adapted from Oh, Lady Cakes
Since moving away to college, I have been experimenting with this whole vegan thing, mostly so that I will stop overeating rice crispy treats at the student cafeteria. Managing my sweet tooth during the holidays has been quite a battle. Especially as I watched my family consume unbelievable amounts of peanut butter blossoms while I gnawed on dark chocolate. I found this recipe in an attempt to eat something sugary and delicious that is also vegan. I have always been a fan of jam cookies, and these did not disappoint.
Preheat the oven to 350F and line two 8 inch pans with parchment paper.
Sift all dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, sugars and salt) into the bowl of an electric mixer and stir to combine. In another medium sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Slowly whisk the hot chocolate into the liquid mixture until fully combined.
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry mixture and mix with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes. The batter will be thin. Separate the batter equally between the prepared pans and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove the cakes from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pans and let sit until completely cool.
Place the eggs and sugar into the metal bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until combined. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water to create a double boiler. Whisk constantly while heating the egg mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved. To test, rub the mixture between your fingers. When you no longer feel sugar granules, the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove the bowl from heat and transfer it onto a stand mixer.
Using the whisk attachment, beat the mixture on high for 8-10 minutes until the bowl is no longer warm to the touch and the meringue is glossy and holds stiff peaks. Switch to the paddle attachment and slowly add the butter, mixing on low until the butter is completely incorporated. Add the vanilla and the cooled chocolate and beat on medium until the buttercream is smooth, about 3-5 minutes. The buttercream might may look curdled at some point during the process, just keep mixing until the frosting is completely smooth.
Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt the dark chocolate candy coating using a double boiler, stirring until the chocolate is completely melted. Melt the white chocolate over a double boiler as well. Once the white chocolate is melted, pull it off the heat and let it cool until it is no longer warm to the touch. 10 minutes or so.
Using a paintbrush, paint knots of a tree, stripes, and little dots of dark chocolate to match the pattern of a birch tree. If the brush starts to harden, wipe it clean before continuing. Chill the tray in a refrigerator for two minutes.
Remove the tray from the refrigerator and spread the cooled white chocolate over the chocolate pattern with an offset spatula filling the tray entirely. Place the tray back in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to harden.
Once the chocolate has hardened, place the short end of the tray toward you. Lift the parchment paper and use both hands to break the chocolate into strips of bark.
Stack and fill the layers of cake with 2/3 cups of chocolate frosting per layer. Crumb coat the cake and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Frost the cake with the remaining frosting, smoothing the sides and top. To create the spiraled texture on the top of the cake, run a spatula with a narrow end lightly over the frosting and rotate the cake, working from the outside in. Place the pieces of chocolate bark around the cake, using extra buttercream when needed to adhere pieces. Refrigerate the cake again for 20 minutes to set the buttercream, enjoy :)