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A slice of rich chocolate ganache cake with glossy frosting on a white plate, served with a blackberry.
Maryam

Chocolate Ganache Cake

A rich, fudgy chocolate cake draped in silky ganache that looks bakery-perfect but comes together in one bowl.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 485
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Cake
  • 1.75 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 0.75 cup unsweetened cocoa powder Dutch-processed preferred
  • 1.5 tsp baking powder
  • 1.5 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
  • 0.5 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup strong hot coffee freshly brewed, hot
For the Ganache
  • 1.5 cups heavy cream
  • 12 oz semisweet chocolate finely chopped

Equipment

  • Two 9-inch round cake pans
  • Parchment Paper
  • Medium saucepan
  • Wire cooling racks

Method
 

Bake the Cake
  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch round pans, line bottoms with parchment, and butter the parchment. Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until no lumps remain.
  2. Add buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. The batter will be thick.
  3. Stir in hot coffee until just combined. The batter will be thin and soupy. Divide between pans and bake 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto racks to cool completely.
Make the Ganache
  1. Bring cream to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat, add chocolate, and let stand 5 minutes without stirring.
  2. Whisk until completely smooth and glossy. Let cool at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until thick enough to spread. This takes 45-60 minutes. You want it to hold its shape but still be spreadable.
Assemble
  1. Place one cake layer on a plate. Spread about 1 cup ganache over top. Add second layer and spread remaining ganache over top and sides. For a sleek look, use an offset spatula dipped in hot water. Let set 30 minutes before slicing.

Notes

For clean slices, run your knife under hot water and wipe dry between cuts. No buttermilk? Stir 1 tbsp lemon juice into 1 cup whole milk and let stand 10 minutes. The cake layers can be baked a day ahead, wrapped tightly, and frosted the next day.