Chocolate ganache recipe

[FluffyAngel]

Need a recipe for a chocolate cake and ganache topping for the cake. Hubby's birthday is February 20th and all he wants is his dream chocolate cake. He says the cake part should be black not brown and moist and rich but not overly sweet. The frosting/topping - he referred to Red Lobster's Chocolate Wave cake- but they cover it with mini chocolate chips which I love but he says is overkill for him. We have been married for 14 years and I've always just relied on a bakery for his Birthday but my best friend and husband will be 41 this year & I want to do it myself so I can make sure it's what he asked for. Any help appreciated.

 

[Janet H]

The ganache is easy:

1 1/2 cups 60% bittersweet (or semisweet) chocolate, chopped. I use ghiardelli bitter sweet chips.
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream

Place chocolate in a heat resistant bowl. On low heat bring the cream to a low simmer and take off heat immediately before it scalds. Pour the cream over the chocolate and leave for about 5 seconds. Start to gently stir cream into the chocolate with a wooden spoon until it is all melted and smooth.

Let the ganache sit for a few minutes before pouring over the cake or using for dipping.

When pouring over a cake, try to pour all over where you want it and avoid spreading with a spatula as it will affect the sheen.

Discuss Cooking - Cooking Forums - Janet H's Album: Cake | Plain and Fancy - Picture

 

[Addie]

I have been using the recipe for chocolate cake on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa can for years. They now have a dark chocolate cocoa. It makes a cake as moist as any cake can be.

My girlfriend once paid my airfare to go down to Georgia to make the cake for her father's 90th birthday. I made two of them. One for the party and one for him to take home. I have been making this cake for eons. At Christmas I make a wreath cake and frost it with green colored frosting and green coconut. I make it for the Church Fair every year and it is the first food item to be sold. And they get big $$$ for it.

The last step says to add boiling water to the batter. The first time I made it, I thought they were out of their mind. But the boiling water makes the chocolate flavor bloom and makes the cake so moist. All your guests will be saying, "To Hell With The Diet!" And then they will ask for a second piece. For the ganache, Janet H's recipe for it, is spot on. Good luck!

 

[bakechef]

I second the Hershey's recipe! It's fantastic! If you get Hershey's Special Dark cocoa it will make the cake nearly black, the same recipe is on the back of the special dark can too I believe.

Don't freak out when the batter is extremely thin, its supposed to be that way, it will transform into an extra moist cake!

It's my go-to chocolate cake recipe, everyone raves about it.

 

[Addie]

This the recipe for the cake on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa. It will easier to read if you print it out instead of trying to read it from the back of the can. The print is very small. Make sure you get the dark cocoa. Good luck!

http://www.hersheys.com/pure-recipes/details.aspx?id=184&name=HERSHEY'S

 

[Janet H]

A few more notes about ganache.

You can use chocolate bits so long as they meet the 60% threshold. I use Ghirardelli's bittersweet chips. You can find them in stores pretty easily.

For really pretty ganache you may want a crumb coat of icing underneath. This is a thin coat of buttercream to keep any cake crumbs in place. Do this and then refrigerate the cake before pouring ganache.

Once the ganache is made let it cool a bit to thicken. keep an eye on this however as it can get too thick to pour nicely. if it's too warm however it will be too thin and may melt your crumb coat... Aim for baby bottle temps (under 100 degrees).

If you are coating the entire cake, handling after coating is tricky.

Make the cake and assemble it on a round piece of cardboard that is exactly the diameter of the cake. Now you can move the cake around without touching the sides. (slide off counter, lift).

To coat the entire cake with ganache, place the cake on a wire rack that is sitting in a sheet pan or other catch pan. Pour and once it's settled, move it to your serving platter.

BTW - this recipe and all this advice I got from LPBeier here on the forum who is a cake goddess

 

[Addie]

Janet, when I use a ganache, I start pouring it around the edge of the cake first so it will go down the sides more evenly and then slowly work my way into the center of the cake. I pour it in circles and if necessary tip the cake to cover any bare spots while it is still pourable.

 

[Janet H]

Fabulous tip!

 

[FluffyAngel]

You guys are all awesome! I can not wait to try this. I had an old recipe for chocolate cake which the hubby used to like but it was never his favorite and the older we get, I find myself loving him more and wanting to meet his every satisfaction. He loves chocolate so much he named our Chihuahua daughter Cocoa Paloma. Paloma means dove. I think he loves her almost as much as dove dark chocolate...I think.

 

[Addie]

Janet, I think we have solved her dilemma. Hubby will fall in love with her all over again.

 

[Janet H]

One more suggestion. Make the cake the day ahead and do a crumbcoat (use the same icing between layers). Then add ganache on his b-day. Give it an hour or two to set up.

Making the cake the day before will allow the flavors to deepen and also lighten your work load. And... we want to know how it works out

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Is it acceptable to grab a handful of warm cake and a spatula full of ganache and just alternate eating them...yes, that is chocolate behind my ears...

 

[Addie]

Is it acceptable to grab a handful of warm cake and a spatula full of ganache and just alternate eating them...yes, that is chocolate behind my ears...

Yes. Just do it while you are alone. And that chocolate behind your ear? It is a new perfume product you are testing for Hershey, should anyone ask.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Yes. Just do it while you are alone. And that chocolate behind your ear? It is a new perfume product you are testing for Hershey, should anyone ask.

I call it a chocolate patch...trying to quit...

 

[FluffyAngel]

Baked that Hershey's Special Dark cake today. IT IS AWESOME! I had to level it so I took that opportunity to test taste it. YUMMY! I think hubby may get a little frisky when he sinks his teeth into this. Also making a Chocolate Mousse Cake for one layer, with Chocolate Buttercream frosting as the crumb coating for both and between layers. Tomorrow I will top it with the ganache. I AM READY TO CELEBRATE WITH SOME CHOCOLATE! !! This 2 layer 14" inch cake is going to be Amazing I just couldn't stop with one cake. Even though I do believe now - 2 cakes later - that the Hershey cake is going to be THE cake of choice. Great advice guys)

 

[Addie]

Baked that Hershey's Special Dark cake today. IT IS AWESOME! I had to level it so I took that opportunity to test taste it. YUMMY! I think hubby may get a little frisky when he sinks his teeth into this. Also making a Chocolate Mousse Cake for one layer, with Chocolate Buttercream frosting as the crumb coating for both and between layers. Tomorrow I will top it with the ganache. I AM READY TO CELEBRATE WITH SOME CHOCOLATE! !! This 2 layer 14" inch cake is going to be Amazing I just couldn't stop with one cake. Even though I do believe now - 2 cakes later - that the Hershey cake is going to be THE cake of choice. Great advice guys)

So glad it worked for you. And good luck with that frisky husband. Let us know what happened in nine months.

 

[Janet H]

This 2 layer 14" inch cake is going to be Amazing I just couldn't stop with one cake. Even though I do believe now - 2 cakes later - that the Hershey cake is going to be THE cake of choice. Great advice guys)

The cake is 14 inches across? Holy cow. You may need to double the ganache recipe...

 

[FluffyAngel]

Yeah, I'm prepared to double that ganache recipe. I think I'm more excited than him about his birthday. He's a twin and his twin has the same taste for cake so I wanted this cake to be big & special for both of them since his brother isn't married & their mother isn't very able to go all out anymore.

 

[bakechef]

What a lucky couple of guys!

 

[FluffyAngel]

The cake was fantastic. The ganache was equally fantastic. Everyone loved it. The twin asked for half the cake to take home which I was glad to give because that cake was huge and I did not spare even half a calorie in the making of it - thought if we tried to eat all that ...we might die. Yeah, I might have gotten lucky tonight but I had to work third shift instead. Ahh, the joys of Nursing. Thanks again.