Chocolate Ganache Cake

Today's recipe is because I was commissioned to make a birthday cake for someone who loves dark chocolate! I gladly accepted because making chocolate cakes are my specialty! I think you'll really love this recipe. Very basic yet rich and delicious.

Recipe:

CAKE:

3/4 cup boiling water

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder- NOT dutch-process (once again I used dark)

1 tsp instant espresso powder (this is actually a great ingredient to keep in the house!)

1/2 cup whole milk (you can interchange depending on what is in your house)

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened

2 cup packed dark brown sugar

4 large eggs

GANACHE:

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

20 oz bittersweet (not un-sweetened) fine quality chocolate, chopped (or chips are fine)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*.

Make ganache (it needs to cool for a few hrs). Bring cream just to a boil. Once boils remove immediately and pour over bittersweet chocolate. Let sit for a second before whisking til creamy. Plastic wrap it (so it's touching the chocolate) and put in the fridge til just set. If it's too thick let it stand at room temp til soft.

Prepare pans by lining 2- 8 inch round cake pans with parchment. Then butter and flour the pans. You may need to spray the bottom (or butter) before you put the parchment down so it sticks.

To make the cake. Whisk boiling water, cocoa powder and espresso powder til smooth. Add vanilla and milk. Set aside. Mix flour, soda, and salt. Set aside. In a mixer (kitchen aid or handheld) beat butter and brown sugar til fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add flour mixture and cocoa mixture in batches starting and ending with flour mixing at low speed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans evenly. Cook until set. About 25 min. Let cool completely on a rack before removing from the pan and remove the paper.

ASSEMBLE:

Make sure the ganache is spreadable, yet not too runny. Now you can make either two layers or 4 if you want to cut the cake rounds into two. I preferred to make two layers. Using a turntable (it's helpful if you have one) slice off the top of the round so it's flat. Top one layer with a cup of the ganache and spread. Place other layer on top. Place in the fridge so the ganache hardens up and cake gets cold (maybe 1 hr or so). Next crumb coat the cake with the ganache. This basically means a very thin layer of ganache on the entire cake so it's sealed. Then put the cake back in the fridge for about 30 min so it hardens as well. Then you can proceed to cover the entire cake in ganache as you would a frosting. I hope the pictures help explain it, but they are hard to tell. Keep in mind, ganache isn't supposed to be spreadable, so it's not like your typical frosting. It will look a bit messy and you can cover it up with decorations like I did. The best way to smooth out ganache is by taking your spatula and running it under the water. The heat and the dampness will help out with the smoothness of the cake. But if it's not perfect, that's ok! It's rustic :)

*Cake can be made 1 day ahead. Cooled completely then wrapped and chilled.

*Ganache can be made also 1 day ahead. On day of usage bring to room temp.

*Assembled cake can keep for up to 3 days, covered and chilled.

CRUMB COATING:


FINISHED PRODUCT:

lemon pound cake

Today I stayed basic. I wanted to make a gift for Ron's Parents and you can't go wrong with pound cake! Super simple recipe and easy directions. Again, a great gift!

Recipe:

1 3/4 cup cake flour (cake flour has a different consistency that all purpose. It will make your product lighter. I highly advice you don't substitute all purpose)

2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar (superfine or castor if possible- if not you can use regular or you can make your own superfine by processing your sugar in a food processor for about 30 seconds)

2 tsp vanilla extract

zest of one lemon (i always use more- the flavor is great! can substitute orange zest too!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*. Mix flour, soda and salt. Set aside. Using a mixer (hand mixer or kitchen aid) beat butter til creamy. Add sugar gradually and beat until light and fluffy. Should look white. Keep scraping down the sides so it's all incorporated!! This should take about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time (continue to scrape the sides). The mixture will look like it's curdling- that is ok! Add vanilla and zest. Add flour and mix until just incorporated. Pour into a loaf pan (recipe calls for one 9X5X3, but I used two 8X4X2.5) that is buttered and floured (explained in a post a few before this one!) Bake for about and hr or until golden brown on top. This cake, because of the butter and sugar, can be kept for several days if wrapped very well. Or you can freeze it for a month and defrost when hungry!!!

Oatmeal Scones

Yes...I am using up the buttermilk and then it's done! What better way to use buttermilk than to make scones. One of my favorite foods because they can be sweet or savory- BRILLIANT! Here is a random recipe I found trying to use up other ingredients I had in my house like whole wheat pastry flour! It's much lighter than regular whole wheat flour so it doesn't taste so dense and wheat-y. I'm sure you could substitute all purpose flour, but I haven't look up the conversion.

Recipe:

1 cup butter

2 1/2 cups whole wheat PASTRY flour

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon (or more like i added)

2 cups oats (old fashioned or quick cooking)

2/3 cup+1/4 cup buttermilk (plus more for brushing on top)

raw sugar for sprinkling on top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375*. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Cut (i used a kitchen aid, but I usually use my hands) in butter until mixture becomes uniformly crumbly. Stir in oats. Add buttermilk and mix gently until a soft dough begins to cling together. Once mixed, put onto a baking sheet in balls. Make your own size! It's fun! Brush with buttermilk and sprinkle on raw sugar. Bake until golden brown and firm when pressed lightly in the center.

*to make less sweet, add 2/3 brown sugar instead

* you can add dried fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, or anything else you want to!

Remember, this is whole wheat pastry flour, so the product will have a different taste if you aren't used to eating wheat pastries, so you may wanna keep in the sugar to counterbalance the taste! Your choice! Either way, they are delicious warm with some butter. I say that about all scones though :) Enjoy!!!

Chocolate Buttermilk Brownies

I apologize for such a long break! Like I mentioned I went out of town with my boyfriend and he loved the cookies and we had a nice time! And then Monday I had to work another 4 am shift...but I'm back in action :)

I still have buttermilk left, and after this recipe I'll prolly still have more left! I don't know why I bought such a big container! But it's fun cause I'm learning what buttermilk goes with. I love making scones, so that will probably be next!

Anyway, this recipe is close to a basic brownie recipe, but it has some buttermilk in it. Also, it's more cake like than a brownie that is chewy or fudgy!

Recipe:

1 cup butter

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (i used extra dark)

1 cup water

2 cups sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 lb powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*. Begin by bringing butter, cocoa powder, and water to a boil. While that is going, butter and flour a 15x10 in pan. I used Pam with flour, but the way you butter and flour a pan is this. Using melted butter that has been cooled or softened butter is easiest. Butter the pan as you normally would (I use my fingers). Put some flour in the pan and roll is around to cover it all. The tap into the garbage can or sink ALL of the flour. The flour layer should be VERY thin! Excess flour is not good. Once boiled, bring that mixture to cool. Mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and soda. Mix eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Pour cocoa mixture over dry ingredients. Mix well. Pour liquid over that and mix well. I used a whisk for all of this. No need to bring out the fancy machines for this one! Then pour into prepared pan and do not over bake. Start at 20 minutes and then watch carefully.

For the frosting, if the butter is at room temperature just whisk all of the ingredients together and spread on brownies. If not, melt the butter with the cocoa powder and buttermilk. Add the sugar and vanilla. Then pour over brownies.

Since I used dark cocoa mine have a strange color. However, the taste must be delicious because the people I gave them to have raved about it!