Chocolate Ganache Cake

Posted by Chef Penny | Posted in , | Posted on 9:32 AM

Today's recipe is because I was commissioned to make a birthday cake for someone who loves dark chocolate! I gladly accepted because making chocolate cakes are my specialty! I think you'll really love this recipe. Very basic yet rich and delicious.

Recipe:
CAKE:
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder- NOT dutch-process (once again I used dark)
1 tsp instant espresso powder (this is actually a great ingredient to keep in the house!)
1/2 cup whole milk (you can interchange depending on what is in your house)
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
2 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 large eggs

GANACHE:
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
20 oz bittersweet (not un-sweetened) fine quality chocolate, chopped (or chips are fine)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*.

Make ganache (it needs to cool for a few hrs). Bring cream just to a boil. Once boils remove immediately and pour over bittersweet chocolate. Let sit for a second before whisking til creamy. Plastic wrap it (so it's touching the chocolate) and put in the fridge til just set. If it's too thick let it stand at room temp til soft.

Prepare pans by lining 2- 8 inch round cake pans with parchment. Then butter and flour the pans. You may need to spray the bottom (or butter) before you put the parchment down so it sticks.

To make the cake. Whisk boiling water, cocoa powder and espresso powder til smooth. Add vanilla and milk. Set aside. Mix flour, soda, and salt. Set aside. In a mixer (kitchen aid or handheld) beat butter and brown sugar til fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add flour mixture and cocoa mixture in batches starting and ending with flour mixing at low speed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans evenly. Cook until set. About 25 min. Let cool completely on a rack before removing from the pan and remove the paper.

ASSEMBLE:
Make sure the ganache is spreadable, yet not too runny. Now you can make either two layers or 4 if you want to cut the cake rounds into two. I preferred to make two layers. Using a turntable (it's helpful if you have one) slice off the top of the round so it's flat. Top one layer with a cup of the ganache and spread. Place other layer on top. Place in the fridge so the ganache hardens up and cake gets cold (maybe 1 hr or so). Next crumb coat the cake with the ganache. This basically means a very thin layer of ganache on the entire cake so it's sealed. Then put the cake back in the fridge for about 30 min so it hardens as well. Then you can proceed to cover the entire cake in ganache as you would a frosting. I hope the pictures help explain it, but they are hard to tell. Keep in mind, ganache isn't supposed to be spreadable, so it's not like your typical frosting. It will look a bit messy and you can cover it up with decorations like I did. The best way to smooth out ganache is by taking your spatula and running it under the water. The heat and the dampness will help out with the smoothness of the cake. But if it's not perfect, that's ok! It's rustic :)

*Cake can be made 1 day ahead. Cooled completely then wrapped and chilled.
*Ganache can be made also 1 day ahead. On day of usage bring to room temp.
*Assembled cake can keep for up to 3 days, covered and chilled.

CRUMB COATING:


FINISHED PRODUCT:


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