The flavours of toffee and chocolate merge together to make this awesome Speckled Toffee Cake. Perfect for those special celebrations.
Birthdays are always a special celebration in our house, and a celebration always calls for a special dessert. This year my dear daughter asked for this Speckled Toffee Cake for HER birthday!!
During her first year of university way back in 2002, I made this cake for my daughter. It was her first birthday away from home and I wanted to make something awesome to bring to her….I even made it a triple layer!! I still remember very carefully packing it in the car for our 2 hour drive to Kingston….hoping that it would still be ok when we got there.
She didn’t know what kind of cake I was bringing and was totally shocked when I carried it into her room. She LOVED it, and so did the rest of the kids that were lucky enough to be living on the same floor…she was nice enough to share!
It is one of those cakes that you totally don’t forget….so much that this year she said “Remember that cake you made me in university…that is the one I want!”. So yet again I recreated this Speckled Toffee Cake…13 years later! However I will admit I had to dig for the recipe since it had been sooooooo long since I made it. All I could remember was that it involved A LOT of chocolate.
Sort of like the time I tried Sticky Toffee Pudding. Sometimes those food memories are very vivid, even years later.
When I say a lot of chocolate I really mean it…like 1 ½ pounds of chocolate!! Between the chocolate, toffee bits and whipping cream this cake is not lacking calories…or taste. But that’s what birthdays are all about….it’s your special day…ENJOY!!
You begin by grating and grating and grating chocolate…that is for the “speckled” part of the cake. In between the layers are tons of toffee bits and a thick layer of ganache. The cake is then covered in ganache and more toffee bits…pure heaven. Nothing beats the combination of toffee and chocolate.
Next time you want to make an impression on a special celebration…this Speckled Toffee Cake is sure to be star of the party!
This recipe was inspired from a very old cookbook of mine but such a keeper….Mrs. Fields I Love Chocolate Cookbook (affiliate link).
For another totally awesome chocolate dessert try: Oh My Reese’s Cupcakes
Speckled Toffee Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 3 cups cake flour (sifted)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar (packed)
- ¼ cup greek yogurt (unflavoured)
- 5 extra large egg yolks
- ¾ teaspoons English Toffee oil (LorAnn Oils)
- ¾ cup milk
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate (grated)
- 2 bags of toffee bits
For the Ganache:
- 18 ounces milk chocolate (finely chopped)
- 1 ½ cups whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F
- Butte and line two 9 inch round cake pans.
To make the Cake:
- Whisk flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
- Using an electric beater (or stand mixer), cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Beat in the yogurt.
- Beat in egg yolks (one at a time).
- Add flavoured oil.
- Add ½ the flour mixture and beat well.
- Add the milk and beat well.
- Add the remaining flour mixture and beat well.
- Fold in the grated chocolate. (NOT the one for the ganache)
- Spread batter between the 2 pans, and bake 30-35 minutes, or until done.
- Cool cakes in pans, then remove and finish cooling on racks.
For the Ganache:
- Place chopped milk chocolate in a bowl.
- In a saucepan, bring the whipping cream just to the boiling point.
- Pour hot cream over chocolate.
- Let stand for 5 minutes to melt chocolate.
- Stir until smooth.
- Chill in fridge for 1 hour.
- Slowly beat chilled ganache with an electric hand mixer until think and smooth. (DO NOT over beat).
To Assemble:
- Place one cake layer on a cake board or plate.
- Spread a nice thick layer of the ganache over the top of the cake.
- Pile on some of the toffee bits.
- Top with the other cake layer.
- Frost the outside of the cakes with the remaining ganache.
- Decorate cake with toffee bits...along the top edges and bottom of cake. (Be creative and have fun).
- Chill until ready to serve.
- Bring to room temperature before slicing.
- ENJOY!!
Notes
Oh My Reese's Cupcakes
Heather lawrence
This cake looks delicious! My husband loves toffee so this would be a huge hit.
How do you get the toffee on the sides like that?
Chef G
HAHA…for me it was luck…they just stuck to the icing like I planned!!
Jamie
That cake is so pretty and it looks delicious. I’ll be pinning this for later!
Chef G
Thanks…it is a winner in our house.
Alicia Taylor
What a stunning cake! I bet it’s as delicious as it is beautiful, too. I bet you made your daughter’s day with it. That looks like a labor of love
Chef G
She loved it!! Thanks for the compliments.
Rebecca Bryant
You had me at chocolate. What a delicious cake and so pretty. Almost to pretty to eat but I will.
Chef G
HAHA thanks….and NEVER too pretty to eat.
Lynlee
Oh my sweet goodness! This looks absolutely delicious!!! We adore toffee in our home! Cannot wait to try this recipe out!
Chef G
Enjoy….lots of chocolate in this one.
Milena
I love cake! This looks especially yummy! Great job decorating it too!
Chef G
Thanks it was a labour of love.
Robin Rue (@massholemommy)
YUM! I would make it and hide it so that I could eat the entire thing myself 🙂
Chef G
Well that would be A LOT of cake…enjoy!!
Amanda
This looks amazing. I have never seen English toffee oil. Is there a substitute I could use?
Chef G
You can just use vanilla, the flavour won’t be as strong. If you have a baking supply store they would carry it for sure.
Janeane Davis
The cake looks delicious. I like the story of your daughter’s first year st college and the cake.
Chef G
Thanks so much for taking the time to read my post.
Star Traci
I bet your daughter did love it! It looks amazing. I love toffee and have never had a toffee cake. Yum. Yum. YUM!
I have pinned this for a future try!
🙂
Traci
Chef G
Yes she was thrilled. Hope you make it and enjoy it as much as she did!!
Claudia Krusch
It sounds sooo good! I can’t wait to try it, my son loves anything with chocolate!!!
Chef G
Well enjoy….not a shortage of chocolate in this cake that is for sure.
Tina
1 1/2 lbs of Chocolate! Now that is my kind of cake 🙂 This cake looks so delicious. I mean really look at that ganache! Yum!
Chef G
Yup LOTS of chocolate in this bad boy!!
Chef G
Yup lots of chocolate in that bad boy!!
Ashley @Irishred02
Mmm that looks so good! And only 1 hour? that’s pretty awesome
Chef G
Thanks!!
Chef G
Thank you!!
Bri
This cake would not last a day in my house. I know I would eat half of it by myself for sure. Toffee has such a delicious flavor.
Chef G
HAHA…so true. Everyone here loves it!!
Rosey
Oh boy, that’s a great looking cake. I’d love to taste test. 🙂
Chef G
You and a few others LOL.