Chocolate Ganache Cake
Coooking Temperature: 350°F/177°C/ Gas Mark 4
Calories: 400kcal
Adjust Servings Here: 8 servings
Description
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.
Ingredients
Makes 2 x 7-inch round or 2 x 8-inch round cakes
Cake
- 2 cups (250 g) All-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (165 g) Brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) White sugar
- ½ cup (43 g) Cocoa Powder
- ¾ teaspoon Baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 3 Eggs large
- ½ cup (120 ml) Buttermilk
- ¼ cup (60 ml) Brewed coffee or hot water
- ½ cup (120 ml) Cooking oil
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract I used vanilla bean paste
Chocolate Ganache
Chocolate ganache drip
- 4 oz (113 g) chocolate 60% or more
- ½ cup (120 ml) whipping cream
Plus
- ½ cup (120 ml) Simple syrup
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat Oven to 350°F/177°C/ Gas Mark 4
- Prep pan - Grease and dust 2×7-inch or 2 x 8-inch round cake pans with softened butter or cooking spray and cocoa powder.
- Coffee - In a large mixing bowl, combine boiling water and coffee. And set aside.
- Dry ingredients - Combine white sugar, brown sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Wet ingredients - In a medium bowl, whip the eggs with buttermilk, cooking oil, and vanilla extract. Then, add the oil followed by the eggs and vanilla. Combine well making sure to break the eggs and incorporate well.
- Wet to dry ingredients - Pour the mixture of liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients (flour mixture) and combine well. Then, add the hot coffee and combine until you have a smooth batter with no lumps.Pro tip - Use a whisk to ensure you have no lumps and do not over mix.
- Bake - Pour batter into the prepared pans. Bake in the center rack for about 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool - Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, invert onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
Chocolate ganache
- Microwave - Chop the chocolate into smaller similar size pieces and place it in a large bowl or measuring cup. Pour the whipping cream over the chocolate. Add the butter and vanilla extract. Combine well. Heat in the microwave for a minute or more until all the chocolate is melted and smooth. Use a whisk to ensure it is smooth. Double boiler - Alternatively, you can heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it comes to an almost boil. Then, pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate. Let stand for 2 minutes. Combine with a spatula until it is smooth.
- Cover the ganache with plastic. Leave to set in the fridge for 2 hours or on the counter for 4 hours until it’s about peanut butter consistency.Pro tip- in summer you may need to place the ganache in the fridge to set. If it gets hard, place it in the microwave for no more than 10 seconds until you have a spreadable consistency.
Assemble
- Prepare simple syrup - cool completely before using.Pro tip- Simple syrup is just sugar water that has been boiled and cooled. Used to keep cake layers moist.
- Using a bread knife or cake leveler cut the domes off the cake layers. Brush each layer with the cooled simple syrupPro tip - you can also split each layer horizontally to make four layers
- Place a cake layer on the cake board or cake stand. Top with a big dollop of ganache - spread evenly using a straight-edge spatula.
- Then top the second cake layer on top followed by more ganache and the second layer. Top with a big dollop of chocolate ganache and spread with an off-set spatula
- Whip the remaining ganache until it is light and fluffy. Pro tip - Don't overwhip as it can be difficult to smooth. If you do happen to overwhip add a few tablespoons of hot milk and whip some more.
- Next, spread the whipped ganache on top or sides of the cake. Using a paddle motion when spreading will help smooth the ganache better. Place the cake in the fridge to chill for 10 to 15 minutes.Pro tip - A straight-edge spatula for the top, an offset spatula, and a bench scraper for the sides work better.
Chocolate glaze
- In a microwave-safe bowl combine the chocolate and heavy cream. Combine until smooth. Set aside to cool until thick. Pro tip - Alternatively, you can place the chocolate and heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until smooth.
- Place the glaze in a piping bag or use a smooth to create a drip on the side of the cake. Once you have the desired drip effect pour the remaining glaze on the top and smooth it out with a spatula. Chill the cake in the fridge until the top is set. Pro tip - letting the glaze set will prevent the piped swirls from slipping off the cake.
- Place the remaining whipped frosting in the piping bag with a star tip and pipe all around the cake. Top with chocolate curls.
Recipe Notes
- The cake will stay fresh for up to 3 days at cool room temperature, and longer if kept in the fridge. It can also be frozen for a month.
- Always wrap cakes well especially after cutting them to prevent them from getting dry.
- When keeping in the refrigerator, place it in sealed silicon or ziplock bag or wrap in plastic wrap.
- If stored in the freezer - first wrap in parchment paper, then place in a freezer-safe bag. Lastly, wrap in foil to prevent it from catching any freezer smells from other food. Always, thaw in the fridge overnight. The parchment paper keeps the condensation on the paper, not the cake.
Other pan suggestions
If you do not want to bake this as a chocolate layer cake you can also- use this batter to bake a chocolate sheet cake using a 9 x 13 sheet pan.
- You can also make an 8-inch chocolate bundt cake, or
- For a taller layer cake use 3 x 6 inch round cakes. You will need to double (2x) the batter for 2 x 9-inch cakes.
- This batter would also make 15 to 18 cupcakes
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
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