Almond Joy Cake Recipe - My Cake School (2024)

Prep Time30 minutes

Cook Time25 minutes

Additional Time45 minutes

Total Time1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients

For the Classic Chocolate Cake Layers

• 2 cups (400g) sugar
• 2 3/4 cup (322g) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (82g) unsweetened cocoa (lightly spoon into cup then sift)
• 2 teaspoons ((10g) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon (2g) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (2g) salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) (226g) unsalted butter, softened (do not soften in microwave) I cut the butter into 1 inch pieces onto waxed paper leaving on the countertop for 8 to 10 minutes it will still be quite cool when adding to the dry ingredients. If it becomes too soft, just refrigerate a few minutes
• 1/4 cup (54g) vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 cup (220g) milk
• 1 teaspoon (4g) vanilla extract
• 1 cup (220g) hot coffee, it can be instant or brewed

For the Coconut Filling

• 1/2 cup (121g) milk
• 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
• 2 1/2 cups (220g) sweetened coconut ( I used Bakers Flake Coconut)
• 1/2 bag (144g) mini marshmallows or 24 large (155g) marshmallows (the large ones can be cut into small pieces for easier melting)
• 1 teaspoon (4g) coconut extract

For the Ganache Frosting

• 650 grams chocolate, chopped into small pieces (We used Trader Joe's Pound Plus Dark Chocolate which is 54% cocoa)
• 325 grams ( 1 1/2 cup) heavy cream

Instructions

For the Chocolate Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease and flour THREE 8 inch cake pans
3. In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients: sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk for 1 minute to blend.
4. Add softened butter a few pieces at a time while the mixer is on low speed. Mix until the dry ingredients look like coarse sand and the dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
5. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, milk , oil and vanilla until blended.
6. Method is important when using the Reverse Creaming Method. With the mixer on low speed, SLOWLY add approximately 1/2 of the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 1 1/2 minutes at medium speed. Don't mix above medium speed. Scrape the bottom and sides of bowl. Add the remaining egg mixture in 2 pourings, beating for 20 seconds after each pour. Scrape the sides and bottom of bowl.
7. Slowly add the cup of hot coffee and mix another 30 seconds until blended. The batter will be very runny. Don't worry!
8. Pour into 3 prepared 8" pans and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until the center of the cake springs back to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Cool the cakes 10 minutes on a rack and then turn out of the pans.
10. *Yields approx 9 cups of batter.

For the Coconut Filling

1. In a saucepan over medium heat add the milk, sugar and marshmallows.
2. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the marshmallows are melted. It is a slow process because you don't want the milk to boil. Use the back of the spoon to press the marshmallow to the side of the pan while stirring to speed things along.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the coconut and coconut extract.
4. Allow to cool completely before spreading between the layers. It can be made in advance and refrigerated.

For the Ganache Frosting

1. Put the chocolate into a heat proof bowl. Heat the cream until it just begins to boil, remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate.
2. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes before stirring. Stir until all the chocolate pieces have melted. You could also use an immersion blender or hand mixer to finish blending, making sure that all the chocolate pieces have melted.
3. Allow the ganache to completely cool to room temperature. When you take out a spoon full and it holds its shape it is ready to spread on the cake.
4. At this point you could also whip the ganache, for a lighter consistency ganache. Using a hand mixer or the whisk attachment of your stand mixer, begin on low speed gradually increasing to medium speed, whip the ganache approximately 1-2 minutes or until it has lightened in color and is smooth.

Assembly of the Cake

1. When assembling our three layer chocolate cake, we spread the first and second layers with a thin layer of chocolate ganache followed by a layer of our coconut filling.
2. After placing the third layer, we frosted the cake in chocolate ganache and topped off the cake with coconut filling followed by a generous mound of flaked coconut.
3. We pressed sliced almonds here and there around the sides of the cake towards the bottom.