After making Sweetapolita’s Neapolitan cake a few weeks ago, I’ve been itching for another attempt at cake making. Thumbing through my cook books, Tartine’s devil’s food layer cake caught my eye. While I enjoyed the simplicity of its appearance, a crumb coated cake topped off with a dollop of ganache, I knew with a name like that I’d be in for a chocolaty treat. And boy was I ever. This was by far the most rich and luscious cake I’ve ever made, let alone eaten.
Comprised of bittersweet chocolate ganache and a fresh batch of caramel sandwiched between five layers of chocolate cake (with over 1 cup of cocoa powder and 1 pound of sugar), this cake is definitely not for the faint of heart. After carefully layering each decadent ingredient, the cake is covered with a thin layer of even more ganache and coated it with a dusting of leftover cake crumbs. I really loved how this came out. It’s the ultimate chocolate lover’s cake without giving you a tooth ache. With such intense flavor, a small sliver is all you need to satisfy your craving. From the smooth ganache, to the gooey caramel, to the crunch of the cake crumb, the combination of textures were a great variation of the theme: chocolate.
I wouldn’t say this was hard to make, just a bit time consuming. But what layered cakes aren’t? Finishing the cake would have been a lot easier if I used a rotating cake stand but I’ve yet to purchase one. Even still, I’m quite happy with how even my layers of ganache came out. My only criticism is I wish the outer crumb coat was more even, but again, without the cake stand I was too scared to move it around too much.
You can find the entire recipe online here, but I’d definitely recommend buying the book.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I love an intensely chocolate cake, and can’t wait to try this (I must pull out my copy of Tartine). Looks like you did a lovely job with it!
Thank you! If you can believe it, this cake was even better the next day. All the flavors must have come together after a bit of a rest. Definitely a once a year cake though!
Sooo beautiful. At first I thought that was cocoa powder dusted on the outside–I can’t believe it’s cake crumbs! Love that. And it looks even to me! As well as delicious!
I can’t imagine how chocolatey it would have been with cocoa powder! I used my trusty vitamix to pulverize the crumbs and was actually afraid I made them too fine. The extra crumbs were dried out in the oven so it gave a really nice texture to the outside. I’ve got to try this on other cakes!
OMG, I love Tartine. I visit SF once or twice a year, and I always make a trip to Tartine for a loaf of brioche (that I usually eat myself on the walk back to the hotel).
This cake is really beautiful. Job well done.
Thank you! I’ve been to Tartine twice so far, and every time we go we stuff ourselves silly. I think my boyfriend and I alone spent $50 both times.
Sara! This cake looks incredible. I feel myself drooling while scrolling, down haha.
Thank you! This is most definitely one of my favorite things I’ve made (and photographed) so far.
That is freaking beautiful.
Thank you!
this is sooo pretty! you have the best dessert pictures. and, it’s a tartine recipe! the best!
Thanks so much, Dyan! I am trying to simplify my food photography, and then slowly add more props/styling when I get more comfortable.
OMG, this is beautiful!
What kind of pan are you using for the cakes? They look so beautiful!
This cake looks wonderful! I thought that before you mentioned caramel! Slightly imperfect cakes have much more appeal to me, although I see nothing imperfect about this tall chocolate creation. I love ganache and love working with it. I never thought of covering it with dried cake crumbs, what a yummy idea! I always plan my cake time to allow for several hours, overnight is better, in the frig before serving. It seems to make for a moister, denser more flavorful cake. This cake I could make a sliver last an hour and savor every bite. My favorite chocolate cake is Collette’s Chocolate Bourbon Coconut Cake with dark choc ganace. Oh my!
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