Dark Chocolate Ganache Cake Recipe

My mom's birthday was a couple of days ago, and she wanted a REALLY good chocolate cake.  So, I got out this recipe that I have used a couple of times and had a lot of success with!  I have topped this with a Chocolate Buttercream frosting before, and I have topped it with a Nutella frosting before.  But since my mom is a true choco-holic, I went for a classic- Chocolate Ganache (and a LOT of it!)
I do not know the original source for this recipe, but I do know that I have tweaked it from the original (amount of vanilla, and amount of cocoa/water mixture).
So here it is!

Dark Chocolate Ganache Cake
from ToBeContinued

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cups + 2T all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

• In a small bowl, pour the boiling water over the cocoa powder.  Set aside to cool.
• In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients.
• In mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar and blend until thoroughly combined.  
• Add eggs one at a time until combined well.
• Add vanilla.
• To the mixing bowl, alternate adding flour mixture and cocoa mixture until just combined.
• Pour into a greased and floured pan (this amount makes a medium-sized bundt cake, or one cake pan.)  If you want a layer cake, double the recipe.
• Bake for approx 25 minutes, or until cake springs back when gently touched.

For Chocolate Ganache:

• Bring to a gentle boil 1 cup heavy cream or half and half
• Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of broken up dark chocolate pieces.  (Use a high quality dark chocolate that is around 60% cocoa for best results.  This is IMPORTANT- some common brands of so-called dark chocolate will not work!)
• Allow to cool at room temperature, then pour over cooled cake.  (For layer cake, put cooled ganache into your mixer with whisk and whip up into a more frosting-like consistency.) 

Before Serving, use a vegetable peeler and slowly peel chocolate curls off the long side of a chocolate bar over the top of the cake.  The more the better :)

mmm, chocolate curls!

 This is a very rich cake, so that is why I typically make it smaller.  Serve it up with some ice cream if you want!

LJ: "I gonna eat this cake up, mommy"  Me: "We have to wait until tonight for Ga-Ga's party!"

Her face, after I locked the cake in the laundry room...note the fork dropped on the floor in defeat!

Later that night- yummy!

Cake Face!!!

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