Incredible Chocolate Ganache Cake!

Alright - so I had this INCREDIBLE cake made by Matt the Baker at Skidmore College. It was hands-down the best chocolate cake I've ever had and he shared his recipe with me. I don't know what kind of frosting he put on it, but I decided to go with a chocolate ganache and it was the perfect topping to this delicious cake. A small slice is enough (really) but it's so delicious you'll want more, I guarantee it! And it's easy - just mix the dry ingredients with the wet and bake. Once it's cooled, pour a simple (trust me) chocolate ganache over the top. That's it, and you'll be so loved for this, seriously.

I made this for a party this weekend, and it was devoured. Katie helped me make the ganache - we are both new to this amazing concoction - and we'll be ganaching again, that's for sure!

This cake should take care of ANY chocolate craving for about three months!!!!

INCREDIBLE CHOCOLATE GANACHE CAKE

Grease and flour two 9” baking pans (or whatever size you’re baking – I baked one 10” and one 8”) and line with parchment paper. Spray parchment lightly with cooking spray.

Cake:

1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

2 eggs
½ cup canola or vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup hot coffee

In mixer bowl, mix all dry ingredients well, until there are no lumps.

In separate bowl, beat eggs and add oil, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Add this mixture to dry ingredients and mix well.

Slowly pour in hot coffee and mix until it’s all incorporated. Batter will be thin.

Bake at 350˚F until it tests done – about 30-35 minutes. Cake is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and sides begin to pull away from the edge of the pan.

Cool on racks until lukewarm. Remove from pan and cool completely.

Ganache Frosting:

12 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped or in morsels
3 tablespoons butter, softened.
1 cup heavy cream, heated on low just to a simmer
2 tablespoons hot coffee
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Place chocolate and butter in large glass bowl. Pour hot cream over chocolate and stir until melted. If it doesn’t melt completely, microwave in 30 second intervals until it is completely melted.

Whisk chocolate and cream until smooth and shiny. Add coffee and vanilla and whisk until it a very smooth mixture. Allow mixture to cool until it’s still pourable and resembles a thick chocolate syrup.

Place each cake on its own serving plate.
Pour ganache over the center of each layer, spreading just within the outside edge. Before it sets, sprinkle the outer inch of the cake with chopped walnuts or mini-chips.

Refrigerate cake to set ganache and bring to room temperature before serving.

This cake can be stacked and frosted as a 2-layer cake, but with the ganache frosting one layer is sweet enough. If you make the 2-layer version, pour and gently spread ganache on the first layer, top with the second, and pour and gently spread rest of ganache on the top. Let some drizzle down the sides if you have enough. Refrigerate until ½ hour to 1 hour before serving so the ganache softens up.

Photo credit: http://simplyrecipes.com/photos/chocolate-ganache-torte-b.jpg