Best Chocolate Layered Dessert

All about good ingredients and the main ingredient is CHOCOLATE! This dessert can be put together with mixes but if you really want to knock your & family’s socks off use homemade cake, pudding and toffee candy. And by all means whip the heavy cream. Coffee, Kahlua or Bailey’s is poured over the cake when layered and all this melds together into an amazing delectable dessert.  A heavenly dessert idea is one of Melissa’s, my hairstylist, who not only does a fantastic hair color but has given me some wonderful food ideas … ethnic recipes usually, Turkey Alcatra, and then there are those like Jalapeño Poppers Dip. Melissa has a large extended family … some of her ideas have been passed along by other family members. I believe she said this was her aunt’s creation. Melissa is an experienced cook with a bit of perfectionism thrown in. Enjoy this perfect dessert for chocolate lovers. Thanks to Melissa & her aunt.

Choose one of your favorite Chocolate Cakes for baking or one of these, here. The whole cake need not be used for this dessert. For example, if you choose a 3 layered German Chocolate Cake you can save one layer for this dessert. I used one-half of Trisha’s Chocolate Pound Cake and recommend pound cake because of the texture. Cake with a lighter texture may not hold up to layering with high moisture ingredients.

Recipe

All baked and cooked ingredients must be chilled before layering. Coffee too.

Chocolate Pudding

2 Cups whole milk
2/3 Cup Guittard bittersweet chocolate baking wafers-74% cacao
1 Cup sugar
2 Tablespoons corn starch, scant
2 beaten egg yolks-fork beaten
2 Tablespoons salted butter
1 Teaspoon vanilla

Place milk, chocolate, sugar, and cornstarch into a saucepan over medium heat. Stir to incorporate and to avoid scorching. Bring to a simmer/low boil. Cook an additional 2 minutes.

Stir a small amount of hot mixture into the egg yolks and then add this back to the saucepan stirring as you go. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes.

Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla. Stir to mix. Let cool to room temperature then refrigerate.

Whipped Heavy Cream

1/2 Pint heavy whipping cream

Beat to a soft/medium peak with 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla added at the end.

Chocolate Cake of Choice

Cut cooled cake into 1 inch squares

English Toffee

4 Ounces broken into small pieces. Use your favorite recipe or See’s Candies or Heath Bars in a pinch.

Coffee and or Kahlua or Bailey’s

1 to 1 1/2 Cups of any of these or a combination

Use partial or full amount depending on cake moisture.

Refrigerate before using.

Layering

Depending upon serving bowl or individual serving you may have as little as two layers or multiple.

For a large bowl start with a layer of cake and add 1/2 of the coffee or Bailey’s/Kahlua. Add 1/2 pudding next 1/2 whipped cream and candy pieces. Layer a second time. Cover and refrigerate until serving.