Chocoholic's Cake

I dread to bake such cake that seems to be so difficult to make. I haven't tried this before and knowing how fragile a moist cake can be, I hate to have to cut it in half to put frosting in between. 

When I finally had the courage, I found it most interesting that it is not as hard as I thought! Here is how I bake my very first moist chocolate cake.

I call it the "Chocoholic's Cake" because it is a moist sponge chocolate cake, filled with choco hazelnut spread, and covered with ganache. How sinful and delicious could this be?

Ingredients:

I got the recipe from Foodess.com so kudos to a great recipe! I found a few things that I did not expect in the ingredients such as water and instant coffee. 

1¾ cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated white sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ tsp baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk 
½ cup butter, melted
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup hot coffee (or 2 tsp instant coffee in 1 cup boiling water)

Procedure:

Preheat your oven at 350 degrees F and prepare your pan by greasing and putting parchment at the bottom.

The first thing to do is to combine all your dry ingredients, that is, sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir well so that the ingredients are incorporated.

Add the eggs, milk, vanilla, melted butter, and hot coffee a little at a time. This will make your batter very very runny. So don't panic if it seems to be the consistency of hot chocolate drink. 

If you have two round pans, it would be best to divide the batter among them so you need not to cut the cake afterwards. But I only have one pan so it'll have to make do. I put it all in and bake at for about 30 minutes

Once cooked, it will look like this - nice and springy. Unlike most cakes, you will not be able to tell if it is cooked by inserting a toothpick and see if it comes out clean. You are making a moist cake, it will never come out clean. You will know it is cooked if you can smell it and the top has risen nicely. Let cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan.

If  I will be gifting it, I will put it on a cake board. But since this is for my parents and siblings enjoyment, I just placed it on a nice plate.

Once it cooled completely, I cut it in half horizontally and added the choco hazelnut spread in between. I used a local brand but you can use Nutella if you like.

Surprisingly, it is not as difficult as I thought to cut the cake. It is perfectly moist, but there it still has the consistency of a cake. I cut it while still a little bit warm in the center.

Pls. excuse my foot, right there. (blush)

I made the ganache with the following ingredients:

500g dark chocolate

250g unsalted butter

180g heavy cream

Just pour it on top and spread. It is going to be messy so you better have your apron on. Spread on the sides of the cake as needed. Try to make is as smooth as you can.

Chill so the ganache may set.

And serve. :)

I hope you liked this post! :)

Raket!

In the Philippines, anything you do for extra source of income is called "raket". For me, I am using my love for baking as a raket. I bake goods that I can sell for a profit.  This week I am making cream puffs. =)

While it is important to have a regular job that will provide you with a steady income, it is good to also have a source of extra income. It is up to you whether you want to use it for your expenses or save it for  your future.

The best raket you can have is the one that you enjoy the most as it is more of a hobby rather than additional "work". Isn't it nice to earn not just pleasure but real money doing something you love?

Here are some photos I took while baking =)

Piped pate a choux ready for the oven

Cooked pastry shells

Piped the filling in

Drizzled with ganache and ready for sale =)