Monday, April 5, 2021

Homemade Chocolate Ganache Cake

Over the Easter break the only kind of cake that I want to make is a chocolate cake, and with lots of icing. It was our lovely friend's birthday yesterday, which was also Easter Sunday, so for her birthday I made this rich, moist cake with luscious frosting which we all enjoyed  at home after lunch accompanied by Mr. HRK's special espresso coffee. This was my first attempt at making chocolate ganache. Normally I make traditional chocolate icing, but this was a birthday celebration and Easter Sunday as well, so I thought ganache would be quite  special. It's also nice to decorate chocolate cake with raspberries don't you think, however it's not essential. I also placed some chocolate coated ginger around the edge of the cake because the birthday girl loves ginger.

When I saw this recipe in Silvia Colloca's recipe book, Love Laugh Bake!, I was captivated and had to try it. I'm on a mission to find the best chocolate cake to add to my baking repertoire, and my friends it's tough going. This one just might be it, and would be fine served just with whipped cream, traditional icing or the ganache frosting from this recipe. It's a cinch to make, and whilst not every chocolate cake needs to have dark chocolate in it's list of ingredients, yes sometimes just good quality cocoa powder will do, I think that for an elegant touch, and one that warrants becoming an impressive birthday centrepiece, this rich, moist chocolate cake is a winner. 

Let's Bake:

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

 180 g  dark chocolate chips

200 g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the tin

250 g brown sugar

4 eggs

350 g (2 1/2 cups) self-raising flour, sifted (or plain flour + 5 teaspoons very fresh baking powder)

3 tablespoons Cocoa powder, sifted

200 ml buttermilk

125 g (1 cup) raspberries

Ganache Frosting

300 ml thickened cream

300 g milk chocolate chips

100 g dark chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat your oven to 160 deg. C. and grease and line a 22-23 cm round cake

Melting the chocolate and butter:

Select a medium sized pyrex bowl that fits over a saucepan ensuring there is no space between the bowl and the rim of the saucepan. Place the chocolate and butter in the pyrex bowl, set approx. 3 cm of water in the saucepan to simmer, and then place the bowl over the simmering water. The bowl mustn't come in contact with the water, and steam mustn't enter the bowl or the chocolate may separate. (Sorry to sound bossy about this but it has happened to me.) Set aside to cool.

Mix the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy using your electric mixer. 

Remove the bowl from the mixer. 

Sift the flour and cocoa together and add to the beaten egg mixture. Then add the buttermilk, and the cooled melted chocolate and fold this mixture to combine.

Pour the mixture into the lined baking tin and bake for 35-40 minutes. Just to be sure, test with a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean, the cake is cooked.

Cool the cake in the tin for 10 minutes, and then ease onto a wire cooling rake to cool completely. Cut the cake in half horizontally using a serrated knife, so that it can be filled in the centre with ganache a bit later, but this isn't essential.

Making the Ganache:

Pour the cream into a small saucepan and bring to simmering point on a low heat, small bubbles will start appearing and light steam will rise from the cream. Remove from the heat, then add the chocolate to the saucepan and wait for it to melt into the warm cream. 

Whisk the mixture lightly until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl, cover very tightly with cling wrap and place in the refrigerator for 60 minutes to set to a spreadable consistency. If you leave the melted chocolate in the saucepan it will take longer to set. I left the ganache in the frig for a whole morning, and it was perfect to spread on the cake in the early afternoon. Mine took longer to set than 60 minutes. We are still experiencing humidity here so the ganache started to soften quickly after being removed from the frig. and was great to work with. 

If you have cut your cake into two halves, place the bottom layer on a cake stand cut side up. Spread one-third of the frosting onto it, and scatter with half of the raspberries. Place the top layer of the cake over the raspberries, and spread the frosting over the top and around the sides. Scatter the remaining raspberries over the top of the cake.

We don't buy each other Easter eggs or chocolates anymore at Easter time, especially when we have chocolate cake to look forward to. However we managed to have some chocolate eggs delivered to our grandchildren in the Falkland Islands as part of a special grocery hamper for our sons 40th birthday just before Easter.  They all loved it. More about that story later.

Mr. HRK and I  hope you have enjoyed a peaceful and relaxing Easter with family or friends or both, wherever you are. 

Warm wishes,

Pauline

 





















16 comments:

  1. happy easter pauline. this cake looks delish indeed. i used to make a chocolate cake of nigella's for easter which was full of - well, chocolate, with a chocolate ganache. there was just soooo much chocolate in it. it is really fabulous if you are ever looking for a great choc cake recipe. i then went to a simple Polish cheesecake for easter, so light and tasty and now i don't make anything for easter! Nieces and nephews have all grown up and moved away...
    cheers
    sherry

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    1. Thanks Sherry, I actually think this cake has enough chocolate in it for my tastes. I have a couple of choc cake recipes with just cocoa in them which I remember as being really good as well so I must revisit them.Laying off chocolate for a while now though:)

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  2. The cake looks splendid with all the chocolate and fresh raspberries. The colour contrast of dark chocolate and red berries is just wonderful. Happy Easter, Pauline!

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  3. Thanks Angie, I hope you have had a happy Easter as well.

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  4. Hope you enjoyed Easter and were dryer than Brisbane. That chocolate cake looks wonderful and I will try it soon. Cheers

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    1. Thanks Bernie, we had showers over Easter but not nearly as much as in Brisbane. Hope you are high and dry.

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  5. I left a long comment which seems to have been lost in the ethernet! Your cake looks lovely, and the perfect choice for Easter :)

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    1. Tandy I'm so sorry your comment disappeared, it is so annoying when that happens to me. Sometimes it takes a while to publish, and I don't wait long enough. Anyway thanks for your comment about the cake, it was delish.

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  6. I'm hoping you guys had a glorious Easter holiday and lots of chocolate cake. I had to chuckle regarding your care package to your son as it's the reverse here. My son send me care packages from the US for my birthday...

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    1. How lovely Ron, it's always so special to receive a care package, and I'm sure they have been worried about you. Hope you are feeling better each day and not eating too much chocolate cake! Take care.

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  7. Hope you had a wonderful Easter! Had to be, with this cake. Wow, SO nice. Love a good chocolate cake. With chocolate icing, of course. Good stuff -- thanks.

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  8. Thanks so much KR, yes the cake certainly contributed to making it special on Easter Sunday, and the cooler showery weather was wonderful.

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  9. I love ganache. Its so good, yet so easy. You can whip it just before frosting the cale, and that will make it somewhat less fudge, which I like. I love that you used a blend of chocolate!

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    1. Thanks Jeff, yes I basically used what I had on hand and it came together beautifully. The humidity here makes a difference I'm sure with how to approach ganache, so I'm looking forward to Winter.Take care.

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