Looking for a rich, delicious chocolate cake recipe? This is the absolute BEST recipe for chocolate cake I have ever made! I have tried and tested hundreds of recipes for chocolate cake and none of them come close to this one. I found the original recipe to this chocolate cake on My Baking Addiction. After a few alterations and swapping the chocolate cream for my staple secret vanilla cake filling, as well as decorating the cake with chocolate shavings + my home grown chopped walnuts, my holiday ferror rocher style cake was born! 

*If you would like to share my recipe and photos please provide proper credit and a link back to this original post. Thanks!   

The Best Chocolate Cake With Vanilla Cream + Ferrero Rocher Style Decorated!

For Cake:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 ¾ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp rum
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup strong black coffee
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate shavings to decorate
Chopped walnuts to decorate

For Cream (NEW and Improved Recipe):

2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 egg or 2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla

To Make Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 9” round baking pans.
2. In a mixing bowl using an electric mixer, combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until combined.
3. Add eggs, buttermilk, rum, coffee, oil, and vanilla. Beat on medium for 2 mins and then pour evenly into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 30-35 mins or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 10 mins, remove to wire rack and transfer to the freezer to cool completely.

To Make Cream:

1. Melt butter over direct heat, add flour and stir until frothy.
   Remove from heat and add sugar and salt, then the milk a little at a time.
2. Blend thoroughly and cook over boiling water until thick. Use a double boiler to do this and stir constantly to avoid clumping. Beat egg or egg yolks in a separate bowl with rotary beater until foamy.
3. Slowly drizzle and pour the hot mixture over the egg, stirring with a rotary beater constantly. Pour the mixture back in the double boiler and cook again over boiling water with constant stirring, 3 or 4 minutes. 
4. Cover and cool, stirring occasionally, when cool add the vanilla and then spread the cream onto the cake layers.

To Assemble:

***Make sure your cake layers are completely cooled or else the cream will just melt off and become sloppy!

1. Evenly spread vanilla cream on one cake layer and place the second layer on top. Frost the entire cake including the top and sides.
2. Sprinkle chopped walnuts on the sides of the cake and then sprinkle the chocolate shavings on top. Voila!