CHOCOLATE BIRTHDAY CAKE
Last week my brother and I were brainstorming about what kind of cake he wanted for his 12th birthday. It was yet another hot afternoon, and we were sipping on something cool as I jotted down all of his ideas. After I having gone through a few ideas he quickly blurted out, “Wait, why don’t you just make my cake? To be honest I really like yours better anyway.” My heart practically exploded because I knew that he had been dreaming about a cake decorated with vibrant characters from his favorite movie. I made sure to properly warm him that I couldn’t make an epic cake like he had been dreaming about, like a Lego castle with a river running through it and a spaceship coming in for a landing, but to that he quickly said “eh , I don’t care about that, I just want it to taste good.” Oh, my sweet baby boy is growing up. After I agreed to make his cake, we instantly started talking about flavors, and in the end he decided that he wanted a classic chocolate cake, filled with chocolate and frosted with chocolate; that’s a boy after my own heart.
As requested I made my brother a two layer chocolate cake filled with a whipped white chocolate ganache & freshly sliced strawberries (for health, of course). A thick layer of whipped chocolate ganache completed a wonderful cake. I ended up using the Barefoot Contessa’s chocolate cake recipe because not only is her cake light and moist, but it truly is one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever made. Now, I really do adore many of her recipes, but she typically calls for XL eggs, which is a pity because I never have them at hand. On this particular occasion I only had large eggs and wasn’t all to eager to make another trip to the store. Thankfully after a little time spent on the internet, I found a great egg 101 on Joy the Baker, in which she gives you the weight difference between large eggs and extra large eggs. This bit of info was so helpful because I was able to weigh my eggs, ensuring that just the right amount would be added to my batter. Joy, you were a life saver.
Once the day finally came and we lit the candles on the cake, the sight my brother’s joyful face was simply enough for me to shed mini tears of happiness. This is one of the reasons that I adore baking so much, because it is not only an insanely enjoyable process, but because seeing the faces of my family and friends enjoying what I made for them gives me an overwhelming sense of joy and community. Thankfully, the birthday party and the accompanying cake was an absolute success. My sweet brother had the time of his life, and when it came to the cake, he told me that I can make “all of his birthday cakes from now on,” which to me was a relief to hear because I quite frankly never want him to grow up. So for now, I will continue to make him his birthdays cakes until he tells me to stop.
I ended up making way too much frosting so I listed a recipe for one serving of each. I would say that making 1 1/2 servings of the chocolate frosting would be sufficient, while making only 1/2 of the listed white chocolate ganache filling would be enough. If you are making this cake, I promise you that nothing but smiles and empty plates will be return to you. I hope that you had a lovely weekend!
Recipe for Ina Garten’s Chocolate Cake can be found here.
GANACHE FILLING
Yields 1.5 Cups
12 oz Finely Chopped Chocolate, or Chocolate Chips~ I used semi-sweet
1 Cup Heavy Cream ~ have a little extra on hand
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Pinch Kosher Salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons Butter, cut into small pieces
Equipment: Saucepan, spatula, handheld or standing mixer, medium bowl
METHOD
Finely chop your chocolate and place in a bowl and set it aside. Or simply pour chocolate chips into a medium bowl.
Heat heavy cream in a saucepan until it begins to heavily simmer.
Once your heavy cream is heated, remove from heat and pour into your bowl containing the chocolate.
Add in one teaspoon of vanilla, pinch of salt, and butter and mix until properly blended.
Place the chocolate into the fridge in a sealed container for about an hour, or until it has the consistency of pudding. Then, with a whisk attachment whip your chocolate in a standing mixer until frosting becomes thick and lightly colored.
WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE FILLING
Yields 3/4 Cups
12 oz White Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Heavy Cream ~ have a little extra on hand
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean paste
Tiniest Pinch Kosher Salt
1 pint thinly Sliced Strawberries, about 1 1/2- 2 Cups (optional)
Equipment: Saucepan, spatula, handheld or standing mixer, medium bowl
METHOD
Pour white chocolate chips into a medium bowl.
Heat heavy cream in a saucepan until it begins to heavily simmer.
Once your heavy cream is heated, remove from heat and pour into your bowl containing the chocolate.
Add in one teaspoon of vanilla, and small pinch of salt, and mix until properly blended.
Place the chocolate into the fridge in a sealed container for about an hour, or until it has a thicker consistency. The white chocolate filling will not be as thick as the chocolate ganache frosting, but will whip just as well.
Transfer the ganache into the bowl of a standing mixer, and whip on medium high speed until medium soft peaks are achieved.
ASSEMBLY
Once the cakes have cooled, place one layer of the cake, flat side up on a plate or cake stand.
Frost the top of the cake with the white chocolate ganache filling, andthen layer sliced strawberries over the top.
Place second cake layer on top of the strawberries, flat side facing down, and begin to frost the cake with the whipped chocolate ganache frosting.
* Note my frosting came out a bit dense because due to the fact that I let it chill over night. This frosting can and will achieve a lovely whipped texture if the directions above are followed.