Yule Stump Cake

Prep Time: 2 hours | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Course: Dessert | Servings: 12 

Black magic cake with chocolate espresso buttercream, filled with an espresso whipped cream and a chocolate bark with caramel rings. The stumps answer to a yule log. Count the caramel rings on this birthday boy's cake…I see 64. Happy birthday honey!!! Inspired by Zoe Francois, Mod Yule Log from Zoë Bakes Cakes on instagram. https://zoebakes.com/ and Trader Joes for their cute candies and chocolate confections.

Black Magic Cake: 

1 ¾ cups flour

2 cups sugar

¾ cup cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup strong coffee or 1 cup water with ⅓ cup instant coffee

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup vegetable oil (I use olive oil)

1 tsp vanilla

Spray oil

Cinnamon sugar mixture

Preheat oven to 350*  Spray oil and line with parchment 3 round 8” cake pans,  and sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon sugar. Whisk dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Whisk eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla together and pour in the dry ingredients. Mix together in a stand mixer or with a wooden spoon until just incorporated (batter will be very thin). Pour into the prepared cake pans and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a tester/toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool, run a knife around the pan rim and turn out onto a cooling rack; remove parchment.. 

Espresso Whipped Cream:

2 cups heavy cream

½ cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp kahlua

1 tsp vanilla

½ cup toffee bits or chocolate covered toffee cut into pieces

Whip cream in a stand mixer to medium peaks. Add in the brown sugar, kahlua and vanilla, whip until it is incorporated. Fold in the toffee bits.

Swiss Chocolate  Meringue Buttercream:

4 egg whites

¾ cup sugar

3 sticks butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1 oz kahlua liqueur

1Tbsp espresso powder

4 oz chocolate chips, melted and cooled

Warm egg whites and sugar in a double boiler until the sugar has melted and the egg whites are just warm to the touch. Beat with the whisk attachment in a stand mixer to medium peaks. Add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Beat until smooth, measure the vanilla, kahlua and espresso powder together, stir. Mix in the vanilla mixture and melted chocolate beating frosting until it comes together smoothly. 

Fill a pastry bag with an extra large round tip such as 1A. Run a ring of icing around two of the cake rounds. Fill in the center of the rings with espresso whipped cream. Stack the layers and place the third layer on top. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Place on a platter or other surface to decorate for a woodland scene.

2 cups chocolate chips, melted

Caramel sauce, for stump rings

Powdered sugar, for snow

Toffee bits

Truffles and candy confections

Melt the chocolate chips until just melted, stirring until all lumps are smooth. Spread onto a silpat or parchment lined baking tray. Swiping up at both ends decoratively and creating bark lines up and down the tray. Using a butter knife or other blunt edge, run a line through the middle so you have two layers of bark (see photo below). Let the chocolate set until somewhat hard but still malleable and peel silpat off to rim around the cake; or let chocolate set until hard and break pieces off to lay around the cake as if the “bark wood” is old, break into pieces/slices around the stump cake edge. Pour caramel “rings” on top of the cake and top with a layer of extra toffee bits. Dust with powdered sugar to look like snow and decorate the platter with truffles and candies as desired.