See that picture directly above? The one with the pretty black and white cake? I made that! Me!

I’m usually more humble about my creations, but this one makes me giddy – but more about why in some posts to come. For now, let me tell you about this cake. Check it out – the cake layers, made from scratch (natch), have TWO different chocolates melted into them, one for the light checkers, and one for the dark. 

The batter is the smoothest of any cake batter i’ve ever made. It’s almost foamy, it’s so airy and light. It’s made with puffy clouds (and rainbows and unicorns) … and a truckload of butter.

I’ve been obsessed with this book since the first time I read Deb’s praises of it on Smitten Kitchen. Then, once I had my own copy, I became obsessed with this cake. I found the dividers on eBay and I couldn’t wait for an excuse to bake it, and with so many friends turning 30 this year, the opportunity came along before I knew it.

My favorite thing about this cake was the extreme attention to detail that each and every step demands. The batters require tempered, cooled white and dark chocolate to be meticulously blended, to prevent the eggs in the batter from being cooked and causing lumps. Piping each layer into the sections requires focus and care to ensure that there are equal amounts of batter to go around. And once the batter is all piped in, the divider has to be slowly, evenly pulled straight out of the cake to prevent sliding between the dark and light rings.

But once you’ve cleared that part, you get to prepare the decadent, smooth ganache made with 65% dark chocolate. Swoon…

I also survived my first buttercream (there was laughter, there were tears), which was not just any ordinary buttercream, but a white chocolate one which required (for the fourth time) tempering chocolate in the double broiler and also heating a mixture of sugar and water to exactly 238 degrees, which is then drizzled into the bowl of my mixer in the tiniest of streams as it whisks away at egg whites on high speed, cooking and sweetening them simultaneously. 

It got tense for a while there, when the addition of butter created a slop in the mixing bowl that had the consistency of vanilla pudding (epic fail). All I could do was stand there staring into the bowl, watching the blades whirr and pray to the gods of cake that I wouldn’t have to start over. It was a very long four minutes, but then suddenly – it just came together. It was characteristically light, but at the same time, dense and workable, and thanks to the aforementioned sugar solution, there wasn’t a hint of the grainy texture from confectioners sugar that you find with cupcake or wedding cake buttercreams. 

With frosting ready, I was off, cloistered away in my own private world of smoothing, adjusting, turning, smoothing, removing, adding, adjusting . I used an actual piping bag for the first time to do the trim and it was just so much fun.

I was hoping to make adorable little uniform chocolate curls, but they were so brittle and delicate, they kept crumbling. Perhaps if I had used a chocolate with a higher cacao butter ratio, they would have been more flexible. I think the shavings still achieved a pretty great effect.

The dinner was a lot of fun, complete with good food and friends that we never seem to be able to see enough. I thought it was very cool that Victoria’s husband Barry had kept our scheming cake emails a secret until the cake was actually brought out. 

During dinner, Barry tapped his glass and made a nice toast to Victoria, reminiscing about how they met,  and eventually became engaged and married. Their happiness was written all over the way that they looked at one another. As Barry told their story, in which he convinces Victoria, at each step of their courtship, to fall in love with him, I thought about how fast I had become friends with the both of them through Brain, and how accepting they have been since the very first time we were introduced. We always have so much fun, each and every time I see them. Victoria and Devon both turned 30 on the same night, and how refreshing that there was no depressing talk of crossing the first major age milestone, but rather, a tremendous celebration of accomplishment and a wholehearted “bring it on!” for the years to come.

Black and White Park Avenue Cake Recipe
Adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne

3 cups all-purpose or cake flour

2 cups sugar

4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (8oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

4 whole eggs

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

2 oz white chocolate, melted and cooled

Semisweet ganache (see below)

White chocolate buttercream (see below)

Dark chocolate shavings

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (or wait until you are about 15 minutes from being ready to put the cake in the oven, around step 4). Butter three checkerboard cake pans, 8 to 9 inches in diameter. Line the bottoms with parchment and butter the paper.

2. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the mixer on low speed, blend for 30 seconds. Add the butter and 1 cup of the buttermilk and beat until just combined and evenly moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks, remaining 1/4 cup buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to the batter in 2 or 3 additions, scraping down the sides each time and beating only until incorporated after each addition, do not overmix.

4. To make the dark chocolate batter, whisk one cup of the vanilla batter into the melted, unsweetened chocolate, then gently whisk in another 3 cups of batter (I used more, because I felt that the batters looked uneven and still ended up with less chocolate – use at least 4 1/2 cups).

5. For the white batter, whisk one cup of the vanilla batter into the melted white chocolate and whisk back into the remaining vanilla batter in the bowl as gently as possible. Using the dividers provided in the set, and two pastry bags or plastic bags with the one corner each clipped, fill the pans about half full. The cakes will rise to the top when done. You’ll need two layers with 2 chocolate rings and 1 layer with two vanilla rings.

6. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick comes out clean. Allow the layers to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks. peel off the paper and let cool completely. Wrap in plastic and freeze for at least one hour. Remove from the freezer and use a knife or cake leveler to make the tops of the layers completely flat.

7. To assemble the cake, place one of the layers with 2 chocolate rings on a cake stand, covered cardboard round, or large serving plate. Scoop about 1/3 of the ganache onto the cake and spread it evenly over the layer, leaving 1/4 inch untouched around the edges of the cake. Place the layer with two vanilla rings on top and spread another layer of ganache on it. Top with the final cake layer, taking care to align the sides, so the pattern will be even. Place the cake in the fridge and make the buttercream.

8. Frost the sides and top with the white chocolate buttercream, carefully smoothing out the frosting. Decorate the cake with chocolate shavings, candy wafers, or chocolate covered nuts.

Semisweet Ganache

6oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream to a simmer, pour over the chocolate, and let stand 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth.

White Chocolate Buttercream

3 egg whites

4 oz good-quality white chocolate

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

3 sticks (12 oz) butter, at room temperature

1. Put the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and set the mixer up for use. melt the white chocolate anbout halfway in a double broiler over simmering water. Remove from the heat, stir until smooth, and set aside to cool.

2. Combine the sugar and water in a small, heavy saucepan. Set over medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil and cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, 238 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

3. Immediately start beating the egg whites on medium-low speed. Slowly add the syrup in a thin stream, taking care not to hit the beaters.Continue to whip until the mixture is body temperature and a stiff meringue has formed.

4. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter, 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time. When all of the butter is incorporated, beat on medium speed until the frosting appears to curdle. Continue to whip, and suddenly it will come together. At this point, add the melted white chocolate and mix well.