Layer 1 Prep: 28 minutesBake Time: 18 minutes
Cool Time: 1 hours
Layer 2 Prep: 20 minutes
Layer 3 Prep: 15 minutes
Chill Time:2-3 hours
Grade: A+
Make Again: Yes
Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (December 2009)
I made this for Thanksgiving dinner and it was liked by all the adults. The kids didn't love it - maybe because it wasn't super sweet. I give this one an A+ after only making it one time for these reasons:
~ can be made ahead of time
~ very pretty with the 3 layers
~ tastes great
~ the leftovers still tasted good a few days later
~ although it takes a while to make, it really is not too hard
The hardest part for me making this is chopping all the chocolate. I hate chopping chocolate in the winter - it generates a lot of static electricity and I get little chocolate dust everywhere. I did it all in the beginning for the entire recipe. Everything else is fairly easy. I maybe didn't whip the last layers cream enough - it kind of poured into the pan. But the gelatin kept it stable enough so it wasn't a problem when slicing the cake.
I actually worried that my pan was too small (9" x 2.5"), so I made a mini cake at the same time. But I still had space at the top, so I shouldn't have worried. (Although I enjoyed getting to try my mini cake the night before.) Next time I may try to cut this one in half and use in my 7" pan, because I won't be as worried about the size. This one does make a large cake.



















































