A delicious Speckled Cake with the smoothest chocolate ganache buttercream by Candice Ward from @eatmorecakebycandice
Ingredients
Cake
3 cups | all purpose flour |
2 ½ tsp | baking powder |
1 tsp | kosher salt |
1 cup | unsalted butter (at room temperature) |
1 ¾ cup | granulated sugar |
½ cup | oil (canola or vegetable) |
4 | egg whites |
2 | eggs |
2 tsp | vanilla extract |
1 cup | whole milk (room temperature) |
½ cup | Scharffen Berger 62% Semisweet Dark Chocolate Baking Bar (roughly chopped) |
Chocolate Buttercream
2 cups | heavy cream |
12 oz | Scharffen Berger 62% Semisweet Dark Chocolate Baking Bar (chopped) |
1 1/4 cups
|
granulated sugar |
2 tsp
|
pure vanilla extract |
1 1/2 sticks | unsalted butter (12 tablespoons) cut into small pieces at room temperature |
Pinch | salt |
Directions- Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees. Line 2 8” cake pans with parchment
rounds, spray with oil and lightly dust with flour. Set aside - In a medium bowl, combine the All Purpose flour, baking powder, salt and
whisk to combine. Set aside - In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, oil and
sugar and beat on medium speed for 5-7 minutes until light and fluffy. - Add eggs one at a time, mixing until each egg is incorporated before
adding the next egg. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined. - With the mixer on medium-low speed, alternate adding the dry
ingredients and milk; beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Be
careful to not over mix the batter. Stop the mixer when a few ribbons of
flour are visible and fold in chopped chocolate. - Evenly distribute the cake batter into each prepared cake pan and bake
for 32-35 minutes. Check cakes by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it
comes out clean or with a few crumbs- cakes are done! *Each oven varies and baking times may differ by 5-10 minutes. Check the cake for
doneness after 32 minutes. - Place on a cooling rack for 10 minutes in the pan before turning the cake
pan upside down to release the cake to completely cool. - Prepare the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
Directions- Chocolate Buttercream
- In a medium heat-proof bowl, combine the sugar and chocolate pieces
- In a medium saucepan, bring heavy cream to a simmer, placing the bowl of chocolate and sugar on top to slightly melt.
- Once the heavy cream is simmering, pour over the chocolate and whisk to combine. Mixture will be glossy and smooth. Stir in the vanilla, salt and
butter pieces - Set aside to cool at room temperature for 1-2 hours or place in the refrigerator to speed up the process. When completely cooled, the ganache will have solidified.
- Once cooled, add the chocolate ganache to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment and whip on medium speed for 2-5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
