Chocolate Cake With Caramel Irish Cream Buttercream And Dark Chocolate Ganache Recipes

PERFECT CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE WITH GANCHE BUTTERCREAM- RICH, DENSE AND DELICIOUS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 345 (370 for high altitude)
• Prepare three 8 or 9 inch round cake pans (if doing 8 inch pans I suggest 3 inches tall pans, or four of the 2 inch tall 8 inch pans) I use parchment paper circles on the bottom and a non stick spray on the sides
• Melt the baking chocolate in double broiler (or in a bowl over a simmering pot of water) then let it cool.
• In a large bowl, or bowl of a mixer add the sugar, flour, soda and salt and whisk together.
• In a separate bowl (or a large glass measuring cup) mix the boiling water and cocoa and let sit for a min (this lets the cocoa bloom and bring out a richer flavor)
• Then add the sour cream and oil and whisk.
• Add the wet mixture in a stream to the dry ingredients and mix until blended.
• Add the lightly beaten eggs slowly while beating on low.
• Add the cooled melted chocolate and mix until uniform in color.
• Bake at 345 40-45 mins (raise the heat by 25 degrees and lower the time by 5 mins for high altitude)
• Place the chocolate into a large bowl
• in a saucepan heat the cream - until just about to simmer
• Pour it over the chocolate and let it sit for 5 mins - then stir
• Let the ganache cool to room temp
• Beat butter and add 1 C powdered sugar
• beat in the corn syrup
• add more powdered sugar 1/2 cup as a time until you achieve a thick buttercream
• pour the ganache into the buttercream and beat.
• Chill for 5-15 mins in the fridge, beat again, chill, beat, chill, beat - until your happy with the thickness

CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE WITH TOFFEE SAUCE, CHOCOLATE GANACHE AND VANILLA ICE CREAM BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease two 8-inch round cake pans.
• Whip the granulated sugar and eggs with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Meanwhile, put the coffee, butter, vinegar and 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until the chocolate and butter are melted, about 3 minutes; then whisk together until well-blended. In a separate mixing bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt; whisk together. Add the oil and sour cream to the bowl with the chocolate mixture and mix well.
• Add a third of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix well to incorporate. Then mix in half of the chocolate mixture. Continue to alternate with the flour and chocolate mixtures, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally and finishing with the flour. Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans. Fill each pan slightly below the top edge (you may not use all the batter). Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips over the top of each. Bake until the centers bounce back when touched, 30 to 35 minutes.
• For the toffee sauce: Melt together the butter and brown sugar in a heavy saucepot and cook until simmering. Remove from the heat, then add the heavy cream and vanilla, and stir. Return to the heat and allow the sauce to boil for another 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour into a metal mixing bowl. Cool completely, then refrigerate.
• For the chocolate ganache: Place the chocolate chips, heavy cream and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 3 minutes. Stir until all the chocolate is melted and the ingredients are incorporated. Cool in the fridge until the consistency is like a paste.
• For the buttercream: Add the egg yolks to a mixing bowl and whip with an electric mixer until light.
• In the meantime, mix the sugar and 1/2 cup water in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Wet a pastry brush with water and wash down the sides of the pan to avoid crystallization. Continue to cook until the sugar syrup registers 235 degrees F (softball stage) on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat and, with your mixer running constantly at medium speed, immediately but slowly pour the hot sugar into the egg yolks in a steady stream.
• Continue to beat with the mixer until the mixture cools down completely. Add the butter, vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds. Continue to beat until all of the butter is incorporated and the icing is smooth, glossy and spreadable (see Cook's Note). Add some buttercream to a pastry bag.
• To assemble the cake: Place 1 cake layer on a cake plate. With the pastry bag, pipe a border around the top edge of the cake layer for a "frosting dam" to hold in the toffee sauce. Poke holes into the top of the cake layer and pour at least 1/4 cup toffee sauce (or more to taste) over the top so that it penetrates the cake. Then spread a thin layer (about 1/8-inch thick) of ganache over the top. Put in the freezer for 5 minutes to make the ganache solidify. Then spread a layer of buttercream over the top of the chilled ganache. Generously sprinkle some English toffee bits over the buttercream and drizzle with more toffee sauce and ganache. Place the second cake layer on top and ice with the buttercream. Drizzle the top with more ganache and toffee sauce, then sprinkle toffee bits over the top. Serve immediately or refrigerate, covered. Take out of the fridge 1 hour prior to serving, to bring to room temperature.

CHOCOLATE IRISH CREAM CANDIES

Steps:

• Turn the heating pad covered with a kitchen towel onto high heat.
• In a small saucepan, scald the heavy whipping cream. Remove from the heat and add the white chocolate. Stir until all of the chocolate is melted and then add the Irish cream liqueur and stir again. Pour into a piping bag and lay on the heating pad to keep warm.
• In a microwave-safe container, melt the dark chocolate on high in 30 second increments, stirring in between until the chocolate is completely melted. Pour the chocolate into the candy molds to coat and tip over to drain off the excess chocolate to create a chocolate shell. Place the molds in the freezer for 2 minutes to harden. Remove the molds from the freezer and fill just shy of the top with the white chocolate-Irish cream mixture. Reheat the left over dark chocolate in the microwave until melted and place in a piping bag. Pipe the dark chocolate over the top of the mold and shake or tap to level. Place the molds back into the freezer for 3 minutes. Turn over onto wax paper and pop out the candies from their molds. Store at room temperature.

DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Steps:

• Heat the heavy cream and the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. Place the semisweet chocolate in a 3-quart stainless steel bowl. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth.
• CHOCOLATE MINT XXX'S
• The fantasy begins by placing the chopped chocolates in a medium-size bowl. Heat the cream, sugar, and chopped mint in a 1 1/2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar; bring to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream through a medium-gauge strainer into the bowl of chopped chocolate. Discard the mint. Use a whisk to gently stir until the cream and chocolate come together in a smooth and glistening pool. Pour the mixture onto a baking sheet with sides and use a rubber spatula to spread the chocolate to the edges. Refrigerate for 40 minutes remove the chocolate mint mixture from the refrigerator and transfer it to a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip. Line a clean baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the mint leaves on the baking sheet. Form the kisses by piping about 1 tablespoon of chocolate mint mixture onto each leaf, creating a spiral conical shape, about 1- inch high for each kiss Refrigerate the kisses for 30 minutes until firm. Store the kisses, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to a hour remove the chocolate mint mixture from the refrigerator and transfer it to a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip. Line a clean baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the mint leaves on the baking sheet. Form the kisses by piping about 1 tablespoon of chocolate mint mixture onto each leaf, creating a spiral conical shape, about 1- inch high for each kiss. Refrigerate the kisses for 30 minutes until firm. Store the kisses, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to a week.

CARAMEL GANACHE

Steps:

• Whisk 4 ounces chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate into the warm caramel sauce until smooth. Drizzle over vanilla ice cream.

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CARAMEL IRISH CREAM BUTTERCREAM AND DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Steps:

• For the chocolate cake layers: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment, then spray with nonstick baking spray.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the butter and coffee and mix on low speed until the butter "grabs" a lot of the dry ingredients--otherwise you will have a poof of cocoa powder and flour to contend with! Turn the speed up to medium and mix until well blended, about 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer to low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until each one gets incorporated. Scrape down the bowl, add the vanilla and mix a little longer, 10 to 15 seconds.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool on racks for 10 to 15 minutes, then invert onto plastic wrap and wrap well. Place in the freezer for 8 hours or overnight. When ready to use, thaw at room temperature, still wrapped, for 1 hour before cutting.
• For the caramel Irish cream buttercream: Place the egg whites and sugar in a metal bowl and set over simmering water. Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is very thin and warm. Remove from the heat and pour the sugar mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Turn to low speed and continue to whip until the bowl is cool to the touch.
• Turn the speed to medium and beat in the chunks of butter. (The mixture may appear curdled at first, but continue beating and it will come together.) Add the vanilla extract, then the liqueur and a little bit of the dulce de leche until it achieves a creamy texture.
• (If your buttercream has sat for a while and lost its creamy texture, re-beat it before using.)
• For the dark chocolate ganache: Place the chopped chocolate and cream in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high power for 1 minute. Stir thoroughly with a fork or whisk, then microwave on 50-percent power for 1 minute; stir again. If there are some chunks in there, allow to sit for a few minutes, then re-stir. If necessary, continue with one or two more 15-second intervals at 50-percent power, being careful not to overheat the mixture. Add the vanilla if using.
• Spray a piece of plastic wrap with nonstick spray, then cover the bowl, with the sprayed portion pressed directly against the surface of the ganache to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to sit until completely cool and set.
• Assemble the cake: Use a serrated knife to cut the cake layers horizontally into 4 layers total. Smear a little buttercream on a serving plate, then top with a cake layer. Spread some ganache on the first layer, then spread some buttercream about 1/4-inch-thick on top of the ganache. Spread some buttercream on a second cake layer, then invert it to top the cake layer on the serving plate (buttercream will face buttercream). Repeat with the remaining layers of cake, topping each layer with ganache and then buttercream, and covering with a layer spread with buttercream, buttercream-side down. Once you have topped the cake with the last cake layer, use an offset spatula to smooth out any icing squishing out of the sides of the cake. Coat the entire cake with a thin layer of ganache for a "crumb coat." Place the cake in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to firm up. Ice the cake with the remainder of the buttercream. Serve right away, or keep chilled. Allow the cake to come to room temperature before serving.