Devil's food cake with chocolate ganache

Nothing beats the chocolate craving like a moist and rich chocolate cake. This decadent cake doubles up the chocolaty indulgence by addition of a layer of intense chocolate ganache. Fairly easy to make, this one can be an amazing birthday cake for a chocolate lover.

I have made this cake multiple times, sometimes paired with simple chocolate swirls (pic above) or dusted with chocolate shavings or simply decorated with a ganache and chocolate pattern (pic below)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups / 240 gm plain flour

• 1 cup / 200 gm sugar, powdered

• 0.75 cup / 120 gm butter

• 3 eggs

• 0.75 teaspoon baking powder

• 0.5 spoon baking soda

• 0.5 cup / 50 gm cocoa powder

• 100 ml boiling water

• 2 teaspoons instant coffee

• 0.75 cup sour cream - or mix half cup cream with 0.25 cup yogurt

Method:

1. Boil water and mix in the cocoa powder and coffee. Keep aside

2. In a bowl, sift together dry ingredients flour, baking powder and soda

3. Melt butter in a sauce pan, add sugar and stir lightly till sugar dissolves. Switch off the flame and let it cool down slightly, stir intermittently

4. Fold in the dry mix, alternating with eggs and cocoa-slurry as wet ingredients, mix in the sour cream just before the last of flour-mix

5. Fold in till no traces of white remain

6. divide the batter into two 7 inch tins and bake fore 30-35 mins or till a skewer inserted in the centre of the cakes comes out clean. This cake is slightly wet so may take longer to bake depending on oven settings

Ganache

• 1 tablespoon spoon butter

• 150 gm Heavy whipping cream

• 150 gm dark chocolate / semi sweet chocolate chopped to pieces

• 1 spoon powdered sugar

1. To make the ganache, heat butter over a double boiler until it melts, add chopped chocolate pieces and switch the flame off

2. Stir occasionally till the chocolate is completely melted. Cool down to room temperature

3. In another bowl, whip cream till soft peaks form. Continue to whip and add 1 spoon sugar.

4. Add melted chocolate on the whipped cream and gently fold in

5. In the pic shown, I have used some melted chocolate also to create a drizzle or swirl effect over the ganache.