Speckled Chocolate Cake With Ganache Food

CHOCOLATE GANACHE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper.
• Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the chocolate syrup and vanilla. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Don't overbeat, or the cake will be tough.
• Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until just set in the middle. Don't overbake! Let cool thoroughly in the pan.
• For the ganache, cook the heavy cream, chocolate chips, and instant coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.
• Place the cake upside down on a wire rack and pour the glaze evenly over the top, making sure to cover the entire cake and sides. You can tilt the rack to smooth the glaze. Decorate with candied violets, if desired, or gently crumble the gold leaf and place it on the center of the cake. Do not refrigerate.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat for 2 minutes. Combine buttermilk and sour cream. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beating well after each addition. , Pour into two greased and waxed paper-lined 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. , In a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate with cream over low heat. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Transfer to a small mixing bowl; chill until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Chill until mixture achieves spreading consistency. , For ganache, in a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate and butter. Gradually add cream; heat until just warmed. Chill until slightly thickened., Place one cake layer on a serving plate; spread with filling. Top with remaining cake layer. Slowly pour ganache over top of cake. Refrigerate until serving.

GANACHE-TOPPED CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Pour boiling water over chocolate and butter; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Whisk in sugar, buttermilk, egg and extracts. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; whisk into chocolate mixture just until blended., Transfer to a 9-in. round baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 18-22 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Place rack on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet., For ganache, bring cream just to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Cool until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Slowly pour over cake, allowing some ganache to drape over sides., Refrigerate until serving. If desired, sprinkle with raspberries, confectioners' sugar and cocoa. Cut into wedges.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE CAKE

Steps:

• Make cake layers:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 3 (7- or 8-inch, 2-inch-deep) round cake pans and line bottoms with rounds of wax or parchment paper. Butter paper and dust pans with flour, knocking out excess.
• Whisk together water, cocoa, and espresso powder until smooth, then whisk in milk and vanilla.
• Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.
• Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy, then add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and cocoa mixture in batches, beginning and ending with flour and mixing at low speed until just combined.
• Divide batter among pans (about 2 1/3 cups per pan), smoothing tops. Bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes for 7-inch pans or 20 to 25 minutes for 8-inch. Cool in pans on a rack 30 minutes, then invert onto racks, remove paper, and cool completely.
• Make ganache while cakes bake:
• Bring cream to a simmer in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan and remove from heat. Whisk in chocolate until smooth. Transfer ganache to a bowl and chill, covered, stirring occasionally, until thickened but spreadable, about 4 hours. (If ganache becomes too thick, let stand at room temperature until slightly softened.)
• Assemble cake:
• Arrange 1 layer on a cake stand or plate and spread 2/3 cup ganache evenly over it. Top with another cake layer and 2/3 cup ganache, spreading evenly, then third cake layer. (Chill ganache if necessary to keep at a spreadable consistency.) Chill cake until ganache filling is firm, about 1 hour. Keep remaining ganache at a spreadable consistency, chilling when necessary.
• Spread a thin layer of ganache over top and sides of cake to seal in crumbs, then chill 30 minutes. Spread remaining ganache evenly over top and sides of cake.

CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE WITH SWISS BUTTERCREAM AND GANACHE

Steps:

• Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Put the cocoa powder and chocolate in a medium bowl. Add the boiling water and whisk until the chocolate is melted. Whisk in the sour cream until smooth; let cool to room temperature.
• Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla, beating well after each addition. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Beat in the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the cocoa mixture in 2 additions. Finish mixing gently with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl.
• Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans. Tap the pans against the counter to eliminate any air bubbles. Bake until the cakes spring back in the center when gently pressed, 35 to 40 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then run an offset spatula around the edges and turn out the cakes onto a rack to cool completely. Remove the parchment.
• Make the frosting: Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk the egg whites, granulated sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Set the bowl over the saucepan (do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water); cook, whisking, until the sugar dissolves, the egg whites are frothy and the mixture is warm, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer the bowl to the stand mixer and beat with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed until stiff glossy peaks form and the mixture cools to room temperature, about 5 minutes. With the mixer running, add the butter a few pieces at a time, waiting for them to incorporate before adding more. (The mixture will become liquidy, then it will get thick and shiny once the butter emulsifies. It may also look curdled as you add the butter. It's OK: Keep adding butter and beating.) Add the vanilla and beat until combined and fluffy, 3 to 5 more minutes.
• Cut each cake in half horizontally to create 4 layers. Place 1 layer on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread about 2/3 cup frosting on top, then repeat with the remaining cake layers, spreading more frosting in between them. Spread a thin layer of frosting on the top and sides of the cake (this is the crumb coat - it doesn't have to be perfect), then refrigerate until the frosting sets, about 30 minutes. Spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides of the cake, smoothing it with a bench scraper.
• Make the ganache: Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium-high heat until steaming, then pour over the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir until smooth. Set aside until cool but still pourable, 20 to 40 minutes (the time will vary depending on the temperature and bowl). Pour the ganache on top of the cake and spread with a small offset spatula, letting it drip down the sides. Let the ganache set 20 to 30 minutes before slicing.

SPECIAL-OCCASION CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, combine cocoa and water; set aside to cool completely. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with cocoa mixture, beating well after each addition. , Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For ganache, place chocolate in a bowl. In a small heavy saucepan over low heat, bring cream and sugar to a boil. Pour over chocolate; whisk gently until smooth. Allow to cool until it reaches a spreadable consistency, stirring occasionally., For frosting, in a large bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar, cocoa, milk and vanilla; beat until smooth., Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate; spread with 1 cup frosting. Top with second layer and 1 cup ganache; sprinkle with 1/2 cup almonds. Top with third layer; frost top and sides of cake. Warm ganache until pourable; pour over cake, allowing some to drape down the sides. Sprinkle with remaining almonds. Refrigerate until serving.

PERFECT CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 9 inch round cake pans. Stir together the cocoa and boiling water from the first set of ingredients. Set aside to cool. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder, set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the cocoa mixture. Mix only until combined. Divide evenly between the three prepared pans, and spread the batter out flat.
• Bake for 18 to 22 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cool cakes on a wire rack.
• In a medium bowl, whip the heavy cream and vanilla. When the cream becomes thick, add the confectioners' sugar and continue to whip until stiff but not too grainy. Divide into three parts and spread onto two of the cooled layers. Stack the layers onto a nice plate, putting the two creamed ones on the bottom. Place the plain layer on the top. If there is a hump on the top of the cake, trim it off with a long serrated knife. Frost the sides with the chocolate buttercream frosting.
• To make the frosting, beat the remaining ingredients, butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and cocoa until light and fluffy, about 7 to 10 minutes. Frost sides of the cake, leaving a ridge that sticks up over the top edge. Spread the remaining cream filling over the top of the cake. Garnish with sprinkles, chocolate curls or seasonal fresh fruit.

SPECKLED CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH GANACHE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Butter the bottom and sides of a 8" springform pan.
• Line the bottom of the pan with parchment and butter the parchment paper.
• Separate the eggs. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar for 5 minutes.
• In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until stiff.
• Add the 1/2 c butter to the sugar mixture. Stir in the chopped chocolate gently.
• Stir in 1/3 of the flour gently.
• Stir in 1/3 of the egg white folding together as lightly as possible.
• Repeat, alternating between the flour and the egg whites.
• Pour cake batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake cake for 50 minutes.
• Cool cake on a wire rack.
• To prepare gananche, heat the cream until hot but not boiling.
• Pour the crean over the chocolate.
• Stir occasionally while mixture is cooling. When completely cooled, beat with electric mixer until fluffy, 5-10 minutes. Do not overbeat or the mixture will be very stiff and hard to spread.
• Place the cake back into the springform pan and top with the ganache. Wrap and chill until firm.
• Remove from pan and serve.