angel’s triple dark chocolate birthday cake

• preheat the oven to 180°C
• crush the cookies (I use a food processor), combine with the brown sugar and the melted butter, mix well (use your hands to make it as fine and sandy as possible), transfer to the square spring-form mold lined with baking paper, pack and press down evenly and bake for 10-12 minutes, remove and let cool completely

note : I used a large 24 cm x 24 cm x 6 cm square (with rounded edges) metal  springform baking mold)

• combine all the dry cake batter ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, mix well and evenly (use your fingers if the sugar is clumpy) and set aside
• place the 330 ml of dark beer in a small casserole, bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium and let simmer for 8-10 minutes until reduced to 240 ml (1 cup), then add the cubed butter and stir until completely melted, add the maple syrup and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth and set aside
• in another medium bowl, combine the 3 beaten eggs, the buttermilk and the maple syrup and whisk until smooth and set aside
• brush the inside of the sides of the cooled down mold (don't touch the cookie crust) with some melted butter and sprinkle with cocoa powder until the sides are well-coated
• re-preheat the oven to 180°C (if necessary)
• whisk together the 2 different liquid ingredients mixes until smooth and add to the dry ingredients mixture and whisk until completely smooth, then pour the batter in the baking mold (up to 3/4 full maximum) and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out almost clean (rotate every 15 minutes)  

note : because it is a large cake, it will crack in several places e top before being fully baked but don’t worry, the thick glaze/frosting will cover it all up …

• let cool 10-15 minutes before unmolding and place on a rack to glaze/frost
• while the cake is cooling down, melt the chocolate in one small casserole (in a bain-marie)  until smooth and heat up the sweetened condensed milk with the extracts in another small casserole (in a bain-marie or hot-water bath too)
• when both are smooth and close to the same temperature (the sweetened condensed milk should be warmer than the melted chocolate) quickly combine both and mix well and immediately pour over the cake and smooth out on the top and the sides and quickly sprinkle with rock sugar and cocoa nibs and some salt flakes (before the frosting hardens)

note : the frosting thickens up quickly so only prepare it when the cake is ready to be frosted and still slightly warm ...