Cheesecake Factory Chocolate Fudge Cake with Ganache
[i]For chocophiles, the eatery offers a decadent and rich Chocolate Fudge Cake for dessert. It took five tries to come up a dark, fudgelike cake that passed muster - and the version here is one shared by a colleague - who said it is her favorite.
Bake the batter in two round layer cake pans, then cool and split in half horizontally to make four layers. Fill and frost top and sides with a creamy, smooth Chocolate Ganache mixture you can make in a jiffy in the microwave oven with semisweet chocolate and whipping cream. Be sure to allow plenty of time for the ganache to set up to a good spreading consistency in the refrigerator. Garnish the cake sides with chocolate sprinkles like the restaurant - or for a change of pace, try chopped toasted almonds or pecans. Once assembled, store the cake in the fridge. [/i]
Chocolate Fudge Cake
1 3/4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup boiling water
Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows)
Chocolate sprinkles (optional) OR chopped toasted almonds OR pecans
In a large mixer bowl, mix together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat in eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat 2 minutes on medium speed. On lowest speed (to avoid spattering), beat in boiling water (batter will be thin) until well blended.
Pour into 2 greased 9-inch round layer cake pans, dividing evenly.
Bake in preheated 350-degree oven about 30 to 33 minutes or until cakes test done. Cool in pans 15 to 20 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely.
When cool, with a long serrated knife, cut each layer in half horizontally. Spread a layer of Chocolate Ganache over bottom layer and over tops of 2 more cake layers and stack together on a large serving plate. Place remaining cake layer on top of cake stack. Frost top and sides of cake with Chocolate Ganache. Press chocolate sprinkles or nuts into ganache around sides of cake, if desired. Refrigerate cake until serving time. Makes 1 (9-inch) cake.
Chocolate Ganache
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips (2 (12-ounce) packages)
2 cups whipping cream
3 tablespoons butter, cut up
2 teaspoons vanilla
In a large microsafe bowl or measure, combine chocolate chips and whipping cream.
Heat on high (100 percent) power in microwave oven 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Remove from microwave, stirring until chocolate is melted and mixture is well blended. Add butter and vanilla stirring until butter is melted and mixture is well blended.
Cool in refrigerator, stirring occasionally, until of good spreading consistency to spread over cake layers. Use to fill and frost top and sides of a 4-layer 9-inch cake.
Source: Restaurant Replicas column, Los Angeles Daily News, 1996