Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache & an Upcoming Product Review

CSN stores have contacted me to do a product review and since they have over 200 online stores where you can find everything from dinnerware to dog beds to sofas and suitcases, I eagerly agreed to do another review. Stay tuned for the review.

I made this cake for my husband on Father’s Day (yup.. that’s right, this post has been on the drafts for way too long). He is a chocoholic and always asks to make a decadent chocolate cake and I think this cake fits the bill – very chocolatey and moist, it is the best chocolate cake I’ve made so far.

Recipe is printed on the King Arthur Flour’s Cake Flour box. It’s pretty convenient to look for ingredients and prep when you have the box propped right in front of you, rather than referring to a cook book every minute. Since the recipe is a keeper, I’ll probably keep the box too.

Coming to the recipe, it is quite easy with all the ingredients being dumped in a large mixing bowl one after the other. You might want to make sure that the mixing is done on a completely cleared counter to avoid stuff being covered with flour & chocolate.

Recipe is from King Arthur flour.
Ingredients:
Cake flour – 2 cups
Unsweetened Cocoa powder – ¾ cup
Baking Powder – 1½ tsp
Baking Soda – ½ tsp
Salt – ½ tsp
Sugar - 1¾ cups
Unsalted butter – ½ cup, very soft
Vegetable oil – 1/3 cup
Vanilla extract – 1tsp
Milk – 1 cup (I used 1%)
Brewed coffee – ½ cup, cooled (or substitute with water)
Eggs – 4 large

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9”x13” baking pan or two 9” round pans or three 8” round pans. Set aside.
  
• Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl making sure that there are no lumps.
  
• Add the softened butter and using a hand mixer (or stand mixer) blend on low speed for one minute. With the mixer running, add oil and continue mixing until the mixture looks like sand.
  
• Combine vanilla with the milk or water and add to the dry ingredients all at once. Mix for 1 minute and scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl and mix for another 30 seconds.
  
• Next add eggs one at a time and beating well between additions. This is a thin batter.
  
• Pour the batter into prepared pans and bake for 34 mins for 9”x13” pan: 28 to 30 mins for 9” layers; 24 to 26 mins for 8” layers. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool on rack before frosting.

I frosted the cake with a simple Chocolate ganache recipe, also from King Arthur flour site.

Ingredients:
Heavy Cream – 1 cup
Light Corn syrup – 2tsp
Semi sweet chocolate (I used a combination of 55% cocoa & 70% cocoa chocolate – 10 to 16 oz.)
Vanilla extract – 1tbsp

Method:

• Heat the cream and corn syrup till they begin to steam. Pour over the chopped chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes, add vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Pour over cooled cake while the ganache is still slightly warm. Cool completely before serving.