I must confess that being a novice chef and foodie, one of the most impressive things about baking—which is a form of art in itself—is not the many ways you can use marzipan as the drawing pad or even the stencil to design and make simple turned sophisticated cakes look stunning.
Rather what is much more visually stimulating to me is watching the super shiny and silky way this simple technique and duo of ingredients coats and runs down cakes like chocolate waterfalls covering and coating them like a beautifully painted landscape in what is referred to in chef’s term as a “chocolate ganache.”
So what is a ganache? It is nothing but a beautiful glaze or icing—usually chocolate—that is used to adorn and make cakes gloss or shine and put them in the limelight as well as to fill delectable pastries like eclairs with.
A ganache only involves combining two ingredients—chocolate pieces and good ole heavy cream. With this being the case, I just had to give it a try and this beauty came forth straight out of my kitchen oven as a result—my Single Layer and Super Silky Moist Chocolate Ganache Cake.
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Single Layer Silky Chocolate Ganache Cake
Super Moist Chocolate Cake covered in a silky and rich Ganache.
Ingredients
For the cake
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 cup Dutch Processed Cocoa
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon, optional
- 1 Pound Butter, unsalted softened and room temperature
- 1-1/2 cups Sugar
- 2 large Eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 -1/2 cups Buttermilk or Whole Milk, room temperature
For the ganache
- 8 oz Chocolate bar or pieces Dark or Semisweet
- 1 /2 cup Heavy Cream more if needed
Instructions
For the cake
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.
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In another bowl, combine and whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon (if using), and set aside.
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Add in the eggs, one at a time, then follow with the vanilla, and continue mixing until batter is smooth and combined. Note: Do not over mix .
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Next, with mixer running, add in a third of the flour, alternating with the buttermilk, and finishing with the flour. The cake batter should be nice and smooth. If not, add in a tad more buttermilk, and continue mixing for only a few seconds.
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Pour cake batter into a parchment lined, buttered, oiled or nonstick 9×9 cake pan and bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out with minimal crumbs.
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Allow the cake to cool before pouring on the chocolate ganache.
For the ganache
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On the stovetop, warm up the cream.
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Place chocolate pieces in a glass bowl or a pot.
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Pour the warm cream over the chocolate and continuously stir until both are fully combined and incorporated to form a silky and shiny chocolate and pourable ganache.
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Pour the ganache over the baked, cooled cake. Allow it at least 10-15 minutes to set before cutting into.
Recipe Notes
NOTE: Adding oil also help to make for a nice moist cake. If adding here, I would probably go with about 1/4 cup.
Whenever possible, use organic ingredients.
