6 years – we’ve been doing this for 6 years and have made over 200 recipes in the process! Can’t believe how time has flown by! So, to celebrate we decided to make a Chocolate Cake with Salted Chocolate Ganache icing and a little bit of bubbles (of course!).

This cake is wonderfully decadent – and that is coming from a person who doesn’t like cake! The coffee brings out the rich chocolate flavour, and the semi-sweet chocolate allows for all of the chocolate flavour without becoming too sweet. Hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

INGREDIENTS

2 tbs butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar

1 8-inch Springform pan*

For the cake:
3 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup hot coffee
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup canola oil
5 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

For the ganache icing:
7 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup heavy cream, chilled
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs corn syrup
2 tbs butter
Flaked sea salt for sprinkling

*I find springform pans with a glass bottom the easiest to work with. They are easiest to clean and get the cake out of the pan – win win!

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350F. Prep your 8-inch springform pan using a piece of paper towel to grease the inside of the pan with the butter. Once the pan is coated in a very thin layer of butter, add the 1/4 cup of sugar. Rotate your pan around to ensure the sugar sticks and coats every inch of the pan.

Meanwhile, mix the chopped chocolate, cocoa powder and hot coffee for the cake. Let sit for a minute and then whisk until smooth. Cool completely, about 15-20 mins. Whisk in the oil, eggs and vanilla until blended. Add in the salt and baking soda, whisk to incorporate. Add in the sugar and flour, whisk until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.

Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 35-40 mins. Cool in the pan for 10 mins, then remove the outer edge of the springform pan and move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

For the frosting, heat a small saucepan of water over medium heat. In a glass or metal bowl, mix together the cream, sugar, butter and corn syrup. Heat over the water bath until the sugar has dissolved. Add the chocolate and stir until chocolate is fully melted. Let frosting cool for 10-20 mins, string every few minutes until it starts to thicken, but is not quite the consistency of icing. If you leave it too long, and it becomes too thick, reheat gently over a water bath until warm enough to loosen up.

Once the cake is completely cool and the ganache is ready, place the cake (it is fine to leave it on the base of the springform pan) on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Gently pour the ganache over the cake, moving towards the edge with a spoon to make an even layer. The extra ganache will fall off the cake and onto the baking sheet.

Let set for 10-20 mins, until the ganache has stopped dripping, and place for presentation on a plate or cake stand. Sprinkle with flaked sea salt and serve.

Makes one 8-inch cake