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Death by Chocolate

June 28, 2011 by Leslie

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About twenty years ago, Marcel Desaulniers at the Trellis restaurant in Williamsburg, VA created a new chocolate dessert that took everyone by storm.  It was and is the ultimate chocolate cake; basically combining every single chocolate dessert into one incredibly rich and decadent cake.  It takes no less than two days to make, and requires over three pounds of chocolate and was dubbed Death by Chocolate.

This was the dessert that I conquered for my husband’s Birthday and Father’s Day Crab Feast.  To give you some background information, the Husband has raved about this cake to me since we first met.  His mother is a very adventurous cook and one summer the family made a three day adventure of making this dessert.  When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday this year his instructions were “either something chocolate or something strawberry or a combination of the two”.  My first instinct was this cake.

It took me three days to make.  Of the six different recipes it takes to make the seven layers in the cake, I had to re-make no less than three (so incredibly frustrating!).

Here’s a rundown of the layers:
1) Brownie
2) Ganache
3) Cocoa Meringue
4) Mocha Mousse
5) Brownie
6) More Ganache
7) Chocolate Mousse

It is served over a pool of mocha rum sauce.  Each layer is so tasty, but the meringue actually adds a nice bite to the cake.  I had every intention of documenting the process with my camera as I got started…but reality set in too quickly and I didn’t get any photos after the first layer.  Someday I will remake this monster of a cake, but until then you can find the recipe here.  Hopefully then I can actually make all six recipes only once and get the ganache a bit smoother!

This post is linked up to the parties identified at the bottom of my page!

 

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Filed Under: Cake Recipes, Desserts, Food Tagged With: chocolate

About Leslie

Leslie is the passionate party planner in her family. After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, she was determined to find a way to continue making amazing parties for her kids that don't leave you exhausted. To do that Leslie combines the experience she learned working for a professional event planner with the reality of a busy family life to create party inspiration that the average mom can reproduce and be proud of.

Comments

  1. Toni @ SugarTart_Crafts says

    June 28, 2011 at 11:25 am

    Where has this been all my life?! It doesn't matter if it takes me a week to make it, It WILL be made. lol And just in time for my birthday too, thanks for sharing!

  2. Emilee says

    June 28, 2011 at 11:46 am

    MMMMM the name alone makes me happy! Sorry it gave you so much trouble, but it looks great in the end!
    ps Stopping in from the tip junkie link up!
    https://mommamadeit.blogspot.com

  3. JC's Loft says

    June 28, 2011 at 12:44 pm

    Holy goodness that looks UHmazing! WOW WOW WOW!!!!

    Paula

  4. Michele Alger says

    June 29, 2011 at 12:12 am

    OH MY GOOOOOSSSSSSHHHHH!!!! You have totally MADE my husband's next birthday HEAVEN!!! Thanks for sharing! 😉

  5. Jane (and Lou) says

    June 29, 2011 at 12:43 am

    Oh MY! There is no such thing as too much chocolate is there! Jane:)

  6. ladybehindthecurtain.com says

    June 29, 2011 at 7:18 am

    What a great recipe! Would you come over to my party "Cast Party Wednesday" and share some of your recipes?
    Thanks,
    I hope to see you there!

  7. Morgan @ PepperDesignBlog.com says

    June 29, 2011 at 7:40 am

    Mmmm 6 layers of chocolate heaven… that looks amazing!

  8. Lisa says

    June 29, 2011 at 1:53 pm

    You are a dedicated wife to make that! Looks like a lot of hard work! I'm sure it was delicious : )

  9. Sarah Rachele says

    June 30, 2011 at 2:04 am

    Oh wow, that looks amazing!

  10. Annika says

    June 30, 2011 at 10:53 am

    You made the mother of all cakes for Father's Day!

  11. Kirsten @ Mushki Loves says

    June 30, 2011 at 3:56 pm

    Oh. MY. YUMMINESS! My hubby would adore this! I'm pinning it AND I'm your newest follower! Thank you for sharing, I would love it if you would follow back! Have a great 4th!

  12. Emily says

    June 30, 2011 at 7:28 pm

    Hi! Thanks for linking up this week to Tasty Tuesday! Hope to see you back next week! https://nap-timecreations.blogspot.com/

  13. Jenn says

    July 1, 2011 at 12:28 am

    This sounds like heaven!

  14. Kim from Maiden D'Shade says

    July 1, 2011 at 5:29 pm

    That looks amazing! Good to know it takes several days to make. Maybe that is what I'll make when I reach my goal weight! Every bit of motivation helps, right? 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

  15. Anonymous says

    July 31, 2011 at 2:50 pm

    You should get the whole book and make your way through it. I don't actually think this is the best recipe in there, which is hard to believe. The chocolate strawberry mousse cake is incredible and you should definitely try all the homemade ice cream recipes. The chocolate, raspberry, hazelnut is just… wow. His follow up, Desserts to die for has some amazing non-chocolate recipes as well. The drunken Zombie Cake is so much fun and so tasty I have made it many times.

    I bet your hubby was feeling the love when he ate this. : ) Congratulations on your success!

    ~Jenn in Forest Grove

Trackbacks

  1. {Real Parties} Birthday and Father's Day Crab Feast - From Play Dates to Parties says:
    May 1, 2016 at 12:21 am

    […] Cake: Death by Chocolate […]

  2. {Recipes} Chocolate Phantasmagoria - From Play Dates to Parties says:
    May 24, 2016 at 5:38 pm

    […] to see more insane chocolate goodness?  Check out my post on the Death by Chocolate cake or browse the recipes section for more tasty […]

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