Chicken Farm Baker's Project # 30 : A Valentine’s Baking Treat for My Sweetheart, Devil food cake with Pink buttercream and Dark chocolate Ganache

Baking for someone is very special (well I mean "baking, itself), the feeling when you thinking about it, and the feeling when you making it, I think they are all important. So, for this month the Chicken farm members have an important project, we have to bake for the Valentine’s Day.

The host of this month (P'Chavee), want all of us to prepare ^^, so we have to think about it before hand.
I have a lot of ideas, well I love to bake and thinking about it make me happy, but when I really think about the people who will use the recipe on their special occasion, I had to revise it. 
For Valentine's day, baking for the one that we love, all I want is happiness, not a complicating recipe and too fussy decoration, I know that all the feeling that we have while making the treat will be packed in it too. I want a recipe that anyone can make it, and yes most of all delicious enough to share with the one that I love.
So after thinking about it for a while, I choose the devil food chocolate cake as a base for my cake, it's very easy to make, you don't have to be afraid about over mixing the batter (the batter is very watery), the cake is packed with a lot of chocolate that's very suitable for the Valentine's day and the last but most important thing is it's very delicious ^^.
For the decoration, I think Swiss meringue buttercream is a great option, because it's very predictable, and you don't need a thermometer like the Italian meringue (it's OK to beat it over the heat  and get it hotter than the recommended temperature, it's very forgivable). The Swiss meringue buttercream is as good as the Italian one and with a bit of shortening in the recipe, you will get the buttercream that's very easy to use and can stay in shape at room temperature.
And the last thing the ganache, it's the tastiest and easiest thing to make ^^, all you have to do is boiling the cream and stir in the chocolate and liqueur, that's all. The decoration for this cake is very easy too (I think I have too much of "easy" in this blog, haha), you just spread the buttercream over the cake, let it firm up for 3-4 hours (because the ganache will be pour over it, and if the buttercream is not firm enough they will mix up) and pour the delicious ganache over the cake. Then keep it refrigerate, but take it out of the fridge about half an hour (or 1 hours depend on your room temperature ^^). And be happy!!
I made these cakes in small cake pans, only 12 cm (about 5 inches), but if you don't have the small pans like me, just use 2-18 cm cake pans and increase a bit of baking time. Or, if you have the same size of pan, I really suggest you do do the same as me, make 1 (3layers) cake for the one that you love, share it with him or her and keep 1 layer cake for yourself to enjoy when you have a daydream ^^.

Devil food cake with Pink buttercream 

and Dark chocolate Ganache

Makes 2 (1 -3layers 12 cm cake and 1 single layer 12cm cake)

Devil Food Chocolate Cake
70g .................................. Unsweetened chocolate
70g .................................. Sour cream
15g .................................. Cocoa powder
1⅛ tsp ........................... Baking soda
170g ............................... Boiling water
112g ................................ Cake flour
¼ tsp ............................. Salt
2 ...................................... Eggs
1¼tsp ............................. Vanilla extract
85g .................................. Unsalted butter (soft)
216g ................................ Dark brown sugar


Swiss Meringue Buttercream
200g ............................... Unsalted butter
50g .................................. Shortening
200g ................................ Sugar
100g ................................ Egg whites
26g .................................. Corn syrup
......................................... A dash of salt
1tsp ............................. Vanilla extract
.........................................Pink food coloring


Kahlúa dark chocolate ganache
50g .................................. Dark chocolate ( 58%)
50g .................................. Whipping cream
1tbsp .............................. Kahlúa (or other brand of coffee-flavored liqueur)

......................................... M&M for decorating
Make the cake:
Preheat the oven  180°C 
Line 4 (12cm) cake pans with baking paper.
Sift together flour and salt together, set aside.
Melt the chocolate by placing the chocolate in the bowl over warm water.
Mix cocoa powder, baking soda and sour cream together, stir to combine, then slowly pour the boiling water and stir until combine, let the mixture cool before making the cake.
Beat the eggs with the vanilla extract.

 When ready, beat the butter and sugar together until light (about 3 minutes), add the melted chocolate, beat until fully combine.
Add the egg, beat to combine.

Using low speed add the flour to the butter in 3 parts, alternating with the liquid mixture. There should not be any lumps or dry pockets of flour remaining.

Divide the batter equally (about 210g/pan), bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes.

Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before taking out of the pan.

Let the layers cool before frosting it.

Dailydelicious note: Cake layers are very soft and fragile, be careful when taking them out of the pan.

Make the Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

 Stir the egg whites, sugar, and corn syrup in a bowl set over simmering water, until the instant read thermometer register 45°C  or about 3-4 minutes (you will see that most of the sugar melted).
Take out of the pan and whip with the hand mixer at high speed for 10 minutes or until the meringue is very thick and glossy.

 Beat the butter and shortening together until soft, add salt and 1/5 of butter into the meringue, beat to combine, then slowly add the rest of the butter (little by little), beat until fully combine, add the vanilla beat to combine.
Add the pink food coloring and beat until fully combine.


Assemble:

Place one cake layer and spread the buttercream over the top of the cake, top with second layers, spread the buutercream again, and top with the last layer. 

Spread the buttercream over the top and side of the cake, and refrigerate until the buttercream firm.


Make the Kahlúa dark chocolate ganache:

Put the whipping cream in a small pan, and place over low heat until boil.
As soon as the cream's boiling, take off the heat and pour the chocolate into the pan, stir until melt, then stir in the Kahlúa.
Pour the ganache over the cake and decorate with M&M, refrigerate until require, but best serve at room temperature and share it with the one that you love (or yourself, ^^).

Chicken Farm Baker's Project # 30 : 

A Valentine’s Baking Treat for My Sweetheart

All I want to say is "I love you"