Hershey's Black Magic Cake
with Chocolate Ganache
MAKES ONE 8″ CAKE (16 SERVINGS) | LEVEL: BEGINNER
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This chocolate cake is so rich! And SO easy to make. I make it as a Bundt cake, but you can use this recipe to make a sheet cake in a rectangular pan, or pour it into round cake pans to make a layer cake. Ganache is also so easy to make – just 3 ingredients, and elevates this cake to a whole new level. I’m all for store-bought on certain things, but honestly, making homemade frosting or ganache is so easy, there’s no reason to ever have to turn to frosting in a can.
This recipe also makes about 18 cupcakes, and topped with cream cheese frosting, they’re amazing.
This chocolate cake makes for a perfect homemade birthday cake, or any occasion you need it for. Get creative with sprinkles, or add another chocolate element by melting white chocolate and drizzling that in a zig zag after you’ve poured on the ganache. No matter how you decorate it, I promise people will flip out when you serve it. Enjoy!
Hershey’s Black Magic Cake with Chocolate Ganache
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 16 servings 1x
Description
This chocolate cake topped with chocolate ganache will knock your socks off, and it’s SO easy to make! It makes for an excellent homemade birthday cake, or any other occasion. The espresso powder is the secret ingredient that puts it over the top.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk (1 tablespoon white vinegar with enough whole milk added to equal 1 cup)
2 cups sugar
1 cup strong black coffee or 2 teaspoons instant coffee or espresso powder + 1 cup boiling water, cooled
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
Chocolate Ganache:
8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 heavy cream
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules or espresso powder
Instructions
Make the cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease and flour a Bundt pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, blend sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. The batter will be thin.
4. Pour batter into the Bundt pan. Bake 50-55 minutes, 35-40 minutes if you’re using a rectangular pan, or 30-35 minutes in round pans. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick or cake tester — it should come out clean.
5. Allow the pan to cool on a wire rack until completely cool. Once cool, run a small silicone offset spatula, or a plastic knife around the edges to loosen from the pan. Place the plate, platter, or cardboard cake round (whatever your cake is going to rest on) over the top of pan and invert it to remove the cake from the pan. Move the cake to a platter before you pour on the ganache.
To make the ganache:
1. Make a double boiler. Fill a saucepan halfway with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. While the water is warming, place a heat-proof bowl over the saucepan (a stainless bowl works great for this). The bowl shouldn’t be touching the water.
2. To the bowl, add semisweet chocolate chips, heavy cream, and coffee granules. Stir continuously until the chocolate melts and until everything is melted and combined.
3. Pour the warm ganache over the top of the cake, using a spoon to guide the “drips” into the grooves of the Bundt cake. Don’t forget to add a few drips down the inside as well!
4. While ganache is warm, sprinkle with any kind of sprinkles you like, chocolate pearls, chocolate curls, or fresh berries. You could also serve this cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (especially if you’re serving it warm).
Notes
I’m a huge fan of Nordic Ware cake pans. (I’m a little obsessed with them, truth be told.) Their quality is spectacular and they make a huge selection of gorgeous Bundt pans in so many shapes that make your cakes look professional, needing very little to finish them off. I make this cake with their Platinum Collection Anniversary pan.
Be careful about using cooking spray on your baking pans. Sometimes the heat can cause the residue to permanently stick to the pan. For cake recipes that require you to butter and flour a cake pan, I highly recommend Baker’s Joy which allows you to spray and easily get into every detailed groove of the pan, with excellent results when it comes time to release the cake.
After scratching many a cake pan (not good), I started using a small, offset silicone/nylon spatula for loosening baked cakes from pans. It’s not the easiest tool to find anymore (I bought mine when working at Sur la Table, but I don’t think they carry it anymore.) A plastic knife would work well, too.
Another great discovery I made recently is a little thing called a funnel pitcher. It looks like a liquid measuring cup, but the nose is long and narrow and once I started using this for pouring the ganache over the cake, everything looked a whole lot neater than when I used the spoon.
Recommended tools and equipment: Nordic Ware Platinum Collection Anniversary Bundt Pan, Baker’s Joy, small silicone offset spatula, 10″ gold scalloped cardboard cake round, and funnel pitcher for pouring batter.
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 55 minutes