As you will read, there are quite few steps to making this cake. Some of them can be done ahead, so make it easy on yourself. Don't save it all to do on the day you plan to serve it. And, if this is your first experience with kitchen pyrotechnics, please be careful and follow all directions carefully.
Enjoy!
What's In It:
CAKE:
1 c. butter (Read a margarine label and you'll understand why I never buy it. We are cooking, not conducting a chemical experiment.)
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa (I've tried lots of brands, from the ones with the French names down to a store brand and found little difference.)
1 c. water
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 lg. eggs (Thank you Sylvia, Pat, Chloe, and Lucy)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract (No imitation)
2 c. granulated sugar
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
GANACHE:
2 c. (12 oz.) semisweet morsels (Use a good brand)
1/3 c. whipping cream
1/4 c. butter, cut into pieces
FROSTING:
1/2 c. chopped pecans
2 tbl. butter
1/2 firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tbl. whipping cream
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
GLAZE:
4 tbl. butter
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 c. bourbon (If you wouldn't sip it, don't cook with it.)
How To Make It:
Let's Make the Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease bottoms of 3 8" round cake pans. Line with waxed paper. Greas and flour wax paper and sides of pans. Set aside.
Cook first 3 ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, 3 to 5 minutes or until better melts and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Cool
Beat buttermilk and next 3 ingredients with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add butter mixture to buttermilk mixtrue, beating until blended. Combine sugar, flour, and salt, and gradually add to buttermilk mixture, beating until blended. (Batter will be thin.) Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.
Bake for 25 to 28 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, cooling completely on racks. (Layers should be thin.)
Let's make the ganache:
Microwave chocolate morsels and cream in glass bowl at 50% power 2 to 3 minutes or until morsels are melted, stirring after 1 1/2 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Gradually add butter, continuing to whisk until smooth. Cool about 35 minutes, whisking every 10 minutes, until ganache reaches spreading consistency.
Let's make the frosting:
Bake pecans at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes, stirring once. Nuts should be golden brown.
Bring butter, brown sugar, and cream to a boil in 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. Continue boiling and stirring, 1 minute.
Remove from heat. Whisk in powder sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Add toasted pecans and stir gently. Frosting should begin to cool and thicken slightly.
Let's make the glaze:
Melt 4 tbl. butter in skillet over medium high heat.
Stir in sugars and vanilla.
Cook stirring constantly, 1 minute.
Remove skillet from heat and stir in bourbon.
Carefully ignite fumes just above liquid in skillet with a long multi-purpose lighter (such as a candle lighter or grill lighter)
Let stand until flames go out.
Let's assemble the cake:
Spread about 1/2 c. ganache between each cake layer. Spread remaining ganache on sides of cake. Do not frost top of cake. Chill for 30 minutes.
Pour warm Praline Frosting slowly over top of chilled cake, spreading to edges. Cover. (You may do this ahead if you like. Covered this cake can sit like this for up to 24 hours before you complete it.)
Pierce about 25 holes in top of cake using a metal skewer. (They're not just for kabobs anymore....)
Pour warm Bourbon Glaze over cake.
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