准备

做填充

• In a medium saucepan, bring the cream, cinnamon, salt, and 2 Tbs. water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Off the heat, cover and steep for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, put the chocolate in a medium bowl and set a fine strainer over it.

  Pour 1/4 cup water into a heavy-duty 3-quart saucepan. Pour the sugar in the center of the pan and pat it down until evenly moistened (there should be clear water all around the sugar). Cover the pan and cook over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves, 2 to 4 minutes. Uncover and cook without stirring until the syrup begins to color slightly, about 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook, swirling the pot gently if the syrup colors unevenly.

  When the caramel turns reddish amber, 1 to 2 minutes longer, take the pan off the heat and immediately stir in the cream mixture. Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramel is completely dissolved, 1 to 3 minutes.

  Pour the caramel cream through the strainer onto the chocolate and discard the cinnamon. Whisk until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Scrape into a wide, shallow bowl, cover loosely, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 4 hours and up to 3 days.

Make the frosting

• 将巧克力，黄油，玉米糖浆和盐放在一个隔热锅中的隔热碗中，几乎没有煮水。轻轻搅拌直至巧克力融化，混合物非常光滑。放火，搅拌6汤匙。凉水。在室温下冷却并加厚至少3小时。一致性应该像巧克力布丁。

Make the cake

• 将三个9×2英寸圆形蛋糕盘的底部与羊皮纸排成一盘。如果三个平底锅适合它，则将架子放在烤箱的下三分之一中。否则，在烤箱的上部和下三分之一中的位置架子。将烤箱加热到350°F。

  在一个小碗中，搅拌可可和1/2杯冷淡的水。在液态杯中，将酪乳与1/2杯冷水混合。在一个中等大小的碗中，将面粉，小苏打和盐搅拌三遍，然后将其筛成一张羊皮纸。

  在装有桨叶附件的立式搅拌机中，以中等速度将黄油打成大约15秒钟。逐渐加入糖，跳动，直到混合物的颜色变浅，看起来沙质但蓬松，总共约5分钟。一次将鸡蛋放一次，花一分钟的时间添加它们。继续跳动几秒钟，直到混合物光滑而蓬松。

  Stop the mixer and add the cocoa mixture. Beat on medium speed just until combined. Stop the mixer and, using the parchment as a chute, add about one-quarter of the flour. Mix on low speed just until incorporated. Stop the mixer and add one-third of the buttermilk. Mix just until blended. Repeat, stopping the mixer between additions and scraping the bowl as necessary, until the remaining flour and buttermilk are mixed in.

  Divide the batter evenly among the pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes (if baking on two levels, rotate the upper and lower pans halfway through baking). Cool the cakes on racks for 5 minutes and then turn onto the racks, remove the parchment, and cool completely.

组装蛋糕

• 将冷藏的馅料打入装有桨叶附件的立式搅拌机中，直到它非常厚且僵硬，足以容纳形状，但仍然可以散布1至2分钟。不要打败。将蛋糕层倒置在纸板蛋糕圆或蛋pan底部。将一半的填充物的一半均匀地撒到层的边缘。顶上倒置层，然后轻轻按到位。散布剩余的填充。在第三层上面，再次倒置。平滑侧面突出的任何填充。

冻结蛋糕

• With an offset spatula, spread a very thin layer (about 1/2 cup) of frosting evenly over the top and sides of the assembled cake to smooth the surface, glue on crumbs, and fill cracks. (Stirring the frosting more than necessary dulls the finish and makes it set up too hard.) Spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides of the cake, swirling the surface with the spatula if desired. Top with thechocolate shards(if using) and serve at room temperature.