Ingredients
- Chocolate Ganache:
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup shortening
- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large egg yolks
- 3 large egg whites
- 2 1/4 cups cake flour (sifted and spooned, not packed)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup
- 8 oz. dark chocolate wafers (or similar)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.
1. Cream the sugar and shortening together until light. (Be sure to scrape the bowl occasionally while beating.) Add the vanilla and egg yolks and beat in well.
2. In a metal or ceramic bowl—not plastic-- beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. (Plastic bowls may have a film of fat within the pores of the plastic.)
3. Mix together to the flour, baking powder, and salt in another bowl.
4. Add about one third of the flour mixture to the creamed sugar and egg yolk mixture. Mix until just combined. Follow that with about half of the milk, another third of flour, the last half of the milk, and the rest of the flour, beating just until combined after each addition.
5. Gently fold in the whipped egg whites, one half at a time. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans. Smooth the batter in the pans with a spatula leaving the batter slightly concave in the center.
6. Bake for 18 minutes or until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans on wire racks for about eight minutes before removing the cakes from the pans.
7. Once cool, trim the domes from the cakes if necessary. Top one layer with filling and then cover with the second layer. Keep refrigerated.
8. Use a cake leveler or a sharp serrated knife to remove the dome of the cake. Then cut off the tip of the Bavarian cream package, and squeeze out enough Bavarian cream to cover the cake. Smooth it with a spatula. Next, use the cake leveler to level the 2nd layer, and invert it over the Bavarian cream so that the top of the cake is flat.
9. Bring the cream and corn syrup to a full simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. This should take about four or five minutes. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Cover and let sit for eight minutes. Add the vanilla and gently stir until combined. Let cool just enough so when when you drizzle ganache back in pan, it piles just a little.
10. Once cooled to drizzling consistency, pour it in the middle of the cake allowing some to run down the sides. Chill before serving.
Refrigerate leftovers.