Chocolate cake for the weekend

I'm calling this a "chocolate cake for the weekend" because that's just what it was.  I made it last Friday going into the weekend.  It's always nice to kick off the weekend with a cake!  On a practical level, it was partly an effort to clean out the fridge and use up some extra ingredients.  On another level, it was just part of the ongoing effort to satisfy my insatiable chocolate cravings.

After making a few loaves of banana bread and churning a batch of ice cream, I had extra whole milk yogurt and heavy cream on hand so I decided to use those things to make this cake.  I'm actually revisiting a recipe I've made before, in a different form. In fact, my very first post featured this in cupcake form.  I've also made it as a single-layer cake years ago.  This time, it comes in the form of a double-layer 6-inch cake.

When we had afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason in London back in April, I tasted a delicious slice of chocolate ganache cake...maybe that put the idea in my head.  But to be honest, I think about chocolate and things like chocolate cake and ganache all the time.  It's amazing how much I love chocolate, and it's a love that goes way back for as long as I can remember.

But back to this little cake...make it for the chocolate lover in your life because it is all about the deep flavor of chocolate (a recurring theme here).  Thanks to yogurt and oil rather than butter in the batter, the cake is wonderfully moist and tender.  It gets a deep chocolate flavor from not only cocoa and chocolate but also freshly brewed coffee.  The chocolate ganache frosting and filling is rich and creamy, basically a chocolate-lover's delight.  This cake made this chocoholic very happy and I can say that I definitely put my leftover yogurt and heavy cream to very good use!

It's strawberry season and I've been diligently stocking up on strawberries and raspberries as much as possible.  While my fridge is overflowing with it and I'm perfectly happy snacking on it and having it with some yogurt for breakfast, I'm always still craving a little chocolate!  And in my humble opinion, the best way to eat berries just might be...with a slice of chocolate cake!  Who's with me?

Last weekend got off to a great start thanks in part to this cake.  It's nice to just block out all the news in the world, sit down, and have a slice of chocolate cake with your loved ones.  I hope this might inspire you to whip up a cake (chocolate or otherwise...) for the next weekend, or some weekend this summer! 

Enjoy it with fresh berries, or just with a cup of tea or coffee.  I highly recommend it!

Recipe:

Chocolate Cake with Ganache Frosting
Cake recipe adapted from A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg 

- Makes one two-layer 6-inch round cake (see previous posts for a single layer 9-inch cake: here and for cupcakes: here) - 

For cake: 

1 ounce semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup well-stirred plain whole-milk yogurt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

For ganache filling/frosting: 
5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
5 ounces heavy cream
1 teaspoon light corn syrup

Make cake: Grease two 6-inch round cake pans and line the bottom with a round of parchment, also greasing the parchment.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Put chocolate into a bowl with the hot coffee.  Let sit, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is smooth.

In another bowl, whisk the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg on medium speed until pale yellow, about 1 minute.  Add oil, yogurt, and vanilla, beating well.  Gradually pour in the melted coffee and chocolate mixture and beat to combine.  Add the dry ingredients all at once and beat on low speed until the batter is just combined.  Scrape down the the sides and bottom of the bowl and stir the batter around briefly to make sure all ingredients have been incorporated together.

Divide batter into the two prepared cake pans, smoothing the tops.  Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.  Let the cakes cool in their pans for about half an hour before turning them out and cooling completely on a wire rack. 

Make ganache: Place chocolate into a heat-proof bowl.  Heat cream and corn syrup until it just comes to a boil and pour over the chocolate.  Let sit for a minute, then whisk together until combined and smooth.

Let the mixture sit and cool, whisking occasionally, until ganache thickens into a consistency you can spread over the cake (you can place it in the refrigerator, checking on it and stirring occasionally, to speed up the process).   

Assemble cake: Place one cake layer onto a serving plate and tuck small strips of parchment paper under the cake for easy clean up later.  Spread about 1/3 of the ganache evenly over cake.  Place the second cake layer on top.  Frost the entire cake with the remaining ganache.  Remove the parchment paper. 

Slice, plate, and enjoy with some fresh berries, or a cup of coffee or tea!