Chocolate Ganache Cake
A chocolate ganache cake for a true chocolate lover. Delicious layers of rich chocolate cake frosted with chocolate ganache and chocolate glaze for that ultimate finish. Whether you make this for a birthday celebration or for a simple weekend dinner. This chocolate cake is truly a dessert to be enjoyed guilt-free.
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Servings: 24 servings
Calories: 400kcal
Cost: $20
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale
- Stand Mixer
Ingredients
Makes 2 x 7-inch round or 2 x 8-inch round cakes
FOR THE CAKE
- 200 grams Chocolate 60% or more
- 228 grams Unsalted butter (2 sticks) room temperature
- 256 grams All-purpose flour
- 50 grams Cocoa Powder
- 220 grams Brown sugar
- 100 grams White sugar
- 2 Eggs large
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 250 ml Buttermilk
CHOCOLATE GANACHE
- 450 grams Chocolate Semi-sweet
- 250 ml Whipping cream
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 2 tsp Vanilla
FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE
- 180 ml whipping cream
- 90 ml light corn syrup
- 113 grams butter (1 stick) room temperature
- 200 grams chocolate 60% or more
EXTRA
- 120 ml Simple syrup
Instructions
Cake
- Grease and line 2×7-inch or 2 x 8-inch round baking pans.
- Preheat oven at 160 C / 320 F
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt.
- Melt butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Add the sugars and stir until almost melted
- Next, add the vanilla followed by the eggs one at a time.
- Then add the buttermilk – combine well.
- Lastly, add the flour and mix until you have a smooth batter. A whisk works well for this.
- Pour the batter into your baking pan.
- Bake in a preheated oven for about 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool and decorate with your favorite frosting
Chocolate ganache
- Chop the chocolate fine so it melts easily
- Bring the cream to an almost boil
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate in a bowl.
- Cover and let stand for two minutes
- After two minutes stir well until smooth (the chocolate usually melts but if necessary place in the microwave or double boiler until melted)
- Add the butter and vanilla.
- Cover with ganache making sure to cover the surface of the chocolate to prevent any skin from forming.
- Leave to set in the fridge for 2 hours or on the counter for 4 hours until it’s about peanut butter consistency.
Chocolate glaze
- Melt the cream, light corn syrup and chocolate in the microwave or double boiler just the same way you did for the Ganache.
- Once the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Start adding the butter into small pieces making sure it is melted completely.
- This also helps in bringing the temperature of the chocolate down so it won’t be too hot on the Ganache.
- The butter and corn syrup contribute to the beautiful shine.
Assemble
- Once the cakes are cooled
- Level the cake layers by cutting off any domes
- Place one cake layer on the cake stand or cake board
- Brush with simple syrup ( just sugar and water boiled together)
- Top with a big dollop of chocolate ganache and spread with an off-set spatula
- Place the second cake layer on top, brush with simple syrup and more frosting followed by the last layer.
- Place the cake in the fridge for 15 minutes if necessary so the layers stay together.
- Spread more chocolate ganache around the cake and spread with a spatula.
- Use a bench scraper to smooth the sides of the cake and off-set spatula for the top.
- Place in the fridge for at least 2 to 4 hours so the ganache is set.
Glaze the cake
- Place the cake on a wire rack with a large plate or clean baking tray to collect the drippings.
- Make sure your glaze is pouring consistency. If not, warm it in the microwave for 10 to 20 sec.
- Tip – Do not overheat the glaze. You want it to be pouring consistency but not hot (or it will melt the frosting on the cake)
- Pour the glaze on the cake slowly starting in the middle and then to the sides, making sure you pour slowly attempting to cover the whole cake.
- If you have any blind spot use a spatula to help smooth the sides.
- However, do not use the spatula too much as you will leave marks on the cake.
- The less you work on this at this stage, the better the result.
- Place the cake in the fridge and let cool completely.
Decorate
- Gather the chocolate drippings and let cool in the fridge.
- When the cake is cooled, place the balance chocolate glaze in a piping bag and pipe any decorations you want.
- I used chopped pecans to decorate the cake, but you can use anything else.
Decorating options
- Use ready-made chocolate decorations, such as chocolate curls, swirls, beads, cocoa beans.
- Dust the cake sides with cocoa powder.
- Add chocolate-dipped fruits.
- Melt some white chocolate and sprinkle it in a decorative fashion or just grate some white chocolate.
Notes
STORAGE
The cake will stay fresh for up to four days at cool room temperature, longer if kept in the fridge.
It can be frozen for a month or more.
The cake will stay fresh for up to four days at cool room temperature, longer if kept in the fridge.
It can be frozen for a month or more.
Nutrition
Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 32.9g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 16.8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 123mg | Potassium: 0mg | Fiber: 3.2g | Sugar: 20.5g | Vitamin A: 0IU | Vitamin C: 0mg | Calcium: 0mg | Iron: 0mg