Chocolate Buttermilk Cake ... Mmmm Mmmm Good ~ In the Kitchen with Sweet Magnolias Farm

Well it's that time again ...

 

Time for

 

~N~ the Kitchen with Sweet Magnolias Farm...

 

Today we decided to try a recipe that we have been longing to taste for some time now ...

 

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting ...

 

 

Once again this recipe we are offering up today is easy to make ..and all the ingredient are easily found at your local grocery store ...

 

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Ingredients:

 

Vegetable Shortening & Flour for

Preparing Pans

 

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BATTER

 

3 cups all purpose flour

2-1/2 cups granulated sugar

4-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt
 

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( we used Nestle Dark Dutch Process Cocoa)

1-1/3 cups of Vegetable oil, Canola Oil or ( We used Corn Oil it's what was in the Cupboard)

1-1/2 cups buttermilk

3 large eggs
 

1-1/2 cups freshly brewed extra-strong hot coffee
( we used instant coffee ..since we are not coffee drinkers it's all we had.. We are sure different coffees will have a definite effect on the taste)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

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GANACHE

 

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

1-1/2 cups (Heavy) Whipping Cream


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Directions:


First off you will want to Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two 9-inch round layer cake pans; lightly grease the pans with shortening and dust with flour. ...(Abbey and I ended up taking 2 of our small round glass bowls that are oven proof and filled them with some of the batter in order 2 make 2 small personal size Gift Cakes... This still left enough batter for a complete 9 x 13 Cake pan.) ( The small bowls were approx. 4 inches in diameter by 5 inches tall)

(Tip: to make baked cake easier to remove from pan, lightly grease the pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, and then lightly grease the top of the parchment paper and dust the pan with flour.)

 

 

To Make the Batter:

 

 

In a large bowl we combined the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder; sift or whisk together to mix the dry ingredients.  Using an electric mixer on low speed, add oil, buttermilk and eggs; mix well. Add hot coffee in a thin stream, pouring down the side of the bowl. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula so the mixture blends evenly.  Add vanilla and mix until batter is smooth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the batter was complete ... 

 

It's time to Bake our Cake: 

Start by Spooning the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the surface with the back of a large spoon. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a long toothpick, wooden skewer, or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place pans on a wire cooling rack to cool for 10 to 15 minutes then remove cake from the pans and place the cake on the wire cooling rack to finish cooling.

We simply inserted a knife around the edges of the glass dish carefully as not to puncture or damage the cake by cutting into it so that it would release easier and turn out onto the rack for cooling..

Below is the cake after it cooled and wasn't covered in it's ganache yet ..it turned out to be such a beautiful cake ..that we wanted you to see it before being dressed ...

Next it's Time to make the yummy Ganache Frosting .....


To make the Ganache:


In top of a double boiler, combine chocolate and heavy whipping cream. Place pan over simmering water (the upper pan should not touch the water.) Heat and stir the chocolate and cream together until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.


(Tip: If you don't have a double boiler that's o.k. it's simple to create your own with just a sauce pan and a bowl ..Create a double boiler by filling a saucepan with 2 inches of water and heat to simmering. Place a stainless steel, ceramic, or glass bowl on top of the simmering water, the upper pan should not touch the water.)

( We used a package of our Semi-Sweet Ghiradelli Chocolate Chips) I imagine the cake will take on a different chocolate flavor depending on the brand of Semi-Sweet Chocolate you use. As I can say from experience there is a huge difference in taste between Ghiradelli semis and Toll House Semis... Ghiradelli tends to be more to the dark chocolate side which is our favorite.

Remove from heat; cool to room temperature and ganache becomes thick enough to easily spread.

(Tip: Place bowl in a larger bowl of ice water to speed cooling and thickening, stirring Ganache as it cools. )

Once Your Ganache has cooled it's time to start frosting your cake ...


Using an offset spatula, that is if you have one ... Or a butter knife or Plastic Spatula will work too...  spread ganache between layers and over top and sides of cake.

We cut our small cakes in 1/2 and added the Gananche frosting to the center for a yummy bite of goodness ...

We didn't cut the tops off our cakes .. we left the wonderful domed cracked tops on and frosted right over them and they came out absolutely Beautiful ...! or so we Think !

See the Ganache in the center of the cake slice ... we recommend adding the center layer of ganache.. The cakes is absolutely moist and delicious but the combination of the cake and ganache in each bite is what makes this cake absolutely wonderful.

Lastly we just wanted to share with you how much cake this Batter makes ... we were able to make our 2 small personal size gift cakes and a full 9 x 13 Cake as well .. This would serve a few families with ease !!!

 

 

 



Well We all dug in to try this new recipe ...and to our delight we have another winner here at the farmhouse ..We must admit with as dark and chocolaty looking as it was we were expecting this extravagantly deep rich chocolate flavor ..but to our delight this cake has a very light chocolate taste. Between the Buttermilk in the cake batter and the Heavy Whipping Cream in the Ganache it really lightens the Chocolate Flavor . This cake is Unbelievably Moist ..and has just the right density to it ..not too heavy and not too airy ... !

 

This recipe takes about an hour to complete ..and I'm sure with practice can be finished quicker... it's well worth the hour it takes and We're sure you will enjoy it...

 

What a perfect way to say "I Love you" for Valentines day !

 

 

From our Kitchen to yours ...