KIT KAT OVERDOSE CAKE RECIPE

Kit Kat Overdose Cake Recipe

I did mention that the whole family has the "chocolate-fiend-gene" right. So its "every man for himself" when we see anything chocolate be it Nestle Crunch, Kit Kat fingers and Bites, Baby Ruth, Lindt, Godiva, Chocnut, Cadbury, Hersheys, Reese's, etc. We respect each other's property so we label our chocolate bars/bags so there would be no mistake ( and no war declared..lol) as to who the proprietor of that particulate chocolate in the ref is.

I guess you can say that we only differ in how much less chocolate we can tolerate. Martin my third child for example , is what one may call a "purist" . He doesn't want nuts, fruits or what have you in his chocolate but tolerates Reese's peanut butter chocolate cups and loves his Kit Kat. I can say the same for our youngest...Job.

Julia our eldest and only daughter on the other hand is pretty much like me , her dad and my second child Joaquin.....anything chocolate goes. 

Collectively, we call our kids "the piggery ".

 However much we differ in the degree of madness we have for chocolates, we are unanimous in being insane over the perennial family's favorite -- The Kit Kat Overdose Cake. It's a two-layer cake with chocolate buttercream frosting in the middle then slathered with chocolate ganache all over before being fenced by 2 finger Kit Kat and  finally  garnished on top with loads of Kit Kat bites...yum!

For this particular cake, I found and liked ( a lot) Martha Stewart's 2 recipes -- a) Double Chocolate Brownie recipe for the bottom layer b) Ultimate Chocolate recipe for the top layer .

I find it prudent to always check out the readers' comments first before choosing the recipe. Sometimes pictures presented are beautiful , but you find dissatisfied comments from the readers. It's nice to know that somebody has tried the recipe previously and found it delicious plus you get tips on how to make the dish or the cake more wonderful in terms of taste or texture.
So here are the recipes :

1. Bottom layer -- Double chocolate brownie recipe by Martha Stewart

Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into large pieces
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment, leaving a slight overhang on all sides. Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, and whisk in sugar. Whisk in eggs, 1 at a time, until combined. Whisk in cocoa and salt. Fold in flour until combined.
Pour batter into pan. Bake until set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift brownies from pan using parchment. Remove parchment, and transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely. Cut into 9 squares.


2. TOP LAYER -- ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE

1 cup Valrhona cocoa, plus more for dusting ( Note : I used ordinary cocoa powder and still yum )
3/4 cup strong coffee, boiling ( I use the long and thin sachet Nescafe Classic )
1 cup milk, room temperature
2 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature


Directions

1. Place rack in middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper. Butter the parchment, and dust with cocoa powder; tap out excess. Sift cocoa; whisk in boiling coffee and milk. Let cool. Sift together cake flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. Using a rubber spatula, mix the butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Pour in the cooled cocoa mixture. Mix until fully incorporated.
3. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture, stirring until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pans (about 4 cups in each pan). Bake for 20 minutes, rotate the pans, and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center.
4. Remove the cakes from the oven, and allow to cool in pans for 15 minutes on a cooling rack. Carefully run a small offset spatula around the edge of the cakes to loosen them from the pan. Remove cakes from pans, and invert onto a wire rack. Let cool completely, about 1 hour.
5. To assemble, using a serrated knife, level the top surface of each cake layer. Place four strips of parchment paper around the perimeter of the cake stand. Spread with 3/4 cup of frosting. Top with the remaining layer, bottom side up. Using a swirling motion, cover the outside of cake with the remaining frosting. Remove parchment-paper strips.

3. CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

          Ingredients :

          2 sticks butter ( I used salted butter and didn't make a difference)

          8 cups powdered sugar  sifted ( I just used 3 cups)

          1/2 cup cocoa powder sifted

          1/2 cup milk with  2 tsp vanilla

          Procedure :

           1. Cream butter and powdered sugar in mixer with paddle at speed 6  till  incorporated. Add in cocoa

           2. Add milk if you find the frosting too dry.

4.CHOCOLATE GANACHE

      Ingredients :

     1 cup Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate chips 

     1/2 cup whip cream

      Procedure :

     1. Heat but not boil whip cream in the microwave for 1 minute

     2. Dunk the cup of Nestle semi-sweet choco chip cookies and let rest for a 30 seconds.

     3. Add a tbsp butter to the mixture to give it some sheen

    4. Stir till smooth and glossy.

     5. Cool a bit before pouring  on the cake.

Note:

1.  Better if cake is cold before putting on the ganache.  

2.  For round cakes-- 2 finger Kit Kat are more suitable 

3.  After all the Kit Kat fingers and bites have been "glued" to the cake, secure with a ribbon  and put in the ref to set

You can make a smaller version of the cake too. This is 4 inches in diameter :)