Chocolate Ganache Layer Cake

 

After multiple posts of chocolate cakes, please forgive me. I can't help buying raspberries when I see them on sale, and I really am not sure how to celebrate them apart from a good ol' chocolate cake. Please bare with me. There shall be no more chocolate from now on. 

I have to admit that it is very time consuming to blog, especially practicing a corporate eight to five, coming home to look in the unmanaged fridge and spending the rest of the evening washing cleaning to fill empty stomachs. There's no point of baking, messy slicing, decorating, perfecting, plating, anticipating the best time for photography if I wasn't going to show off. Clearly. You know me. If you don't you probably do now.

Chocolate Ganache Layer Cake
(adapted from Happy Home Baking)

3 egg yolks
20g castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

70ml fresh milk, warm
25g cocoa powder
50ml vegetable oil

85g cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp baking soda

4 egg whites
55g castor sugar

method :

1. line the base of a 6.5-inch (or 7-inch) round pan with parchment paper. don't need to line or grease the sides of the pan. preheat oven to 170C.
2. sift together cake flour, baking powder and baking soda. set aside.
3. mix cocoa powder with warm milk, stir with a spoon until there are no lumps of cocoa powder. add in vegetable oil.
4. whisk egg yolks, vanilla and 20g castor sugar until light and pale, gradually add in the wet ingredients (oil, milk, and cocoa powder). whisk in sifted flour, baking powder and baking soda.
5. in a clean oilless and dry bowl, whisk egg whites on high speed until foamy. pour in 55g of sugar and continue to whisk until soft peaks are formed.
6. fold in 1/3 of egg whites into the batter. gently fold in to maintain the volume of the egg whites. fold in the rest of the egg whites until well combined.
7. pour into prepared pan. tap the pan on the bench top to remove excess air bubbles. bake for 40-45 minutes or until a tested skewer comes out clean.
8. invert pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack. run a sharp knife along the sides of the pan to release cake. slice cake horizontally into three.
9. place first layer of cake on a plate, pour 1/4 of chocolate ganache to the middle of the cake. spread evenly and let it chill in the fridge for 1-2 minutes. Repeat steps for the second and for the third layer, pour all the rest of the ganache into the middle of the cake and spread evenly along the sides.
10. chill for 4 hours or overnight before serve.

Chocolate Ganache

170g dark chocolate block, chopped
190g heavy whipping cream

method :

1. heat cream in a pan, when it starts to bubble, pour in chocolate and turn off heat. whisk until chocolate has completely melted. leave ganache at room temperature.

The chocolate ganache sandwiched in between the layers of cake makes it rich and moist even after a few days. How would you celebrate a batch of fresh, luscious raspberries?