Easy Moist Chocolate Cake ... with chocolate ganache.

Easy Moist Chocolate Cake ... with chocolate ganache. I know this isn't something new... it's just chocolate cake. BUT... it's a moist cake with deep chocolate flavor. Ok, maybe most chocolate cakes can vouch for that. However, I like this cake for it's simplicity... and well, for the fact that it doesn't use 2 cups of sugar... nor does it use lots of eggs, because sometimes you only have a single egg in the fridge. I like it because it reminds me of those box cake mixes... and yet it's made from scratch. The cake is light, tender and fluffy, but with enough structure to take on a chocolate ganache.... and somehow, a slice doesn't feel too heavy when eaten with a cup of coffee.

You can make this cake using simple ingredients, but the outcome can be anything but simple... depending on how you adapt it. It's super delicious with the addition of a chocolate ganache. While I posted the basic recipe, feel free to add all sorts of flavorings to the cake or ganache (orange zest, mint, Irish cream, etc.)... a sprinkle of chopped nuts would be good too. For Christmas, crushed mint candies would be nice on top of the ganache. For Thanksgiving, you could add some warm spices to the cake batter and top the ganache with some chopped dried cranberries and maybe some crushed nuts.  The cake is simple to make and can be "stretched" to feed quite a few people....

I made this cake awhile back... a few times... and found the cake adaptable to many uses. This cake is great as a simple snack cake with powdered sugar(no ganache), also good crumbled to make cake pops... or served elegantly with ganache along with a scoop of ice cream, whipped cream or even a drizzle of raspberry coulis. However it's served, I found it worthy to post:). Hope you enjoy...

You will need: adapted from Food and Wine

Chocolate Cake

2 oz chopped chocolate, or chips

3/4 cup oil, I used extra light olive oil

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 TBS vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, I used Hershey's dark

1 tablespoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup strong-brewed coffee, cooled

1 1/3 cup sour cream, original recipe uses 1 cup buttermilk

Ganache

1/3 cup heavy cream

3 ounces bittersweet chopped chocolate/ or chips

Optional, 

mini chocolate chips for topping

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350° F. 
• Oil a 12-cup Bundt pan.... I oiled and floured mine

1. In a small saucepan, melt 2 ounces of the chopped chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. 

2. Scrape the chocolate into a medium bowl and let cool slightly. 

3. Whisk in the oil and sugar until smooth, then whisk in the egg and the vanilla extract.

4. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. 

5. Add half of the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture along with 1/2 cup of the coffee and 1/2  of the sour cream(or buttermilk, if using); whisk until smooth. 

6. Add the remaining dry ingredients, coffee and sour cream(or buttermilk, if using)  and whisk until smooth.

7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the lower third of the oven for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. 

8. Let the cake cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn it out and let cool completely.

9. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove from heat and add the 3 ounces of chopped chocolate.  Let stand until melted, about 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Let the ganache glaze cool until thick but still pourable, about 5 minutes.

10. Pour the ganache over the cooled cake... sprinkle mini chips, if desired. Let the cake stand until the glaze is set, at least 30 minutes, before serving.

Baked Cake Doughnuts(Donuts) with Chocolate Glaze....#8( the last) in a series of desserts.

Baked Cake Doughnuts(Donuts) with Chocolate Glaze...

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Note: I will be away from my blog for a few weeks... in case you don't see me posting or answering:). But here is the last in a series of desserts.

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While I prefer the doughnut muffin batter I made some time ago, I decided to make a different version of baked doughnuts. This version contains less butter, and isn't as dense as the doughnut muffins... it is also lighter and fluffier in texture.

What's a doughnut without a glaze? O.K., so I like doughnuts in powdered sugar and sugar/cinnamon coating. But a glaze always makes a doughnut ... well, a doughnut. While I initially wanted to make a cinnamon-sugar coating, I decided to switch my plans and make a chocolate glaze...just to make the doughnuts more "authentic- looking":).

For the chocolate glaze recipe, I opted to use Alton Brown's recipe. It didn't disappoint, and the glaze actually tasted like the real doughnuts you buy. Of course it would.... with all that butter and sugar:)

I ended up making a couple of batches of doughnuts... the doughnut muffin batter I posted earlier, and this one from the back of the Wilton's doughnut pan. As you can imagine, I had plenty of doughnuts to glaze. The chocolate glaze was almost enough for both batches...but not quite enough. So I decided to improvize for the rest, and made a peanut butter glaze (my own concoction:)), I posted both glazes below.

So here is #8, and the final, in a series of desserts. Hope you enjoy...

Note: You can skip the nutmeg in the doughnut...but it is the nutmeg that gives the doughnuts the distinct doughnut flavor. And if you are using freshly grated nutmeg, you might want to increase it a tad bit, as it isn't as strong.

You will need: adapted from Wilton's Donut Pan package:)...makes 12 regular-sized donuts, or you can use mini muffin tins

2 cups cake flour, sifted*

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 TBS butter, melted

*I used 1 3/4 cup flour and 4 TBS cornstarch as a substitute for the cake flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray the 6-cavity donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.... I just brush it with oil or melted butter.

2. Sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in buttermilk, eggs, and butter and beat until just combined. Fill each donut cup until about 2/3 full.

3. Bake 7-9 minutes, or until the top of the donuts spring back when touched. Cool in pan for about 4-5 minutes before removing from pan.

4. Complete donuts with either a dusting of powdered sugar, glaze, or cinnamon-sugar topping. Best served fresh on the same day....or you can freeze the cake doughnuts(unglazed) and defrost, warm up, and glaze.

Chocolate Glaze: adapted from Alton Brown

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup whole milk, warmed

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions:

1. Combine butter, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla in medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until butter is melted.

2. Decrease the heat to low, add the chocolate, and whisk until melted. Turn off heat, add the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. You will need to use a whisk as the mixture will look sort of separated... the whisk helps it to combine.

3. Place the mixture over a bowl of warm water( to keep the glaze warm and fluid) and dip the doughnuts immediately. At this point, you will want to add any toppings of choice (coconut, chopped nuts, sprinkles, etc)... before the glaze dries, otherwise the toppings will not adhere. You may want to have the kids to do this...it would be fun for them:)

4. Allow glaze to set for 30 minutes before serving.

For the Peanut Butter Glaze in the photo....I substituted the chocolate with about 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter and followed the recipe as noted above.