Friday, December 17, 2010

Day One: Dark-Chocolate Cake with Ganache Frosting

Day One: “This cake is incredible,” yelled my 10 year old-daughter who convincingly believes that chocolate should be a part of the U.S. food pyramid. My family enjoyed the Dark-Chocolate Cake, but it was a little too dry for my palette. I used Martha Stewart’s recipe, and yet I was still disappointed. Believe it or not, her recipe produced a dry cake with a brownie-like texture.

I KNOW – I KNOW!

I revisited the recipe to see where I had made the mistake; after all this is a Martha Stewart chocolate cake recipe. Perhaps, I used too much baking soda or not enough butter. Maybe I had over baked the cake, I reasoned; anything to avoid the possibility that Martha Stewart (a pillar in the cooking arena) had a bad day subsequently creating a “bad recipe.

Too my surprise, I followed her recipe with the precision of a skilled surgeon. Oh well, I guess we all have our days. 99 more cakes to go.


The Recipe:
·        1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter,
·        1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa  
·        1 1/2  cups all-purpose flour  
·        1/2 teaspoon baking powder
·        1/2 teaspoon baking soda
·        1/2 teaspoon salt
·        1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
·        2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yokes
·        6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
·        1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
·        1 cup buttermilk
Chubby Yummy