Chocolate Ganache Cake

It is always said that Marriages are made in heaven! It is absolutely true for me. We didn't know each other till 2001 but got married in 2003, and today we completed 10 years of our wedding. So 26th May is always very special to us, but this year it is more so because our relationship completed a decade. In US, it always comes on a long weekend and usually most of the years we go for a short trip. This year we had a plan but somehow we felt tired after yesterday’s picnic in Temecula ranch organized by our Bengali community. So didn't feel like going anywhere but lazily roamed around usual places in San Diego, did shopping and had good food. This year, since we got a chance to stay at home, I was thinking what to cook or bake on this day. I was in dilemma which cake I would bake, Chocolate Ganache Cake or Chocolate Cheese cake or Tiramisu! Finally I decided Chocolate Ganache would be perfect as all the ingredients I already have in my pantry! 

It is so quick and easy to make. The base cake is soft-moist simple chocolate cake, frosted with chocolate Ganache. Ganache is a French word, it is a glaze icing or simply a mixture of chocolate and cream. Ganache is generally made by heating cream and little butter, then pouring it over chopped chocolates. The mixture is stirred or blended until it becomes smooth. You do not need to use electric blender for this Chocolate Ganache frosting. I made it 3 tier cake, without using a 3 tier cake pa, baked the chocolate cake in three different sized pans and assembled it. All the three cakes have a single layer filled with the same frosting and decorated as per my little one's wish with Oreo cookies and raspberries. The base cake was already baked two days before, and kept it in the refrigerator. Frosting and decorating part doesn't take time; still I had no patience for that. When I started to decorate it, I was in serious doubt whether I could finally present it or not. Thanks to God, it came out not only delicious but looked really nice.

Recipe of Chocolate Ganache Cake : for a 9 by 13 inch pan


Ingredients :

For the Chocolate cake :

1.     Dutch-processed Cocoa powder - 1/2 cup

2.     Boiling hot water: 1 cup

3.     All-purpose flour - 1-1/3 cups

4.     Baking powder- 2 tsp

5.     Salt- 1/4 tsp

6.     Granulated White Sugar - 1 cup

7.     Unsalted Butter - 1 stick

8.     Eggs - 2 ( large)

9.     Vanilla extract - 2 tsp

For Chocolate Ganache frosting :

Semi sweet chocolate : 8 ounces ( 227 g) cut into small pieces

Heavy whipping cream 3/4 cup to 1 cup ( approximately 180 g )
Unsalted Butter - 1 tbsp

For decoration :

Raspberries - a handful
Oreo cookies 

Method : 

1.     Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F or 176 degrees C. Grease 3 different sized pans or ramekins with nonstick vegetable spray.

2.     In a small bowl, take the cocoa powder and the boiling water and stir them until it becomes smooth. Let it cool down to room temperature.

3.     In another bowl, add flour, baking powder and salt and whisk it. Take butter and sugar in a bowl, beat them with a hand mixer or with a spatula until they become light and fluffy.

4.     Add the eggs one by one and beat until it becomes smooth. Beat in vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat nicely until incorporated.

5.     Add the cocoa mixture and mix the whole thing till it becomes smooth. Fill each ramekin about 2/3 full with batter and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes clean.

6.     But make sure don't over bake. Cakes are ready for frosting when they are completely cool.

Assemble and frosting : 

1. Take a heatproof bowl, put the chopped chocolate and keep it aside. 

2. Take a saucepan, place cream and butter in it and heat it over medium heat, bring it to a boil. 

3. When it just starts to a boil, immediately pour the boiling cream and butter mixture over the chopped chocolates. Let it rest for couple of minutes, then stir until the mixture gets smooth, beat it with a wire whisk till it becomes soft and fluffy.

4. This is the final step, which is to assemble the cake. Once the cakes are completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake in the refrigerator for at least an hour. This makes the spreading of the frosting a much easier task as a freshly baked cake is quite fragile and when you try to spread the frosting, there is a tendency for the cake to tear.

5. With a serrated knife, cut the top swelling parts off and then cut the each cake into two halves horizontally. Place the layers, top of the cake facing down, on your serving plate. 

6. Spread the cake layer with a layer of chocolate Ganache frosting. Place another layer of cake on top of the frosting and continue to frost. Repeat the same with the other two cakes Frost the top and sides of the cakes nicely.

7. Decorate with some fresh raspberries and Oreo cookies. 

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