Triple Chocolate Punch Bowl Cake

For the cake:
Preheat oven to 300 F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch pan and a 7 x 11 inch pan. Set aside.

Finely chop the chocolate (or cheat and use chips) and place in a heat proof bowl. Pour hot coffee over the chocolate and let it stand, stirring occasionally until chocolate is melted.

Beat eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer until thick and lemon colored. Slowly add oil to eggs, then slowly add buttermilk and then vanilla. Add chocolate mixture slowly and beat until well combined.

In another bowl, sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add this mixture gradually into the liquids and beat on medium speed just until combined.

Pour batter into the prepared pans and bake 30-35 minutes for the 7 x 11 and 40-45 minutes for the 9 x 13 or until center is set. Don’t over-bake. Remove from oven when done and set aside to cool.

For the pudding:
Place pudding mix, milk and cream in a large bowl and whisk together until mix is totally dissolved, about 2-3 minutes. Chill until ready to assemble.

For the whipped cream:
Put all ingredients (cream, powdered sugar and vanilla) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment and beat until firm peaks form. Note: the amount of powdered sugar just depends on personal preference.

To assemble: Break up cake into bite sized pieces. Place about ⅓ of the cake in the bottom of a large punch bowl or trifle bowl. Follow that with ⅓ of the pudding then ⅓ of the whipped cream. Repeat these layers 2 times, ending with the whipped cream. Top with fresh berries if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.