Double Chocolate Torte

Olivia turned fourteen this week. June birthday, which means school is just finishing and the birthday lands in that particular sweetness between the end of one thing and the beginning of summer. She asked for a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and also to have her two best friends come over for a movie night, which felt like a completely correct way to be fourteen.

I made the cake with her, which she requested. Not the whole cake — she wanted to make the cake part herself and have me make the frosting because, she said, "the frosting is why the cake exists." I completely agree. The frosting is a ganache-based buttercream that I've been making for years and she watched me make it with the same focused attention Mason brings to everything culinary. This family has food in its blood, one way or another.

The three friends were in the living room until midnight. I could hear them laughing from the bedroom — the particular frequency of teenage girls delighted with each other, a sound I hope I never stop finding joyful. Olivia is fourteen and excellent and occasionally very far away in the internal country of adolescence, and then occasionally entirely present and three years old again all at once. Parenting a teenager is living with someone who is always arriving and always leaving.

Workshop this week on knife skills with a new group. Every group learns differently. This group asked more questions during the technique than any previous group — good questions, sharp questions, the kind that make the class better. I learn something every time I teach. That's not a platitude. That's the actual mechanism of teaching.

The cake Olivia and I made together for her birthday was built around this Double Chocolate Torte — dense and dark and serious about being chocolate in a way that fourteen absolutely deserves. She handled the cake layers with real focus and I handled the ganache-based buttercream, because we both agreed the frosting is the whole point. If you’re baking for someone you love, this is the one to reach for.

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour (plus cooling) | Servings: 12

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Ganache Buttercream:
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Instructions

Prepare the pan. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter the parchment as well.
Melt chocolate and butter. In a medium heatproof bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water, melt the butter and chopped bittersweet chocolate together, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
Mix the batter. Whisk the sugar into the chocolate mixture until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, and salt, then fold gently with a spatula until just combined — do not overmix.
Bake the torte. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the center is just set and a toothpick inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out with moist crumbs. The center may look slightly underdone — that’s correct. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before frosting.
Make the ganache base. Place the finely chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until just simmering, then pour over the chocolate. Let sit 2 minutes, then stir until silky smooth. Allow the ganache to cool to room temperature until thickened but still fluid, about 30–45 minutes.
Whip the buttercream. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add the sifted powdered sugar in two additions, mixing until incorporated. Add the cooled ganache, vanilla, and salt, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is silky, glossy, and spreadable, about 2 minutes more.
Frost and serve. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert the torte onto a serving plate. Peel off the parchment. Apply a thin crumb coat of buttercream and refrigerate 15 minutes to set, then apply a generous final layer. Serve at room temperature for the richest flavor and fudgiest texture.

Nutrition (per serving)

Double Chocolate Torte — The Cake Olivia Made Herself (Mostly)