Chocolate Ganache Cake

This cake is my husband's absolute favorite cake. It's chocolate cake, with a whipped cream chocolate mousse filling and a chocolate ganache glaze, that chocolate lover's will drool over!  The recipe is out of a Taste of Home magazine, and it is worth every bite!

I usually make the cake in heart shaped pans that were my mother's, and I think they originally were my Grandmother's. I made the cake this week for my husband's birthday, and he wanted the classic round pans...more manly :) . This is the ONLY cake he has wanted for the last three years on his birthday. I made it once for Valentine's Day and his birthday...it was a lot of cake to make within 2 weeks of each other...so now it's usually just his birthday cake. I have also made mini versions of this cake in mini-spring form pans for a friend after she gave birth! Too cute in mini!

Chocolate Ganache Cake

Taste of Home Magazine Feb/March 2007

3/4 cup butter, softened (unsalted)

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk (light or fat free works just fine)

3/4 cup sour cream (I use low fat)

2 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup baking cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla; beat for 2 minutes.  Combine buttermilk and sour cream in a separate bowl. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a third bowl; add to creamed mixture alternating with buttermilk mixture, beating well after each addition.

Pour batter into two greased and waxed paper lined 9 inch pans. (I usually use brown paper grocery bags or parchment paper. Just trace around the outside of the pan onto the paper, cut them out and voila!)

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

So, while the cake is baking, start preparing the chocolate whipped cream mousse filling.

Filling:

4 oz semisweet chocolate (eyeball 1/3 bag of semisweet chocolate chips)

1 cup heaving whipping cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Melt chocolate, with the cream over low heat. Stirring almost constantly. (ok how vague is that? I have done this two ways...I have melted the chocolate with the cream in a pyrex bowl set over a pan of simmering water, just make sure the pyrex isn't immersed in the water in the pan...it will cause the chocolate to get too hot. My latest way to do this is with a butter melting pot I got for our wedding, it is my most favorite little pan! It works perfectly for the filling and the glaze of this cake).

Once chocolate is melted, remove from heat, stir in vanilla and transfer to a small mixing bowl. Chill until slightly thickened. ( Chill for at least 30 minutes I've found, you want it to be cold enough to whip up into a nice texture) Once cooled, beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. (This could take awhile, keep going with it, it's obvious once the consistency changes). Chill again until mixture gets thick enough to spread.

Glaze

8 oz semisweet chocolate (the rest of the bag of semisweet chips)

1/4 cup butter, cubed (unsalted)

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Melt chocolate and butter. Gradually add cream; heat until just warmed. (Add a little cream, stir until incorporated, then add a little more cream and reapeat until all nice and smooth) Chill this mixture until slight thickened. (This makes a lot of glaze, use as much as you like when you assemble the cake)

Place one cake layer on a serving plate; spread with filling. Top with remaining cake layer. Slowly pour glaze over the top of the cake. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve!

Hints:

You can freeze your leftover buttermilk!

1 pint of whipping cream is all you need for this entire recipe

If you try it, please let me know! It's worth it, I promise!