Yellow Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting

A few weeks ago I made a birthday cake for a close friend. I have been fiending to make a cake ever since I moved out here to SF. This was the perfect occasion. I used Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice’s yellow cake recipe and Bakerita’s frosting recipe with my own twist. I froze the ganache while I whipped it up to create flecks of chocolate truffles within the frosting. Also, I screwed up a little bit- I used a 9 inch round pan instead of a 8 inch round pan and the cake was pretty thin. Luckily, it wasn’t so thin that I couldn’t work with it. The cake was a hit and the birthday boy loved it! It was pretty easy to put together and the frosting was freaking delicious.  Make this cake your next party!

Cook time: 2 hours                                                    Serves: 12-18 people

Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, sifted after measuring
1 + 1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

Frosting
12 oz chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2. Sift and mix the flour, salt and baking powder into your mixing bowl.

3. Add the butter, milk, and vanilla into your mixing bowl and and mix on medium speed for 3-4 minutes. Add 1 egg in at a time, mixing in between addition. I let it rip on speed 7 for 5 minutes just to get a nice smooth batter.

4. Pour equal amounts of batter  into two 8 inch round pans that have been sprayed with baking spray.

5. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out cleanly from the center. Set the cakes to the side and let them cool completely.

6. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan until it comes to a boil.

7. Place your chocolate into a bowl and pour the hot heavy cream over the chocolate. Let it sit for 1 minute. Then start whisking until the chocolate is completely melted and glossy.

8. Now fill a large sauce pan with water and ice. Put your bowl of chocolate ganache into the ice bath (think of it as a reverse double boiler) and mixed together with a spoon, scraping the hardening chocolate from the bottom. This creates these little flecks of chocolate truffle in the frosting. I did this for about 5 minutes or until the ganache was cool enough so that it wouldn’t melt the butter.

9. In your mixer bowl, add the softened butter, powdered sugar,vanilla, and salt.  Give it a quick mix until everything is incorporated and the butter is nice and fluffy.

10. Add the chocolate ganache to the mixing bowl and whip for about 5 minutes on medium speed, scraping the bowl down with a spatula every few minutes.

11. Spread frosting onto the  the first layer of cake. Level out the second cake layer by cutting off the any uneven bumps. Then lay the second cake layer upside down for that the flat side is on top. This will give you a flat top and  the middle will be filled with frosting. Frost your cake and start decorating! There is more than enough frosting for decorating. I actually had too much frosting left over! I used slivered almonds to decorate the sides of the cake. You can use sprinkles, more frosting, other nuts or just leave it as is. Once you are done with decorating- put the cake in the fridge for 15 minutes to get the frosting to set and harden. The cake can stay in the fridge for 24 hours if you want to make it ahead of time. Enjoy!