3-Hole Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Ganache Frosting

This cake is an old old family recipe and is absolutely my favorite chocolate cake on this earth. It's simple to make, bakes well, is moist and chocolaty and has a good crumb. It tastes great just by itself, dusted with powder sugar, or frosted. It keeps well (although rarely lasts long), freezes and thaws well, and I promise will become your favorite one too.

Today I was making it for a Halloween party at our marina, so I decided to make mini cupcakes instead. I also decided to use a chocolate ganache for the frosting, one that I have become very fond of, a recipe from Cooks Illustrated. The chocolate ganache has only 2 ingredients - heavy cream and dark chocolate - and it tastes like a piece of heaven.  I hope you enjoy them both as much as I!

Make the ganache before you make the cupcakes so that it has time to chill while the cupcakes bake. This recipe is a half recipe and makes 48 mini cupcakes. If you are making a 9 x 13 or jelly roll sheet cake you can double it. Adjust your baking time accordingly.

3-Hole Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

1-1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbl cocoa
6 Tbl oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp vinegar
1 c. water

Directions:

Sift the flour, sugar, soda, salt, and cocoa into a large mixing bowl.

Make 3 wells in the dry ingredients. Put the oil in one, the vanilla in one, and the vinegar in one.

Pour water over it all.

Mix well but briefly. The batter will be thinner than cake mix batter.

Line mini muffin tins with paper liners and fill 3/4 full with batter.

Bake at 350° for 13-15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan immediately and cool on rack. Frost if desired.










Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:

8 oz chocolate chips - semi sweet or 70% cacoa
1 c. heavy whipping cream

Heat cream in heavy saucepan over medium until boiling.

Measure chocolate chips into medium bowl.

Pour hot cream over chips and cover with foil. Let stand 5 minutes.

Stir until well mixed. Cover and chill for 45-60 minutes until chocolate mixture is firm but not hard.

Beat with beater until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.