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Prep the pans: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Fold a large sheet of parchment paper in half; put a 10-inch-round cake pan on top.
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Trace the cake pan, then cut out the circle to make two rounds of parchment.
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Spray two 10-inch cake pans with cooking spray; fit a parchment round into each.
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Spray the pans again, then dust with flour and tap out the excess.
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Make the batter: Pour the coffee into a liquid measuring cup or bowl; whisk in the cocoa powder.
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Put the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer; mix with the paddle attachment on low speed, 1 minute.
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Add the eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla and 2 cups water; beat on medium speed, 2 minutes.
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Reduce the speed to low; beat in the coffee-cocoa mixture in a slow stream until combined.
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The batter will be thin.
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Bake the cakes: Divide the batter between the prepared pans.
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Bake until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour.
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Let cool in the pans on a rack, 10 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto the rack to cool completely.
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Place each cake on a 10-inch cardboard cake circle (this helps stabilize the layers as you move them around), wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
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Make the ganache: Pulverize the bittersweet chocolate in a large food processor.
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Bring the cream just to a boil.
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With the motor running, pour the hot cream through the feed tube; process until smooth.
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Transfer to a large bowl and set in a bowl of ice water.
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Chill, stirring often, until the ganache is cool but not stiff, about 20 minutes.
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Make the bark: Microwave the white chocolate in 15-second intervals until two-thirds melted; stir to fully melt.
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Scrape into a zip-top bag and seal.
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Put a plastic sheet protector on each of 2 baking sheets.
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Snip a corner of the bag; pipe thin lines of white chocolate over the sheets.
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Refrigerate the baking sheets until the white chocolate is set, about 10 minutes, then repeat the process with the milk chocolate, piping thin lines over the white chocolate.
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Refrigerate until the milk chocolate is set.
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Melt the bittersweet chocolate in the same way, then spread over the white and milk chocolate lines using an offset spatula.
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Refrigerate until hard, about 30 minutes.
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Peel the sheet protectors off the chocolate and break the chocolate sheets into shards of various sizes.
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Slice the layers: Put one cake on a cake turntable.
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Position a long serrated knife against the side of the cake, about halfway down.
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Slowly rotate the turntable so the knife slices the cake in half horizontally.
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Don't move the knife much-let the rotation of the turntable do the work.
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Repeat with the other cake to make 4 layers; transfer each to a cardboard circle.
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(If you don't have a turntable, carefully slice the cakes in half on a cutting board.)
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Frost the cake: Transfer half of the ganache to a bowl and whisk until light brown and fluffy.
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Place one cake layer (still on a cardboard circle) on the turntable; spoon one-third of the whipped ganache on top.
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Rotate the turntable to smooth the ganache with a long spatula (or just assemble and frost on a cake plate).
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Repeat to sandwich all 4 cake layers with whipped ganache.
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Spread all but about 1/2 cup of the unwhipped ganache over the top and sides of the cake.
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Decorate the cake: Press the chocolate bark against the sides of the cake, using small dollops of the remaining ganache to help the pieces stick, if necessary.
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40
Photograph by Pernille Pedersen
