Sweet & Salty Chocolate Layer Cake – layers of rich buttermilk chocolate cake & ganache, drizzled with a salted caramel sauce & topped with coarse sea salt. Sweet & salty has never tasted this decadent.

If you follow my blog you know I am a sucker for anything sweet and salty especially if it involves chocolate. Check out some of my favorite and salty desserts & snacks.

DESSERTS: Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Tart, Peanut Butter Toffee Bark, Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce, and Peanut Butter Hot Fudge.

SNACKS: Sweet & Salty Marshmallow Popcorn, Sweet & Salty No-Bake Popcorn Cookies, Sweet & Salty Halloween Chex Mix and Sweet & Salty Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.

Sweet & Salty Chocolate Layer Cake - layers of rich buttermilk chocolate cake & ganache, drizzled with a salted caramel sauce & topped with coarse sea salt.

I love rich & fudge-like desserts and that is exactly the kind of cake I wanted for my birthday.

We recently went to our favorite restaurant in Denver, Hacienda Colorado. Our entire family literally drink their salsa by the bowl fulls. We are always so full from their chips & salsa that we never order dessert. That was until last month during our Spring Break staycation. We saw another table get this chocolate layer cake and it looked to die for. Of course, we ordered it to go so we could eat it that night in our hotel room while watching a movie.

Sweet & Salty Chocolate Layer Cake - layers of rich buttermilk chocolate cake & ganache, drizzled with a salted caramel sauce & topped with coarse sea salt.

The kids and I were uber excited to try it and like I expected there would silence after we each had our first bite. But sadly the only moment of silence was for how terrible this cake was. It tasted completely freezer burned and was such a disappointment. I told the kids not to worry that when we got home I would make the same cake but better, which trust me wouldn’t be hard to do.

 

Sweet & Salty Chocolate Layer Cake TWITTER

Since my birthday was only a week away, I decided that would be the day to make a better version of the Sweet & Salty Chocolate Layer Cake. And my homemade version of this cake lived up to its hype. Each of us took a small slice because it is that rich. Then topped it with a small dab of vanilla bean ice cream to balance the decadent cake. 

Sweet & Salty Chocolate Layer Cake - layers of rich buttermilk chocolate cake & ganache, drizzled with a salted caramel sauce & topped with coarse sea salt.

 My birthday turned out to be one tasty celebration. Enjoy! XOXO San

How do you make Sweet & Salty Chocolate Layer Cake?

  • Preheat oven to 350º F.
  • Lightly spray two or three 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and lightly dust with flour, tapping with a spoon to remove excess; set aside.
  • In mixing bowl add buttermilk, water, oil, sugar, eggs, baking soda, and salt; stir together until it is well combined.
  • Add in flour and cocoa powder and whisk until smooth and there are no lumps. 
  • Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes (3 pans) or 30-35 minutes (2 pans), or until you can lightly touch the center and it springs back.
  • Cool pans on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes, then remove cakes and allow to completely cool on the wire rack.
  • Once cooled prepare filling.
  • In a small saucepan add the whipping cream and bring to a boil, remove from heat and add in chocolate chips.
  • Do not mix or stir them in, let the chocolate sit for 5 minutes.
  • Stir until smooth.
  • Let it cool for about 15 minutes or until it starts to thicken.
  • Make sure it is cool, at least to room temp, before you layer the cake.
  • Layer the cake by placing one cake on a cake plate or stand then spread 1/2 cup of the ganache on top of the first layer.
  • Set in the fridge to chill for 5 minutes.
  • Remove from the fridge, place another cake layer on top of the ganache layer. Then spread 1/2 cup of ganache on top.
  • Place in the fridge to chill for 5 minutes.
  • Remove from the fridge and add the last cake layer and add the remaining ganache on top of the cake.
  • Chill cake in the fridge for 20 minutes or until ganache is set.
  • Slice the cake, add one piece of cake to plate, generously drizzle with caramel sauce and sprinkle with coarse sea salt, although kosher salt would work as well.

Don’t forget to pin this Sweet & Salty Chocolate Layer Cake recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.

 Sweet & Salty Chocolate Layer Cake - layers of rich buttermilk chocolate cake & ganache, drizzled with a salted caramel sauce & topped with coarse sea salt.

 

Sweet & Salty Chocolate Layer Cake

Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 16
Sweet & Salty Chocolate Layer Cake - layers of rich buttermilk chocolate cake & ganache, drizzled with a salted caramel sauce & topped with coarse sea salt. Sweet & salty has never tasted this decadent.

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice stir together and let it sit for 5 minutes)
  • 1 cup water
  • 2/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Ganache

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Toppings

  • caramel sauce
  • coarse sea salt Kosher salt will work too.

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350º F.
  • Lightly spray two or three 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and lightly dust with flour, tapping with a spoon to remove excess; set aside.
  • In mixing bowl, add buttermilk, water, oil, sugar, eggs, baking soda and salt; stir together until it is well combined. Add in flour and cocoa powder and whisk until smooth and there are no lumps. This batter is runny don’t stress, instead lick the bowl clean.
  • Pour batter evenly into prepared pan(s).
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes (3 pans) or 30-35 minutes (2 pans), or until you can lightly touch the center and it springs back. Cool pans on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes, then remove cakes and allow to completely cool on the wire rack. Once cooled prepare filling.
  • In a small sauce pan add the whipping cream and bring to a boil, remove from heat and add in chocolate chips. Do not mix or stir them in, let the chocolate sit for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let it cool for about 15 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Make sure it is cool, at least to room temp, before you layer the cake.
  • Layer the cake by placing one cake on a cake plate or stand, then spread 1/2 cup of the ganache on top of the first layer. Set in the fridge to chill for 5 minutes. Remove from the fridge, place another cake layer on top of the ganache layer. Then spread 1/2 cup of ganache of the cake. Place in fridge to chill for 5 minutes. Remove from the fridge and add the last cake layer and add the remaining ganache on top of the cake. Chill cake in fridge for 20 minutes or until ganache is set.
  • Slice the cake, add one piece of cake to plate, generously drizzle with caramel sauce and sprinkle with coarse sea salt, although kosher salt would work as well.
Tried this recipe?Let us know what you think!

 

 

Similar Posts

8 Comments

  1. I think this cake is going to send my 4th of July dinner over the TOP! I’ve already printed it out and wondering if I should do a “test run” on it before then, hmmm, better not, unless I have stretchy pants on until the 4th Ü
    And Hacienda Colorado’s Salsa…..if ever there was a copy of a recipe I wanted more than anything, it would be their salsa. We were just there last night and people around us must have thought my Husband and I were nuts. Smearing the salsa out on our chips too see what was in it. Picking out the seeds one by one to tell if they were tomato or tomatillo. Definitely roasted charred tomatoes. It’s to die for, I know…sigh

    1. OH! Sweet another Hacienda salsa. We just went on Sunday on our way home from a family reunion. What do you order there? My favorite is Paige’s All Beef Burrito. My hubby and kids love their Quesadillas off their old, old menu – steak!

      xo San

      1. Funny! I’m still on the ultimate search to find Hacienda’s salsa recipe! I was sooo excited as I read your post and then realized…”HEY, I made this awesome cake of her’s before”. Then I see my old post whining about how I long for their salsa recipe. Ü
        What do I order there? Always, ALWAYS their Chile Rellenos. They stuff a poblano pepper with gooey cheese then wrap it in a thin eggroll skin wrapper. It is then deep fried to a super crispy golden brown before being smothering in Spicy Pork Green Chile. I just love it and very rarely stray from this option.

      2. You’ve got try their Chile Rellenos. They aren’t the traditional egg battered chiles, which I don’t like at all. They are green chiles stuffed with Monterey Jack/cheddar cheese then and encased in an egg roll wrapper….. then deep fried! I never stray from the Spicy Hatch Green Chile sauce. I just love ’em! I’ve made them at home quite successfully, too. Hardly ever deep fry anything, so a thin layer of oil in a hot skillet to pan fry both sides works for me. But, that salsa….still haven’t found the secret scroll that has that recipe on it Ü And your Sweet/Salty Chocolate Layer Cake was absolutely sinful. Such a fantastic recipe for special occasions (a.k.a. every other weekend…just kidding) It’s a Keeper! Thanks ♥

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating