Silky, smooth Italian Meringue Buttercream layered between rich, decadent chocolate mud cake to create this Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Cake topped with chocolate flakes and eggs.
To make the caramel (can be made days in advance):
Scald milk in a small saucepan and set aside.
In a medium heavy-duty saucepan, dry caramelize sugar, stirring continually with a wooden spoon.
Remove from heat and slowly add warm cream and salt, stirring until combined.
Set aside to cool.
To make the cake:
Preheat oven to 325ºF.
Place sugar and milk in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar is completely melted.
Remove from heat and stir in butter and chocolate until melted. Set aside to cool.
Add the beaten eggs and sift in the dry ingredients. Whisk until smooth and without any lumps.
Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and swirl in a ¼ cup of caramel.
Bake for 1.5 hours, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
Let the cake cool completely in the cake pan before turning it out.
To make the buttercream:
In a medium heavy-duty saucepan, combine water and the 340 grams of sugar and cook to soft ball stage (116ºC/240ºF).
While the sugar is cooking, add the remaining sugar and egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Begin whipping the egg whites on medium speed, once the sugar mixture reaches around the 110ºC/230ºF mark. You want the egg whites whipped to soft peaks by the time the sugar reaches soft ball.
When the sugar reached sift ball, remove from heat and while the egg whites are still whipping, slowly and steadily pour the sugar syrup into the bowl, keeping the steam of hot syrup as close to the edge of the bowl as possible.
To decorate:
Place the cake on a bowl, or cake pan that is slightly smaller than the cake's circumference and set on a sheet pan. This raises the cake up for easier application of the flakes, while the excess is contained in the sheet pan. You can also use a cake turntable to make rotating the cake easier.
Notes
Sweet Tips: If you want to omit the salted caramel, simply increase the sugar quantity by ¼ cup.As always, to achieve a full, fluffy meringue, be sure all equipment and utensils are free of grease. You can get super anal like me and have separate bowls and utensils reserved for meringues, or simply use lemon or vinegar to clean the bowl, whisk attachment and spatula prior to use.Be very careful when working with hot sugar. Keep the stream of syrup slow and steady and as close to the inner side of the bowl as possible.