Dark Chocolate Cake with Ganache and Mixed Berries
This beautiful tiered arrangement of cream cheese, berries and ganache is a mouth watering showstopper.
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INGREDIENTS
For the cake:
- 150g butter at room temperature
- 10ml instant coffee granules
- 180g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- 60g granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 500ml cake flour
- 10ml baking powder
- 5ml bicarbonate of soda
- 60ml cocoa powder
For the cream cheese and berry filling:
- 250ml cream cheese
- 120ml icing sugar
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 200g assorted fresh berries (raspberries, strawberries and cherries)
For the ganache topping:
- 120ml cream
- 240g dark chocolate, finely grated
- 100g hazelnuts, roasted for 8 minutes at 180˚C
- 80g Goji berries
- Icing sugar for dusting
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180˚C.
Line 3 x 20cm round cake tins with baking paper and spray well with Spray and Cook.
To make the cake, melt the butter in a large pot. Remove from the heat and add 250ml hot water, the coffee granules and chopped chocolate, and stir until fully melted and combined. Add the sugar, eggs and vanilla, and beat with a handheld electric beater for 2 minutes.
Combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa together in a large mixing bowl. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Pour the batter into the lined tins and place on the same rack in the oven to bake for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.
To make the filling, beat the cream cheese with the icing sugar and zest and juice of the lemon. When the cake is cooled, ice the middle layers with the cream cheese icing and place a few berries between each layer. Sandwich the layers together.
To make the ganache topping, heat the cream in a pot and then pour it over the grated chocolate in a bowl. Cover the bowl with a plate to help contain the heat. Allow to stand for 5 minutes, and then stir together until smooth and velvety. Pour over the cake.
Top the cake with the berries, hazelnuts and goji berries, and dust with icing sugar.
