Chocolate Marzipan Cake

2014 is the year of “you,” and what better way to treat yourself than with the ultimate chocolate cake? We can’t get enough of this triple layer chocolate-marzipan cake recipe provided by our exclusive dessert contributor, Melina of Sugary and Buttery. Serve this thick, sweet cake and delight your guests at your next party, or just eat it as a perfect after-dinner treat for the next few days. Here’s what Melina has to say about her recipe:

“This cake is pure decadence… and highly addictive! It has three thick layers of rich almond-chocolate cake stacked with dark chocolate ganache and marzipan, and it’s all topped off with cake truffles. I admit, this is not exactly the right cake for anyone trying to drop those holiday pounds, but it’s worth it! The original recipe is German, so all the ingredients are listed in metric measurements. I converted all ingredients to US measurements, but I would recommend using the original measurements if possible.”

TRIPLE LAYER CHOCOLATE-MARZIPAN CAKE RECIPE

FOR THE CAKE:
–2 sticks butter, room temperature
–150 g (2/3 cups) light brown sugar
–100 g (1/2 cup) white sugar
–6 eggs
–200 g (7 oz) ground almonds
–120 g (1 cup) flour
–200 g (7 oz) chopped dark chocolate chips
–1/2 teaspoon baking powder
–2 tablespoons cocoa powder
–2 teaspoons almond extract
–Marzipan

FOR THE GANACHE:
–16 oz dark chocolate chips (Ghirardelli 60%)
–1 stick butter
–1/4 cup heavy cream

FOR THE GANACHE:
1. Melt the chocolate and butter over a double boiler. Stir in cream until smooth. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease three 5 inch cake pans.

FOR THE CAKE:
1. Cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time.
2. Add the almond extract and keep beating for another 2-3 minutes.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, chopped chocolate, cocoa powder, and almonds.
4. With your mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until incorporated. In order to not overbeat the batter, start to incorporate the ingredients by hand after about 1 minute.
5. Spread the batter evenly amongst the cake pans and bake for 50-55 minutes.
6. Let the cakes cool down completely. Once they are cooled down, cut the tops off to make the layers even. Save the cake tops!

ASSEMBLY:
1. Roll out the marzipan and cut out two 5 inch layers. Set aside.
2. Spread the chocolate ganache on the first cake layer, cover with marzipan, spread ganache on top of the marzipan, and top with the second cake layer. Repeat this for the second cake layer.
3. Crumb coat the layered cake with ganache to lock in all the crumbs before you apply your final layer. Just apply a thin layer of ganache all around the cake and on top. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes until the chocolate ganache has hardened.
4. Now add your final layer of ganache. In case the ganache is too hard, put it back on a double boiler for a minute. Make sure not to melt the chocolate all the way.
5. Now crumble your cake tops and add some of the chocolate ganache. Mix it well with your hands and form little balls. Refrigerate the truffle balls, then roll in cocoa powder. Decorate them on your cake.