Brooklyn Blackout Cake

According to legend (a.k.a. the Internet), Brooklyn Blackout Cake was created by Ebinger’s bakery, a Flatbush-based storefront that once had outposts across New York’s boroughs, but eventually shuttered in 1972. Comprising three layers of very moist, tender devil’s food cake sandwiching a lush chocolate pudding and enrobed in a dark chocolate ganache-style frosting, Ebinger’s first called the dessert simply “chocolate fudge cake.” During World War II, the military began conducting controlled power outages along the Brooklyn waterfront, allowing battleships to leave the Brooklyn Navy Yard undetected. Notifications for these “blackout drills” were posted all over the borough, prompting Brooklynites to rechristen the beloved fudgy dark-crumbed cake.

When the bakery closed, Ebinger’s original Brooklyn Blackout Cake recipe disappeared too. I wasn’t alive to have tried it, but—as any good chocolate cake fanatic would—I have a strong idea of how a cake named blackout should taste: rich, dark, moist, decadent…I could go on.

Because assembling this cake is a little time-consuming, I wanted the sponge to be as easy as possible. My recipe starts with a simple chocolate cake enriched with Dutch-process cocoa powder and dark brown sugar (okay, so you should take the time to sift the dry ingredients since Dutch cocoa can be notoriously lumpy). It also has sour cream for richness—and to lift the chocolate flavor with its tang. You don’t need a stand mixer (or any other appliance); it’s just one bowl, dump, stir, and bake.

The milky chocolate pudding filling is my favorite part of the recipe. It tastes like a richer, more chocolaty version of the pudding cups you might’ve found in your lunchbox as a kid. I’d make it as a stand-alone dessert anytime I need a quick chocolate fix. Because the cake and pudding are pretty sweet, I kept the frosting dark and moody. All you do is melt chocolate, stir in some cream, and let it thicken as it cools to room temperature. A dollop of sour cream adds just enough brightness for balance, while golden syrup gives the frosting a glossy sheen. Key to making Anzac biscuits (among other excellent baked goods), golden syrup can be hard to find in American grocery stores; swap it out for dark corn syrup if you must.

Another important component of Brooklyn Blackout Cake is its garnish. You’ll bake the cake in two layers, then split each in half. Three of those layers are stacked with the pudding, but the fourth is crumbled and pressed into the sides of the cake for an arresting presentation that makes the dessert immediately identifiable. Putting the cake together can be a little messy: The pudding will smoosh out of the sides if you press down too hard or if it isn’t adequately chilled. But that’s the genius of the crumb coating. Once assembled, it’ll hide any and all flaws and no one will ever know what a crazy, oozy mess your naked cake once was.

Ingredients

12–16 servings

Cake

Unsalted butter, room temperature (for pans)

¾

cup (63 g) Dutch-process cocoa powder, plus more for pans

1½

cups (187 g) all-purpose flour

1½

tsp. baking soda

¾

tsp. baking powder

1

large egg plus 1 large egg yolk, room temperature

1½

cups (packed; 320 g) dark brown sugar

¾

cup sour cream, room temperature

5

Tbsp. vegetable oil

2

tsp. vanilla extract

¾

tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. plus ⅛ tsp. Morton kosher salt

Pudding

⅓

cup (28 g) Dutch-process cocoa powder

5

Tbsp. (35 g) cornstarch

1¼

cups heavy cream

4

large egg yolks, beaten to blend

1¼

cups whole milk

⅔

cup (packed; 142 g) dark brown sugar

¼

tsp. kosher salt

4

oz. milk chocolate, chopped

1

tsp. vanilla extract

Frosting

1

cup heavy cream

3

Tbsp. golden syrup (such as Lyle’s Golden Syrup)

⅛

tsp. kosher salt

12

oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

¾

cup sour cream

2

Tbsp. unsalted butter

Preparation

Cake

Step 1

Arrange a rack in center of oven; preheat oven to 350°. Line two 8×2″-deep round cake pans with parchment paper. Grease with unsalted butter, then dust with cocoa powder, tapping out excess.

Step 2

Sift ¾ cup (63 g) Dutch-process cocoa powder, 1½ cups (187 g) all-purpose flour, 1½ tsp. baking soda, and ¾ tsp. baking powder into a medium bowl, then whisk to combine. Whisk 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk, room temperature, 1½ cups (packed; 320 g) dark brown sugar, ¾ cup sour cream, room temperature, 5 Tbsp. vegetable oil, 2 tsp. vanilla extract, ¾ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. plus ⅛ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ¾ cup hot water in a large bowl until smooth. Whisk in dry ingredients until just combined.

Step 3

Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake cake until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 25–35 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack; let cake cool completely in pan. Invert onto a plate, then invert again.

Do Ahead: Cake can be baked 2 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.

Pudding

Step 4

Whisk ⅓ cup (28 g) Dutch-process cocoa powder and 5 Tbsp. (35 g) cornstarch in a large saucepan. Whisk in 1¼ cups heavy cream until smooth and no lumps remain. Add 4 large egg yolks, beaten to blend, 1¼ cups whole milk, ⅔ cup (packed; 142 g) dark brown sugar, and ¼ tsp. kosher salt; whisk to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally, then reduce heat to low. Continue to cook, whisking, until thick and smooth, 1–2 minutes.

Step 5

Remove from heat; add 4 oz. milk chocolate, chopped and 1 tsp. vanilla extract and stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly onto surface of hot pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Chill until cold, at least 2 hours.

Do Ahead: Pudding can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.

Frosting and assembly

Step 6

Bring 1 cup heavy cream, 3 Tbsp. golden syrup, and ⅛ tsp. kosher salt to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and stir in 12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped, ¾ cup sour cream, and 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter. Let sit, stirring occasionally, until chocolate and butter are melted and mixture is smooth and no streaks of white remain. Transfer to a medium bowl. Let frosting sit at room temperature, stirring every 30 minutes or so, until thickened and spreadable (it will look like a broken chocolate sauce at first, but magically, about 1½ hours later, it will start to thicken). Stir until smooth. (If your kitchen is warmer than 72°, chill frosting 5 minutes. Stir to combine cooler outer edges with warmer center, then chill another 5 minutes. It should be the consistency of sour cream; if not, chill another 5 minutes and stir.)

Step 7

Meanwhile, using a serrated knife and sawing in long, even strokes, carefully halve cakes lengthwise. Set aside the 3 prettiest layers for assembly. Crumble remaining layer of cake with your fingers into fine crumbs (or push through a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet). Place 1 layer, cut side up, on a platter or cake stand.

Step 8

Remove plastic from chilled pudding and vigorously whisk until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, spread half of pudding over cake layer on stand, spreading to edges. Top with another cake layer, cut side down, and spread remaining pudding over cake. Top with third cake layer cut side down (leave top bare). Chill cake 1 hour and up to 8 to let pudding firm up.

Step 9

Spread frosting all over top and sides of chilled cake. The frosting on top should be as smooth and level as possible, but it’s okay if the sides look messy; the chocolate cake crumbs will hide any mistakes you make.

Step 10

Place cake stand on a sheet tray. Take a handful of cake crumbs and press into sides of the cake. Repeat, turning cake as you go, to completely cover sides in crumbs. Sprinkle crumbs on outside edges of top layer.

Do Ahead: Cake can be assembled 1 day ahead. Chill uncovered.

Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Judy Mancini

Editor’s note: This recipe for Brooklyn Blackout Cake was first printed in October 2017 as “Blackout Cake.” Head this way for more of our best chocolate cake recipes →

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