Mikado Layer Cake with Chocolate Custard Buttercream

April 3, 2015

4.28 from 11 votes
30 comments
- #Cake
- #Dessert

Hey, hey! It’s Friday and the weekend is ahead of us! I’m here to tempt you with this delicious Armenian Mikado Cake in hopes that you will make it for this weekend. You know, it’d be great on your Easter Table 😉 It’s not just any chocolate cake though, this one is made of thin, flaky cake layers that are then frosted with Chocolate Custard Buttercream.

That buttercream though. I. Could. Eat. It. With. A. Spoon. I might or might not’ve licked the spoon like a hundred times. No calorie counting that day… #NoRegrets

I first heard about this cake from a reader who contacted me on Facebook to see if I had a recipe for this cake. At the time I’ve never heard or tried anything like this. So when I saw Mikado Cake on this blog here by Armine (thank you Armine!!), I knew I had to make it and see why that reader was so eager to find the recipe for this cake.

I knew I like chocolate and I knew that I liked the cake layers of this cake, so even before I started making it I knew that it would be a hit! and a hit it was! I hope you give this cake a try!

Mikado – Layer Cake with Chocolate Custard Buttercream

Credit: Armine @ http://armushik.livejournal.com/

Yield: One 8 inch round cake

Ingredients for Chocolate Custard Buttercream:

egg yolks
sugar
milk
cocoa powder
cooked sweetened condensed milk or dulce de leche
3unsalted butter, room temperature

How to make Mikado Cake:

In a saucepan whisk together egg yolks and sugar, then slowly add milk continuously whisking and trying to dissolve the sugar and egg in the milk.
Add sifted cocoa and mix until fully incorporated and no cocoa streaks are seen. If you’re having a hard time incorporating cocoa into the egg and milk mixture, run it through a sieve.
Now set over medium and heat until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Do not stop whisking or the custard will scorch. Do not boil or the eggs will curdle and separate. You know the custard is cooked if you run your finger over the back of the dipped spoon and the streak stays clean, and no custard runs into it.
Remove from heat and cool completely before adding to the butter mixture in the next step.

With a mixer whip the room temperature butter for 5 minutes, or until whiter in color and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl several times throughout the process to prevent chunks of butter being unwhipped. Add dulce de leche in two additions, whipping after each one to incorporate one.
Then add the cooled chocolate custard in 2 additions until fully incorporated.
Set aside until needed.

Mikado Cake Ingredients:

unsalted butter, room temperature
eggs
sour cream
baking soda
all-purpose flour (450 grams)

With a whisk whip the room temperature butter for about a minute, add the whisked egg and thoroughly mix again.
Mix the sour cream with baking soda, then add it to the butter mixture. Add flour in two additions and mix until dough forms. Do not handle too much.

Split the dough into 13-14 pieces and form balls. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and keep covered while you work with each dough ball.
Roll two balls on a floured surface to a circle a bit bigger than a 8 inch round baking pan. Place two rolled out balls onto the back of the jelly roll sheet or a cookie sheet and bake in a preheated to 400F oven until slightly golden in color, about 5-7 minutes. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

As soon as the cake is baked place the 8 inch round baking pan on top of the cake and trim right around the pan. Discard the trimmings or crush and keep in a ziplock in the freezer for next time when you need to decorate the sides of the cake with something.
While the cake layer is still warm put a dab of frosting on a plate, put the warm cake layer on top and add a generous spoon of frosting, spreading it around into an even layer. Reserve about 1/2 cup of frosting for covering the sides of the cake at the end.
Continue baking the layers, trimming them and then stacking with frosting until all cake is baked and frosted.\Cover the sides and top of the cake with reserved frosting, put a cake ring around the cake and secure it (if you have one). (The cake ring will help keep the sides straight and even as it sits. If you don’t have one, don’t worry about it, it’s not crucial). Cover with plastic wrap, then set a cutting board on top, next set something heavy on top of the cutting board to help the cake set. Let sit at room temperature for up to 24 hours before continuing.

Next day whip together 1.5 cup heavy whipping cream with 1/3 – 1/2 cup powdered sugar & 1-2 tablespoons sifted cocoa powder until fluffy and increased in volume.
Use some of this frosting to cover the cake in a thin layer, smoothing out the top.
Fit a ziplock bag with a large star tip. Fill the bag with leftover frosting. Pipe stars all along the border of the cake.
Place a peeled hazelnut in the middle of each star. Dust the cake with powdered cocoa if desired.

The cake is best served at room temperature.

Try these other CAKE recipes:

Russian Royal Cake – Cake made with walnuts, poppy seed, and a dulce de leche cream.
Hazelnut Meringue Cake – Meringue cake with toasted hazelnuts and a dulce de leche cream.
Birds Milk Cake Recipe – Chocolate sponge cake layers and a deliciously luscious Custard Buttercream.

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Mikado Layer Cake with Chocolate Custard Buttercream

Chocolate Cake Mikado - thin, flaky cake layers that are frosted with Chocolate Custard Buttercream. | by LetTheBakingBeginBlog.com | @Letthebakingbgn

4.28 from 11 votes

The best Mikado layer cake recipe with thin layers of flaky
layers that are covered in a chocolate custard buttercream.

Author: Armine @ http://armushik.livejournal.com/

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Armenian

Keyword: mikado layer cake

Calories: 507 kcal

Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

Frosting Ingredients:

3 egg yolks
2/3 cups sugar
1 cup milk
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 full can + 1/4 cup from the second can of cooked sweetened condensed milk or dulce de leche
3 sticks unsalted butter 340 grams, room temperature

Cake Ingredients:

7 Tbsp unsalted butter room temperature
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
3 1/2 – 4 cups all purpose flour 450 grams

To Decorate

1.5 cups heavy whipping cream at least 33% fat content
1-2 Tbsp powdered cocoa powder sifted
1/3 - 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Make the frosting first

IIn a saucepan whisk together 3 egg yolks and 2/3 cups of sugar, then slowly add 1 cup milk continuously whisking and trying to dissolve the sugar and egg in the milk. Add 4 tbsp sifted cocoa and mix until fully incorporated and no cocoa streaks are seen. If you're having a hard time incorporating cocoa into the egg and milk mixture, run it through a sieve. Now set over medium and heat until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Do not stop whisking or the custard will scorch. Do not boil or the eggs will curdle and separate. You know the custard is cooked if you run your finger over the back of the dipped spoon and the streak stays clean, and no custard runs into it. Remove from heat and cool completely before adding to the butter mixture in the next step.
With a mixer whip, 3 sticks room temperature butter for 5 minutes, or until whiter in color and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl several times throughout the process to prevent chunks of butter being unwhipped.
Add dulce de leche in two additions, whipping after each one to incorporate one.
Then add the cooled chocolate custard in 2 additions until fully incorporated.
Set aside until needed.

To make the cake layers

With a whisk whip 7 tbsp room temperature butter for about a minute, add 2 whisked egg and thoroughly mix again. Mix 1 ½ cups sour cream with 1 tsp baking soda, then add it to the butter mixture. Add flour in two additions and mix until dough forms. Do not handle too much.
Split the dough into 13-14 pieces and form balls. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and keep covered while you work with each dough ball.
Roll two balls on a floured surface to a circle a bit bigger than a 8 inch round baking pan. Place two rolled out balls onto the back of the jelly roll sheet or a cookie sheet and bake in a preheated to 400°F oven until slightly golden in color, about 5-7 minutes. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
As soon as the cake is baked place the 9 inch round baking pan on top of the cake and trim right around the pan. Discard the trimmings or crush and keep in a ziplock in the freezer for next time when you need to decorate the sides of the cake with something.
While the cake layer is still warm put a dab of frosting on a plate, put the warm cake layer on top and add a generous spoon of frosting, spreading it around into an even layer. Reserve about 1/2 cup of frosting for covering the sides of the cake at the end.
Continue baking the layers, trimming them and then stacking with frosting until all cake is baked and frosted.
Cover the sides and top of the cake with reserved frosting, put a cake ring around the cake and secure it (if you have one). (The cake ring will help keep the sides straight and even as it sits. If you don’t have one, don’t worry about it, it’s not crucial). Cover with plastic wrap, then set a cutting board on top, next set something heavy on top of the cutting board to help the cake set. Let sit at room temperature for up to 24 hours before continuing.

To decorate:

Make the chocolate whipped cream first: Next day whip together 1.5 cup whipping cream with 1/3 cup powdered sugar & 1-2 tablespoons sifted cocoa powder until fluffy and increased in volume. Use some of this frosting to cover the cake in a thin layer, smoothing out the top. Fit a ziplock bag with a large star tip. Fill the bag with leftover frosting. Pipe stars all along the border of the cake. Place a peeled hazelnut in the middle of each star. Dust the cake with powdered cocoa if desired.
Cake is best served at room temperature.

Nutrition Facts

Mikado Layer Cake with Chocolate Custard Buttercream

Amount Per Serving

Calories 507 Calories from Fat 360

% Daily Value*

Fat 40g62%

Saturated Fat 24g150%

Cholesterol 228mg76%

Sodium 246mg11%

Potassium 209mg6%

Carbohydrates 36g12%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 32g36%

Protein 6g12%

Vitamin A 1451IU29%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 132mg13%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Armenian, Cake Decorating, Christmas, Easter, Holiday, Make ahead, Special Diet, Sweet, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, baking soda, Butter, cocoa powder, condensed milk, Egg, Flour, heavy whipping cream, Milk, Sour Cream, sugar

Marina | Let the Baking Begin

Welcome to Let the Baking Begin! I'm Marina and my love and passion for eating only the most delicious foods drive me to share that love here on Let the Baking Begin (since 2009). With over 20 years of experience in the kitchen, you know the recipes are tested and retested until perfect. I'm so happy to have you here. Enjoy! Read more...

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Mikado Layer Cake with Chocolate Custard Buttercream