Jane’s Sweets & Baking Journal -- janessweets.blogspot.com -- February 2012

(The cake & frosting recipes below are adapted from the book, Juniors! Remembering Brooklyn with Recipes and Memories from its Favorite Restaurant, by Marvin & Walter Rosen, with Beth Allen; Wm. Morrow & Co., Inc., 1999. See pages 270-274. The ganache recipe is simply a common variation, requiring no attribution.)

Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake with Vanilla Buttercream

and Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache

Yield: Makes one large, tall, 3-layer cake that, when frosted and ganached, could probably serve 20 or more people.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three round 9"x2" cake pans, place parchment paper circles in the bottom of each one, and then butter the parchment (it's easiest to do this with a pastry brush, and do use unsalted butter). Place a rack in the middle of your oven.

Ingredients for the cake layers:

3 cups cake flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 generous teaspoon of coarse kosher salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temp.

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

7 large eggs, not cold

9 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled to lukewarm

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

2 and 1/4 cups milk (I used 2 percent.)

Onto parchment, or into a medium size bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.

In the large bowl of your mixer, using the paddle attachment on high speed, cream together the butter, shortening, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Beat for several minutes, until the mixture turns light yellow. Scrape the bowl and beaters. Again on high speed, add in the eggs one at a time, beating for a couple of minutes after each addition. Stop and scrape the bowl and beaters. Pour in all of the chocolate and vanilla, and continue mixing on high speed for up to 20 minutes. (Yes, I said 20 minutes--that's what the instructions indicate, and that's what I did. The batter is quite fluffy when you're done with this step.) Take the bowl off of the mixer now, and gently scrape again with your spatula.

Now, sift one quarter of the dry mixture over the batter and carefully stir (as opposed to just folding, which you will be inclined to do) it in. Then pour in one third of the milk, stirring to blend. Continue in this fashion, until you've incorporated all the flour and milk, stirring well after each addition.

Portion the batter equally into the three prepared pans, and smooth it out. Gently tap each pan on your work surface to help release air bubbles. Bake the pans side by side on the middle rack, but don't let them touch each other. (The cookbook suggests delaying the baking of one layer if you don't have an oven large enough to accomplish this, rather than baking one of the layers on an upper- or lower rack.)

Bake the layers for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each one comes out clean, and the sides of the cakes just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool the layers on racks for 30 minutes before inverting them onto racks (and removing any parchment still stuck to them) to finish cooling.

Ingredients for Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

2 lbs. (8 cups) of confectioners' sugar, well sifted (I'd use out with Domino's 10x if I were you. It's much less lumpy than the cheaper stuff.)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 and 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1/2 cup margarine or high-ratio shortening, not cold (I did not use margarine, which the original recipe indicates. Instead, I used Sweetex, which is a "high-ratio" shortening typically used by cake decorators. Trans-fat free, it adds stability to frostings--ie., helps them hold up without softening in warm temps--and doesn't lend a greasy mouth-feel the way Crisco can. It also makes frostings easier to spread. You can buy it at cake decorating supply stores, but be forewarned that it's not cheap.)

2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

1 Tbsp. and 2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 scant tsp. almond extract

1/2 cup heavy cream

Onto a parchment sheet, or into a large bowl, sift together the confectioners' sugar and the salt, being sure to break up out any stubborn sugar lumps. In the large bowl of your electric mixer, using the paddle attachment on high speed, cream together the butter and margarine/Sweetex; beat for about three minutes, until light yellow. Still on high speed, add in the corn syrup and extracts. Stop and scrape the beaters and bowl.

Now on low speed, add the sugar in two additions, beating well after each one. Pour in the cream and blend until the frosting seems of reasonable spreading consistency; if it seems too thick, add in more cream as needed, a teaspoon or so at a time. Keep the frosting tightly covered until you're ready to use it. If you won't be using it within a couple of hours, cover and refrigerate it.

Ingredients for the Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache:

8 oz. good quality dark chocolate (I tend to use Ghirardelli if I don't want to spend a fortune. If I'm flush with cash, I'm more likely to use Callebaut, and even more rarely Valrhona. Bittersweet ganache works well with this cake since it balances the sweetness of the buttercream frosting.)

6 oz. heavy cream (The amount can vary a little bit, depending upon how soft you want your ganache to be.)

2 tsp. soft unsalted butter

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place it in a heatproof bowl.

In a small sauce pan, heat the cream slowly until it simmers. Pour it over the chocolate, add the butter, and do not stir. Let the mixture sit undisturbed for a couple of minutes. Stir until the chocolate is obviously completely melted. As the ganache begins to cool, you'll be able to get an idea of its texture. If it seems it will be too thick to ladle onto your cake, stir in a tiny bit more warm cream, adjusting as needed. If you won't be using the ganache right away, keep it well covered in the fridge. It can be warmed up in a double boiler, or gradually in the microwave if watched very closely.

To assemble the cake:

Place your first layer of cake on a 9” cardboard cake-circle so you can more easily lift and move it; this will be a big help when it comes time to add the ganache coating. Frost the top of the bottom layer.  Place and frost the top of the middle layer. Add the top layer; frost it and frost the sides of the cake as smoothly as you can, ideally with an offset spatula. It doesn't matter too much if a few crumbs show through in the frosting at this point since the cake will be covered in chocolate, but any obvious lumps should be smoothed out to ensure a nice finish.

Place the cake, still on its cardboard circle, atop a cake rack that's been placed over a rimmed baking sheet.

When your ganache is slightly warm and at the right consistency (it should drip easily from a ladle, like a very pourable gravy), ladle it directly onto the top center of the cake, one scoop at a time, letting it drip down the sides. The excess ganache will drip off the bottom edges of the cake onto your baking sheet (that excess can be saved and used again, assuming it doesn't contain crumbs, etc.). Use a small, metal, offset spatula to smooth out, and dab delicately at, the bare spots on the sides of the cake; work fairly quickly since the ganache will start to set up as it cools. Let the ganache-covered cake sit on the cooling rack over the baking sheet until the ganache seems somewhat firm. Move the cake onto its serving plate, using a firm metal spatula to help you lift it up off of the cooling rack. Before serving, add on any decorations that you prefer (piped frosting, whipped cream swirls, chocolate-dipped strawberries, whatever you like).