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Recipe courtesy of America's Test Kitchen. All rights reserved.
Chocolate-Lemon Doberge Cake
Serves 10 to 12
Total Time: 2 hours, plus 5½ hours cooling
The celebratory, showstopping doberge cake from New Orleans holds almost as many stories as
it does layers of sponge cake. Pronounced “doe-bash” by locals, the cake makes an appearance
most often at birthday events and is a symbol of extravagant celebration.
The doberge cake was created in 1933 by Beulah Ledner, a New Orleans native and daughter
of German immigrants. Like her parents, Ledner ran a bakery, and was always drawn to the
stunning dobos torte from Hungary. While she loved the richness of the torte—a five-layer
vanilla cake soaked in caramel, frosted with chocolate buttercream, and topped with hard
caramel (designed to ship long distances without spoiling)—Ledner found the dessert too dense
for the New Orleans heat and humidity. She concocted a lighter, fluffier cousin, opting for eight
layers of yellow butter cake, chocolate custard filling, buttercream, and a fondant coating.
To please the neighborhood, Beulah gave its name a French flair, the title “doberge” evolving
from the French word “d’auberge,” meaning “country inn.”
Ledner’s bakery was eventually bought by Joe Gambino in 1946, and Joe Gambino’s Bakery
remains the main purveyor of doberge cakes today. In addition to the original chocolate flavor,
Gambino also serves lemon and caramel variations, with their most popular cake being a “half-
half” version featuring both lemon and chocolate (the flavors are split directly down the middle,
so that it can be shared among guests with different preferences).
We wanted to offer a recipe for a doberge cake that—despite looking lavish—is achievable
for a home cook in search of a rewarding project. Rather than making the difficult choice
between chocolate and lemon, we use both. This is something we learned from chef Kelly Fields,
who created a doberge cake with alternating layers of filling—here, we opt for a light chocolate
custard and a punchy, floral lemon curd. We seal the entire cake with a zingy lemon buttercream,
and coat that with a shiny, pourable chocolate ganache. We recommend using a cake turntable to
ensure filling layers are level and frosting is smooth, for a cleaner presentation and to prevent the
cake from tilting.
Cake
4 large eggs plus 2 large yolks
½ cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2¼ cups (9 ounces) cake flour
1¾ cups (12¼ ounces) granulated sugar
1¼ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup vegetable oil
Pudding
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1½ tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1½ tablespoons cornstarch
⅛ teaspoon table salt
⅔ cup whole milk
¼ cup heavy cream
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
Syrup
⅓ cup (21/3 ounces) granulated sugar
⅓ cup water
Buttercream
20 tablespoons (2½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2½ cups (10 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest plus ¼ cup juice
(2 lemons)
Ganache
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon corn syrup
⅔ cup lemon curd, jarred or homemade
1. For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three
8-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, and flour pans. Combine
eggs and yolks, buttermilk, and vanilla in 2-cup liquid measuring cup and beat with fork until
smooth.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in bowl of stand mixer. Fit mixer
with paddle and mix on low speed until combined, about 20 seconds. Add butter and oil and mix
on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium and beat until
lightened, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and, with mixer running, slowly add egg
mixture. When mixture is fully incorporated, stop mixer and scrape down bowl and paddle
thoroughly. Beat on medium-high speed until batter is pale, smooth, and thick, about 3 minutes.
Divide batter evenly among prepared pans and smooth tops. Gently tap pans on counter to
release air bubbles.
3. Bake cakes until toothpick inserted in center comes out with few crumbs attached, 20 to 25
minutes, switching and rotating pans halfway through baking. Let cakes cool in pans on wire
rack for 15 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, discarding parchment, and let cool completely on
rack, about 2 hours. (Cooled layers can be wrapped tightly with plastic and stored at room
temperature for up to 24 hours).
4. For the pudding: Meanwhile, whisk sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt together in large
saucepan. Whisk in milk and cream until smooth. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly,
until mixture is thickened and bubbling over entire surface, 3 to 5 minutes. Off heat, whisk in
chocolate until melted and fully incorporated.
5. Transfer pudding to large bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding and
refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours. (Pudding can be refrigerated in airtight container
for up to 3 days.)
6. For the syrup:Bring sugar and water to boil in small saucepan over high heat and stir until
sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
7. For the buttercream: Using clean, dry mixer bowl and whisk attachment, whip butter in stand
mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add sugar and salt and mix on
medium-low speed until most of sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down bowl; add
cream and whip on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down
bowl as needed. Add lemon zest and juice and whip until incorporated, about 30 seconds.
(Frosting can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. If refrigerated, let stand at room temperature for 30
minutes before using).
8. Transfer fully cooled cakes to cutting board. Using long serrated knife, cut 1 horizontal line
around sides of each layer; then, following scored lines, cut each layer into 2 even layers. Place 1
cake layer on 8-inch cardboard round, cut side up. Using pastry brush, gently dab syrup onto
cake until evenly moistened, about 1½ tablespoons. Spread ⅓ cup chocolate pudding evenly over
top, leaving ¼-inch border around edge of cake. Top with second cake layer (cut side up). Repeat
brushing with syrup and spread ⅓ cup lemon curd over top, leaving ¼-inch border. Repeat with
three more layers, alternating pudding and lemon curd and ending with layer of pudding. Place
remaining cake layer cut side down over pudding.
9. Using offset spatula, spread all of buttercream evenly over sides and top of cake. Refrigerate
cake for 1 hour.
10. For the ganache: Place chocolate in 4-cup liquid measuring cup or bowl. Bring cream, corn
syrup, and salt to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour cream
mixture over chocolate and let stand for 1 minute. Whisk mixture until thick and smooth.
11. Remove cake on cardboard round from refrigerator and place on wire rack set in parchment
paper–lined rimmed baking sheet. Working quickly, pour ganache over top of chilled cake
(starting in center of cake), letting ganache drip down and coat sides of cake (allow excess
ganache to puddle onto baking sheet). Refrigerate cake on rack until ganache is set, about 20
minutes. Using large spatula(s), transfer cake on cardboard round to platter or large cutting board
and serve. (Wrap leftover cake in plastic and refrigerate; bring to room temperature before
serving.)

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Recipe courtesy of America's Test Kitchen. All rights reserved.

Chocolate-Lemon Doberge Cake

⅔ cup lemon curd, jarred or homemade

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