Moist and Sticky Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Sometime in June this year, I finally mustered up the courage to bake a cake for my son's birthday party.

Folks who know me well know that I am no baker.  I'm better at cooking dishes than doing bakes and pastries.  But baking a cake for my son's birthday is something I really want to attempt at least once during my lifetime :PP Thankfully my boy is not demanding, in fact he is easily pleased with simple things.  So we mutually agreed on something not too difficult for mummy's maiden attempt - a simple chocolate cake with chocolate ganache.

I can't remember the original recipe source for the chocolate cake - I've "bastardised" so many cake recipes mainly by substituting fattening ingredients with healthy ones; but I've used this recipe for a few times to make a very fudgey cake and it has turned out well.  The texture is almost brownie-like; but it is not crumbly nor has a crisp top like a regular brownie because I substituted most of the butter with my own homemade greek kefir yogurt. 

For the ganache, I used a recipe from Stephanie Jaworski's blog.  I mentioned before in my previous postings that I really like her recipes and videos as her instructions are clear and detailed.  This is another simple and fool proof recipe, and I learned how to do the coating on the cake based on her videos.  After a few practise rounds using some friends as guinea pigs (!), this is the final result.

Simple chocolate fudge cake with chocolate ganache, and decorated with smarties.  Not too bad lah!

Moist and Sticky Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache
Makes an 8 inch round cake

Dry
1 cup plain flour, sifted
2/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed, no lumps
1 cup castor sugar, no lumps
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

Wet
4 tbspn melted butter
1 cup mix of greek kefir yogurt and plain kefir yogurt (homemade)
2 large eggs
4 tbspn milk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract (homemade)
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts


Method

1.  Preheat the oven at 180celcius.  Whisk the dry ingredients together.
2.  Whisk the wet ingredients until smooth.  Pour onto the dry ingredients and mix well.  Stir in the chopped nuts.
4.  Pour into a greased cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool completely before coating the ganache.

To make the ganache:
225g semi sweet dark chocolate, finely chopped OR use chocolate chips
200ml heavy whipping cream (best to use 35-40% fat content)
28g butter, melted
 
Method

1.  Put the chopped chocolate or chips in a deep heatproof bowl.
2.  Pour the cream into a saucepan and bring to almost boiling point (when the bubbles start to form at the side). 
3.  Pour the hot cream onto the chopped chocolate and let it sit for 3 minutes, undisturbed.  Then stir gently with a whisk to minimise incorporating any additional air.  The texture should be smooth and glossy, thick yet pourable.  Allow to cool slightly.
4.  Placed the completely cooled cake on a rack slightly smaller than the dimension of the cake, over a pan lined with baking sheet.
5. Pour the ganache slowly from the centre of the cake and let it drip slightly over the cake.  Put in the fridge to chill until the ganache has set. 

Initial attempt was rather clumsy - the ganache was too thick, and overflowed to the bottom

Final result was much better.  I was quite pleased with the dripping effect.

The texture was very moist and fudgey, with a rich chocolate flavour.  The greek kefir yogurt did a great job keeping the cake moist for up till 3 days.