Orange Chocolate Ganache Recipes

Steps:

• Bake the Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. You will need two 8" round cake pans, line w/ parchment paper at the bottom, greased and coated w/ very fine bread crumbs.
• Into a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Make a wide well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Add in the following order, without mixing, the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. With a large wire whisk, beat until smooth. Mix in coffee. Set aside.
• Gently pour the batter into the pans. Bake for 30 minutes at 325 degrees F, or until the top springs back when lightly pressed with a fingertip. Cool completely.
• For the frosting: Chop the chocolate and melt with a double boiler. Cool to room temperature.
• Beat the butter until light yellow and fluffy. Add egg yolk and vanilla. Gradually add the sugar. Dissolve the coffee in 2 t hot water. Add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture until blended. Do not whip! Spread immediately on cooled cake. Top with candied orange.

Steps:

• Preparing The Cake:
• Make cake layers:
• Preheat oven to 350° F. and line 2 buttered 7- by 2-inch round cake pans and 2 buttered 9- by 2-inch round cake pans with rounds of wax paper. Butter paper and dust pans with flour, knocking out excess.
• Put cocoa powder in a bowl and whisk in boiling water in a stream until smooth. Stir in chopped chocolate and let stand 5 minutes. Stir mixture until smooth and chocolate is melted and cool mixture. Whisk in sour cream and vanilla.
• Into a bowl sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. In large bowl of a standing electric mixer beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy and add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down side of bowl. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and cocoa mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating until batter is combined well.
• Pour 2 cups batter into each 7-inch pan and smooth tops. Divide remaining batter between 9-inch pans (about 33/4 cups each) and smooth tops. In middle and lower thirds of oven arrange one 9-inch layer and one 7-inch layer on each rack, putting 7-inch layers in front part of oven. Bake 7-inch layers 25 to 30 minutes and 9-inch layers 35 to 40 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert cakes onto racks. Peel off paper and cool cakes completely. Cake layers may be made 2 days ahead and kept at cool room temperature, wrapped well in plastic wrap, or 2 weeks ahead and frozen, wrapped well in plastic wrap and foil. Defrost cake layers (without unwrapping) at room temperature.
• Make ganache:
• In a small saucepan bring cream just to a boil. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, butter, zest, and liqueur. Let ganache stand 3 minutes and whisk until chocolate is melted. Chill ganache just until cool, about 40 minutes.
• In a bowl with an electric mixer beat ganache just until light and fluffy before using (do not overbeat or it will become grainy).
• Assemble cake:
• Put one 9-inch layer on 8-inch cardboard round and spread evenly with 2 cups ganache. Top with remaining 9-inch layer and gently press layers together to form an even tier. Put one 7-inch layer on 6-inch cardboard round and top with remaining ganache and remaining 7-inch layer in same manner.
• Frost top and sides of 9-inch tier with some buttercream and chill while frosting 7-inch tier. Chill both tiers until buttercream is firm.
• Cut straws in half and insert 1 straw piece all the way into center of 9-inch tier. Trim straw flush with top of tier and insert remaining 5 straw pieces in same manner in a circle about 1 1/2 inches from center straw. Center 7-inch tier (still on cardboard) on top of 9-inch tier. Fill in any gaps between tiers with buttercream and transfer cake to a cake stand or platter. Chill cake at least 6 hours and up to 1 day.
• Arrange fraises des bois and roses decoratively on top and around sides of cake. Let cake stand at cool room temperature (buttercream is sensitive to warm temperatures) 2 to 4 hours before serving. Serves about 30 (including top tier).
• Preparing The Orange Buttercream:
• Make orange curd:
• In a small heavy saucepan whisk together yolks and sugar and whisk in orange juice, butter, and a pinch salt. Cook mixture over moderately low heat, whisking, until it just reaches boiling point, 5 to 7 minutes (do not let boil), and strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Whisk in lemon juice and cool curd, its surface covered with plastic wrap. Chill orange curd, covered, until cold, at least 4 hours, and up to 2 days.
• Make buttercream:
• In a heavy saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil syrup, undisturbed, until it registers 248° F. on a candy thermometer. While syrup is boiling, in large bowl of a standing electric mixer beat whites with a pinch salt until foamy and beat in cream of tartar. Beat whites until they just hold stiff peaks and beat in hot syrup in a stream (try to avoid beaters and side of bowl). Beat mixture at medium speed until completely cool, 15 to 20 minutes. Beat in butter, 1 piece at a time, and beat until thickened and smooth. (Buttercream will at first appear very thin and at some point look like it is breaking but, as more butter is beaten in, it will thicken and become glossy and smooth.) Beat in orange curd, salt, and zest until smooth. Buttercream may be made 4 days ahead and chilled in an airtight container or 2 weeks ahead and frozen in an airtight container. Bring buttercream completely to room temperature (this may take several hours if frozen) and beat before using. (If buttercream is too cold when beaten it will not be glossy and smooth.) Makes about 8 cups.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Generously spray bottom only of 8- or 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray (without flour).
• In large bowl, beat cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
• Bake 43 to 48 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around edge of pan to loosen cake; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, in 1-quart heavy saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in orange juice, 1/4 cup water and the egg yolks. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Cook and stir 1 minute longer. Remove from heat; stir in 2 tablespoons butter and the orange peel. Transfer filling to small bowl. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes.
• In medium bowl, place chocolate. In 1-quart saucepan, heat whipping cream and 4 teaspoons butter over medium heat until butter melts and mixture boils. Pour cream mixture over chocolate; stir until smooth. Cool 10 minutes or until room temperature.
• Split cake horizontally to make 2 layers. On cut side of bottom layer, spread filling; cover with top layer. Pour glaze over top of cake; spread glaze to edge of cake and allow to drizzle down side of cake. Store in refrigerator.

Steps:

• Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth. Stir in the rum if desired.
• Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake. Start at the center of the cake and work outward. For a fluffy frosting or chocolate filling, allow it to cool until thick, then whip with a whisk until light and fluffy.