (283 g) semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
- ¾ cup (180 ml) heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) unsalted butter
Chocolate Orange Finish
- 6–8 chocolate-orange style segments
- 5–6 chocolate sandwich cookies
- 4 chocolate-coated wafer fingers
- 5–6 irregular milk chocolate pieces
- 3–4 chocolate wafer rolls
- ½ cup chocolate-cookie crumbs
- Finely grated orange zest, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease three 8-inch square cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper and grease the parchment.
- Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Break up any cocoa lumps.
- In a second bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla, and orange zest.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix on low just until mostly combined. Slowly pour in the hot coffee. Continue mixing only until the batter is smooth. The batter should be fairly thin.
- Divide the batter equally among the three pans. Bake for 25–30 minutes. Begin checking at 24–25 minutes. A toothpick should come out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.
- Cool the cakes in their pans for 10–15 minutes. Turn them onto wire racks and cool completely. For easier assembly, wrap and chill the layers for about 30–60 minutes.
- Make the cookie crunch. Combine both crushed cookies, melted butter, and a pinch of salt. Spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 7–8 minutes. Cool completely before stirring in the mini chocolate chips.
- Make the buttercream. Beat softened butter for 3–4 minutes until creamy. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder on low speed.
- Add vanilla, orange juice, orange zest, salt, and approximately half of the heavy cream. Beat until smooth. Add additional cream 1 tablespoon at a time only as needed. The finished frosting should be creamy but firm enough to support a tall cake.
- Level the chilled cake layers if necessary. Place the first layer on a sturdy cake board. Spread with buttercream, then pipe a slightly raised buttercream dam around the perimeter.
- Add cookie crunch inside the buttercream dam. Keep the crunchy filling about ½ inch from the outer edge. Add the second cake layer and repeat. Finish with the third layer.
- Apply a thin crumb coat over the entire cake. Refrigerate for 20–30 minutes until firm.
- Apply the final buttercream coat. Use a bench scraper to create straight sides and defined square corners. Refrigerate again for 30–45 minutes.
- Make the ganache. Place finely chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until steaming with tiny bubbles around the perimeter. Pour it over the chocolate and leave untouched for 2 minutes.
- Stir slowly until smooth and glossy. Stir in the butter. Allow the ganache to cool until thick but still pourable.
- Test one drip on the back of the cold cake. If it runs immediately to the board, wait for the ganache to cool further. If it barely moves, warm it very gently.
- Once the consistency is correct, create irregular drips around the cake. Spread a thin layer of ganache across the top.
- Arrange the tallest wafer fingers, chocolate bars, and wafer rolls toward the back and center. Add cookies and chocolate-orange segments at different heights. Fill smaller gaps with chocolate pieces and cookie crumbs.
- Chill until stable. For clean slices, warm a sharp knife under hot water, dry it thoroughly, make one cut, then clean and repeat.
Notes
- Do not frost warm cake. Even slightly warm layers can soften the buttercream and cause this tall cake to slide.
- Use room-temperature eggs and buttermilk for more even mixing.
- Hot coffee makes the batter thin. This is intentional.
- Do not pulverize all the cookies into dust. Coarse crumbs give the filling its crunch.
- Bake the cookie crunch before assembly and let it become completely cold.
- Keep cookie crunch away from the outer edges so crumbs do not break through the frosting.
- Add heavy toppings only to a thoroughly chilled cake.
- For the characteristic square appearance, use three 8-inch square pans rather than round pans.
- Chill the cake twice: after the crumb coat and after the final buttercream coat.
- Always perform a test drip before adding ganache to the visible sides.
- The exact ganache consistency depends partly on the chocolate used.
- Fresh orange zest provides stronger natural citrus aroma than orange juice alone.
- Avoid grating the bitter white pith beneath the orange peel.
- Store the finished cake covered in the refrigerator. For foods requiring refrigeration, FDA consumer guidance uses 40°F/4°C or below as the refrigerator benchmark.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 38 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American