This year, Thanksgiving was just the two of us, so I thought I'd try a new dessert idea. First I thought of a yellow cake with an apricot preserves filling, topped with a chocolate ganache. Then I looked up the recipe for a yellow cake and was scared off by all the egg yolks (6!!) that went into the cake. Fast forward a few minutes, and I decided on this basic layer cake recipe by Martha Stewart. I followed the instructions to the letter, with the exception of the butter. I only used 1 stick instead of the 1.5 sticks in the recipe. The cake came out a little dry, but I think that can be solved by brushing a little sugar water on to the cake layers before adding the filling.
Ganache
1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used the generic brand and it came out tasting delicious, so I don't think brand names matter)
3 tablespoons butter, cubed
1/2 cup skim milk
Double-boiler OR a pot -bowl combo with the bowl sitting 2-3 inches above the pot bottom.
A couple of ganache recipes I looked up called for 1 pint of cream to be added to the chocolate chips, but C can't handle full-fat dairy so I used butter and nonfat milk instead. It works out to the same ingredients, essentially...
1. Heat water in pot so that it is simmering, not boiling.
2. Place bowl in the pot. Add chocolate chips, butter and milk.
3. Stir continuously until ingredients are completely melted (5-7 minutes) and chocolate looks shiny.
4. Take chocolate off heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
5. Set up cake layers on wire rack over a baking pan with foil (to catch drips).
6. Pour ganache over cake. Use an offset spatula to evenly distribute ganache so that it drips down the sides.
7. Allow ganache to set for 10- 15 minutes. Transfer finished cake to serving plate and chill in the fridge until ready to eat.
'Til the next dish...
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