Dark Chocolate Cassis Cake and Ghirardelli Carbernet Matinee chocolate pieces, marry with silky whipped Coconut Milk Chocolate Ganache; filled and topped with almond flavored Coconut Milk Pastry Cream and topped with beautiful fresh berries.
Light plays against the dark chocolate, illuminating one side but not quite hiding the other; very nearly dividing the dessert into two distinct halves -- like the juxtaposition between the bright, almost garish colors of fresh berries against a backdrop of dark smoldering cake and chocolate.
But waiting under the berries and behind the intensely dark chocolate cake and silky ganache, is a mild, creamy, almond flavored pastry cream; lending it's own contrast in texture and color.
Light. Dark. Bitter. Sweet. Tangy. Smooth. Fresh. Sharp. Creamy. Fruity. Complex. Bright.
My fork slices through soft silky chocolate, into moist cake, and reveals the pastry cream hidden between.
The intense scent of chocolate, almond, and berries tickles my nose as I bring my fork up for a bite.
Mmmmmmm.
The myriad contrasts of flavors and textures culminate in a seductive play of dark chocolate, sweet cassis, creamy almond, and tart berries in my mouth -- and delight my tongue.
I close my eyes and sigh.
Chocolate Heaven...
So intent on enjoying every bite, I hardly realize I have finished until I hear the clink of the fork against the plate.
Before I know it, I have wiped-up every last bit with my finger.
Did I really do that? Did my family see? No, they are still in their own private chocolate haze.
The Triple Dark Chocolate Berry Seduction Is Complete.
You may think that making a dessert that looks like this is complicated and time consuming. It's not. Not if the Coconut Milk Pastry Cream and Coconut Milk Chocolate Ganache are made the day before. Even better, is to make them two days before, and the Chocolate Cassis Cake the day before, leaving the assembly for the day of your event. Assembly for this dessert took about 20 minutes for all 10 cakes. I know, you think I'm fibbing. But I'm not. Things go much quicker when you use an assembly line approach. If you've been reading my blog, you've probably noticed it's a convention of mine. It helps speed along the preparation of dinner and desserts.
Are these triple chocolate cakes higher in the carb department? You betcha! But, they are special occasion cakes and can be made smaller or shared. You aren't going to want to share - trust me. I might make these in miniature next time just to see what they look like. I bet they are cute. Everything is cute when it's small. Don't you think?
I know you are dying to see the recipe. You're almost there. Again, don't be intimidated. All of the recipes are easy to make. Break it up and it will come together easily. I promise that this dessert will make you a star!
Note: You may have some Coconut Milk Pastry Cream left over and of course the cake left over after cutting out the circles. Why not combine them to make cake pops? Double the recipe for the coconut milk chocolate ganache, and you will have two desserts.
I made a Chocolate Roseberry Trifle with my remaining ingredients. It was delicious.
Looking for another GREAT raspberry recipe? Try the Pistachio Raspberry Rose Tartelettes!
Warning! If you have dogs, make sure they DO NOT EAT ANY XYLITOL if you are using it. If ingested, xylitol causes extreme low blood sugar in dogs and can cause liver failure. Dogs should not have chocolate anyway and that is the ingredient in which I use xylitol. Erythritol likes to recrystallize and xylitol resists doing so. Use the sweetener you feel most comfortable using.
Although the serving size says 10, each cake will easily satisfy two people!
Net carbs 12 per each whole cake or 6 per each half cake.
[Disclosure: This recipe contains affiliate links to products that I actually have, use, and enjoy, or very similar items. If you purchase an item through one of these links, I will earn a small commission at no additional expense to you. This helps me continue to run the site and provide free recipes.]
Dark and Seductive Triple Chocolate Cake With Berries and Coconut Milk
Ingredients
Coconut Milk Pastry Cream
- 2 cups coconut milk (full fat)
- ½ cup erythritol (powdered)
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
- â…› teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
Coconut Milk Chocolate Ganache
- 3 ounces 86 % Dark Chocolate
- 1 ½ ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- ¼ cup xylitol powdered (or ⅓ cup erythritol, powdered)
- â…“ cup coconut cream
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Dark Chocolate Cassis Cake
- 2 cups almond flour
- â…“ cup coconut flour
- ½ cup erythritol
- â…“ cup dark cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 squares Ghirardelli Cabernet Matinee Chocolate cut into tiny squares
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- â…“ cup coconut milk room temperature, full fat
- 2 tablespoons Cassis Liqueur
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Garnish
- Fresh Berries
- Pomegranate seeds optional
- Mint leaves optional
Instructions
- For the Coconut Milk Pastry Cream: Pour the coconut milk into a medium sized sauce pan, cover and turn the heat to medium low. Separate the eggs and set aside. In a medium heat-proof bowl, add the erythritol, cornstarch (or arrowroot) and salt. Add the 3 egg yolks and 1 egg and whisk to start dissolving the erythritol.
- When the coconut milk begins to simmer, turn the heat off and remove the pot from the heat. Begin whisking the egg mixture and start adding the hot coconut milk to the eggs, while whisking continuously. The melting of the erythritol will help protect the eggs a bit from scrambling. Once ½ of the hot coconut milk mixture has been added, pour the rest of the coconut milk mixture into the bowl, while still whisking.
- Put the sauce pan back on to the stove and pour the coconut milk pastry cream into the pan. Turn the heat to medium low and slowly whisk the mixture continuously for two minutes. Then turn the heat down to low-ish and continue stirring the coconut milk pastry cream. In a few minutes, all at once, the pastry cream will begin to thicken. Continue stirring for one minute - to cook the starch out of the mixture. Remove from the heat.
- NOTE: I like to cool my coconut milk pastry cream immediately. Before beginning the coconut milk pastry cream, I fill a large bowl half way with ice. Then I add a little water to help the ice melt. When the coconut pastry cream is finished cooking, I put it back into my medium bowl and set the medium bowl inside of the larger bowl. I stir and fold the coconut pastry cream until it is cool. Then, I use it right away or refrigerate it for use later.
- For the Coconut Milk Chocolate Ganache: To make the coconut cream, put a can of coconut milk in the refrigerator over night. In the morning, turn the can over and pour out the liquid, leaving the solidified coconut cream. That's what you want. Measure the coconut cream and put it into a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Measure the xylitol (or erythritol) and powder it in a coffee grinder. Stir it into the coconut cream.
- Meanwhile, weigh the chocolates and chop them very finely and put â…” of it into a medium heat proof bowl. When the xylitol has melted and the coconut cream is hot and bubbly, add it to the chocolate and let it sit for five minutes. Stir gently and then add the rest of the chocolate to the bowl. Let it sit for a minute and then stir again until it is smooth. Add the vanilla and ghee and stir until incorporated. Let cool on the counter for several hours before using.
- For the Dark Chocolate Cassis Cake: Preheat oven to 350 and position oven rack to the lower third of the oven. Trace the bottom perimeter of a sheet pan onto a piece of parchment paper and cut it out to line the bottom of the sheet pan after spraying the pan with baking spray. Chop the Ghirardelli Cabernet Matinee Chocolate into very small squares - mini chocolate chip size.
- Measure the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Measure the wet ingredients into a smaller bowl and beat with a hand mixer. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix thoroughly with a hand mixer. Working quickly, pour the batter into the sheet pan. The batter is very thick, so spread it to all four edges of the pan with the back of a rubber spatula. Try to make the batter as even as possible through-out the whole sheet pan. This step took me about 5 minutes to do. (Using an oiled piece of waxed paper on top of the batter helps this process along and makes a pretty, flat cake surface.)
- Put the sheet pan in the oven and raise the temperature to 400 for 3 minutes. Then, turn the oven back down to 350 and bake for 8-12 minutes more. When the cake has finished baking, remove the sheet pan from the oven and cover the cake with a clean tea towel. Let cool. Using a 3 inch biscuit cutter, cut 20 rounds of the chocolate cassis cake. Transfer them to another sheet pan or a container, separating any stacked layers with a piece of waxed paper.
- To Assemble the Triple Dark Chocolate Berry Seduction: Put a sheet pan on your work surface and place half of the chocolate cassis cake rounds on the sheet pan. We're going to use an assembly-line production to make this fast and easy. Remove the Coconut Milk Pastry Cream from the refrigerator and stir with a spoon. Put the bowl of pastry cream with-in reach of your work surface.
- Whip the Coconut Milk Chocolate Ganache with two tablespoons of Swerve Confectioners, until it lightens in color, and is silky smooth. Put a large star tip or round tip into a pastry bag. Add the coconut milk chocolate ganache and slowly squeeze it down towards the tip. Twist the un-filled portion of the bag so it rests snugly against the chocolate ganache, making sure to keep the twist pinched between the thumb and forefinger, right at the crook where they meet. Slowly pipe a circle of chocolate ganache inside the outer edge of all the chocolate cake rounds on the cookie sheet. Next, spoon some Coconut Milk Pastry Cream into the little well that has been created. Just make sure that it is even or just below the piped coconut milk chocolate ganache, so it doesn't squish out. You'll only use 1-2 tablespoons of the pastry cream on this layer.
- Gently place the other chocolate cake rounds on top of those that have been decorated. Don't push down on them, but gently press just to level the top layer of cake. Again, pipe the chocolate ganache around the inside of the outer edge of all of the cassis cake rounds. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons into the well that has been created by the piped chocolate ganache, again, making it level with the top of the chocolate ganache.
- Garnish the top of the Triple Dark Chocolate Berry Seduction with fresh berries.
Helen
Thanks for the pan measurements, Kim, you're very helpful! Thanks also for the baking tip - my oven does run a bit hot so I will be sure to keep an eye on the cake as it's baking! I hope to make this soon, for my birthday, if I can be organised enough to make the pastry cream and ganache the day before. Otherwise, I have a layer of your Low Carb Chocolate Birthday Cake in the freezer (which, btw, is a great recipe!)
Kim Hardesty
Happy Birthday, Helen! I love taking my time to make more involved cakes like this. You may need to warm the ganache just a touch to get it workable because unsweetened chocolate is very hard and erythritol has the tendency to get hard, too. I haven't made this cake in several years, but it was delicious when I was testing it. Let me know if you have any questions. I can get my text number to you too, if you need it or we can connect on What's App. Have a great birthday. -Kim
Helen
Could I ask, what are the measurements of the sheet pan? I have googled sheet pan sizes but there seem to be a few sizes (I'm from Australia so am unfamiliar with this).
This looks so delicious and I'd love to make it! I'm happy that it's dairy free!
Kim Hardesty
Hi Helen. Sure. It is a half sheet pan and the dimensions are 18in x 13in (460mm x 330mm). Remember that all ovens cook differently, so watch it so that it doesn't over cook. This is recipe has a lot of steps, none of which are too hard. It was one of the first recipes I shared when starting out. I hope you enjoy it. Be well. -Kim
Melissa
You're recipes look wonderful! I'm so glad I found your website. I was wondering if you ever use stevia as a sweetener in any recipes? How might a recipe be modified for stevia as a sweetener?
Thanks!
Kim
Hi Melissa. This is actually an older recipe from 3 1/2 years ago. You can absolutely use some stevia in this cake, but you have to be careful with chocolate and coffee with stevia. They bring out bitter flavors in each other and can become too bitter. Read my articles on sweeteners in the article section located in the menu bar. If you still have any questions, feel free to ask! -Kim
Cheryl
OMG! This looks SO pretty! My kids and I crave chocolate! I think I will try this recipe!
Kim
Enjoy! -Kim
Thalia @ butter and brioche
All that chocolate.. and all those berries.. this IS my ideal type of decadent dessert!
Kim
Oh, Thalia, it was sublime. Thanks! Your site is named after two of my favorite things.
Hannah
This looks incredible!
Kim
Hannah-
Thanks so much. Sorry that your comment took so long to approve. It was caught by my Spam filter. I love the name of your site. Have a Happy New Year!
-Kim
Karishma
This looks so decadent and amazing! And I love that it is dairy free, since I am lactose intolerant :)
I am definitely going to have to try this some time.
Kim
Karishma, thanks for stopping by. Most of the recipes on the blog are gluten and dairy free, so enjoy! Please let me know how this turns out. -Kim
Wendi Spraker
Hi! I followed you over here from FBP, I had read about your plug-in and wanted to check it out for myself. However, I DO Have to say that these photos are LOVELY! Just beautiful! Thanks for sharing! I may have to make this sometime!
Kim
Wendi, hello! The plug in works great, but you must leave 30 or more characters unused or your message will be cut off as mine was. The featured image takes up characters and you never know how many it will use. My tags get cut off all the time. Darn. Thanks for your kind words. It was a fun dessert to make. See you on FBP.