Chocolate Cake (Birthday Cake)

This chocolate cake is  easy  to whip up once you get all the ingredients.It is a very simple , yet delicious chocolate cake. The base cake recipe is the same as that of the Hershey's "perfectly chocolate" chocolate cake recipe that is published at the back of their cocoa powder box and also online.

Ingredients:

• All Purpose Flour - 13/4 cups
• Sugar - 2 cups
• cocoa powder - 3/4 cup
• Baking Powder - 1 and 1/2 teaspoons
• Baking Soda - 1 and 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt - 1 teaspoon
• Eggs - 2
• Milk - 1 cup
• Vegetable Oil - 1/2 cup
• Vanilla Extract - 2 teaspoons
• Boiling water - 1 cup

For Frosting:

• Butter - 1/2 cup ( 1 stick)
• Cocoa Powder - 2/3 cups
• Powdered Sugar - 2 cups
• Milk - 1/3 cup
• Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon

For Ganache:

• Good Quality Chocolate block(cut into small pieces) - 225 grams
• Heavy cream - 3/4 cup
• Unsalted Butter - 2 tabespoons
• Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon

Preparation:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
• Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. 
• Make sure you stir very well or sift them together to ensure the baking powder and baking soda are evenly distributed.
• Take the eggs in a separate bowl and beat them slightly.
• Add the eggs,milk,oil and vanilla extract to the flour mixture.
• Beat the mixture with the hand mixer at medium to high sped for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Stir in the boiling water.The batter will be thin.

• Measure and pour half in each of the 9 inch pans.

• Bake for around 40 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
• Then remove from the pan and cool on the rack till it is completely cooled.
• While the cake is cooling, prepare the frosting.

• Once the cakes are cooled, keep one cake upside down on a cooling rack or cake stand.
• Apply a generous amount of the icing on it and cover it carefully with the second layer.
• Frost the top and the sides with the frosting carefully and keep it for 10 minutes.

• Once it is set, pour chocolate ganache on top of the cake and level it carefully so that it covers the full cake.
• Let it stand on the rack till all the extra ganache drips down.Make sure to keep a cookie sheet or a tray down to collect all the dripped ganache.You can use it for topping ice-cream or coating fruits etc.
• Once the dripping stops, transfer it to a cake plate.
  
• You can store it in room temperature for 3 or 4 days and enjoy.

Frosting:

• Melt the butter.
• Stir in the cocoa powder and mix it without any lumps.
• Add the icing sugar and the milk alternately little by little and beat it well.
• Check for spreading consistency. If required you can add little more milk or sugar to make it as per the consistency that you require.

Chocolate Ganache Preparation:

• Place the chocolate pieces in a mixing bowl.
• Heat the cream and butter in a saucepan and bring it to boil.
• Immediately transfer the boiling cream to the chocolate bowl.
• Allow it to stand for 3 minutes without stirring.
• After 3 minutes, stir gently with a spoon till it becomes smooth and shiny.Do not over-stir.
• Add in the vanilla essence.

Note : * I had used the frosting only to fill in between the layers. I had not frosted the whole cake. But it is better to frost liberally the whole cake on the top and sides too before glazing with chocolate ganache. Using of chocolate ganache is purely optional.Even without this, the taste will be delicious. I had used white sugar balls to decorate on top.