Chocolate Nirvana Cake Recipe 45

CHOCOLATE CHEVRON CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter an 8-by-2-inch round cake pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pan, tapping out the excess flour.
• Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, then mix in the chocolate syrup and vanilla. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until just set in the middle. Allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then remove from the pan, turn the cake upside down on a wire rack set over a sheet pan and cool completely.
• For the icing, whisk together the confectioners' sugar with 1 tablespoon water until smooth, thick and just barely pourable. When you lift the icing from the bowl with the whisk, it should slowly fall back on itself in a ribbon. (You may need to add a few more drops of water.) Fit a pastry bag with a small round pastry tip and fill it with the icing. Set aside while you make the ganache.
• For the ganache, place the heavy cream, chocolate chips and coffee in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water and heat the mixture until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Pour the ganache evenly over the top and sides of the cake, tilting the rack until the ganache is smooth all over.
• Immediately, before the ganache sets, pipe parallel lines about 1 inch apart on the entire cake, stopping just short of the edge. Lightly drag the back of a small paring knife through the ganache perpendicular to the white lines also 1 inch apart, alternating directions (first left to right, then right to left, and so on) and covering the whole cake. Allow the ganache and icing to set. Cut into wedges and serve at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE NIRVANA CAKE RECIPE - (4/5)

Steps:

• Melt butter and chocolate in a sauce pan. Add the eggs, sugar and extract. Mix w/ beater. Pour into spring form pan sprayed with pam with a cookie sheet under it. Bake at 300 F for 45 mins. Cool and refrigerate a few hours or overnight. Still in question on best time to remove from pan. In the end, I refrigerated it and then removed but it stuck to the bottom like a cheese cake. Melt the candy bar and spread over just the top of cake. Refrigerate until hardens. Serve with fresh whipped cream or raspberry glaze

OLD-FASHIONED CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Take everything out of the refrigerator so that all ingredients can come room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Put all the cake ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, cocoa, butter, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream into a food processor and process until you have a smooth, thick batter. If you want to go the long way around, just mix the flour, sugar and leavening agents in a large bowl and beat in the soft butter until you have a combined and creamy mixture. Now whisk together the cocoa, sour cream, vanilla, and eggs and beat this into your bowl of mixture.
• Divide this batter, using a rubber spatula to help you scrape and spread, into the prepared tins and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, which should be about 35 minutes, but it is wise to start checking at 25 minutes. Also, it might make sense to switch the 2 cakes around in the oven halfway through cooking time. Remove the cakes, in their tins, to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before turning out of their tins. Don't worry about any cracks as they will easily be covered by the frosting later.
• To make this icing, melt the chocolate and butter in a good-sized bowl either in the microwave or suspended over a pan of simmering water. Go slowly either way: you don't want any burning or seizing.
• While the chocolate and butter is cooling a little, sieve the confectioners' sugar into another bowl. Or, easier still, put the icing sugar into the food processor and blitz to remove lumps.
• Add the corn syrup to the cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the sour cream and vanilla and then when all this is combined whisk in the sieved confectioners' sugar. Or just pour this mixture down the funnel of the food processor onto the powdered sugar, with the motor running.
• You may need to add a little boiling water, say a teaspoon or so, or indeed some more confectioners' sugar, depending on whether you need the frosting to be thiner or thicker. It should be liquid enough to coat easily, but thick enough not to drip off.
• Choose your cake stand or plate and cut 4 strips of baking parchment to form a square and sit 1 of the cakes, uppermost (i.e. slightly domed) side down.
• Spoon about 1/3 of the frosting onto the center of the cake-half and spread with a knife or spatula until you cover the top of it evenly. Sit the other cake on top, normal way up, pressing gently to sandwich the 2 together.
• Spoon another 1/3 of the frosting onto the top of the cake and spread it in a swirly, textured way (though you can go for a smooth finish if you prefer, and have the patience). Spread the sides of the cake with icing and leave a few minutes until set, then carefully pull away the paper strips.
• I love to dot the top of this with sugar pansies, and you must admit, they do look enchanting, but there really is no need to make a shopping expedition out of it. Anything, or indeed nothing, will do.

CHOCOLATE NIRVANA CAKE

Steps:

• CAKE:.
• Preheat oven to 350*. Grease 3 round cake pans(I also line the bottom with waxed paper). Set aside.Put water on to boil.
• Mix together flour, soda and salt. set aside.
• Beat together butter and sugar until light.
• Add eggs and vanilla.
• Add chocolate and beat 1-2 minutes.
• Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, alternating with buttermilk.Beat until smooth.
• Slowly add boiling water, beating until completely smooth-batter will be thin.
• Pour into pans. Bake 35-40 mins, until tester comes out clean.
• While baking, make ganache, caramel and whipped cream.
• Cool cakes in pans for 10 mins, then unmold onto racks to finish cooling.
• CARAMEL-cook sugar, corn syrup and butter over low heat until 242*. Remove from heat and add cream and vanilla.Cool. Will thicken as it cools.
• GANACHE-Melt butter, chocolate chips and cream over low heat.Whisk in almond extract. Cool.
• WHIPPED CREAM- Whisk cream until it just begins to thicken, then add pudding powder. whisk until ready.Refrigerate.
• PECANS- put butter on a cookie sheet& melt in oven (can toast pecans while baking cake)- when butter is melted, toss pecans in pan until coated. bake @ 350 until toasty smelling (~10 mins- watch carefully, they burn easily!)Salt to taste.
• When everything is cool, assemle the cake:.
• Place first layer on cake plate. Plop 1/3 of the whipped cream onto cake. Drizzle caramel and chocolate over cream. Repeat for next 2 layers, but be a little "artistic" with the top layer-oozing the caramel and chocolate over the sides of the cake. Sprinkle liberally with pecans!

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES NIRVANA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a large bowl stir all ingredients until well mixed.
• Drop in rounded teaspoons on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes or until centers are light brown.
• Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes.