Chocolate Ganache Buttercrunch Cake

There are some recipes that are just special. Maybe because they’re handed down from generation to generation, maybe they are so yummy you rarely make it to keep from eating the entire batch, or maybe the recipe is just entirely too time consuming to make very often.  This Chocolate Ganache Toffee Cake falls into those last two categories. I have to budget for about 10 extra miles in my tennis shoes when I make it and about 2 days cooking time. But, if you ever have a big favor to ask someone (like a kidney or something) this is the cake to bring. It’ll also make someone feel oh-so-special if you make it just for them.

How good IS this cake? Well, at the baby shower this cake was made for, people actually ate it after it had fallen on the floor. Now, now, I’m not an awful hostess like that! I gave fair warning about this scrumptious piece and let them decide if it was worth the risk. The tea cart it was on lost a wheel and dumped the cake and the cake stand on the floor. Luckily, the cake was still cold and cutting the back side of the cake off that came anywhere near the floor saved the rest of it. But still. After a taste, people went back for seconds and thirds!

As for the chocolate cake part of this recipe, I have given up trying to make/create my own perfect chocolate cake recipe as I have not found one that is better in any way than Ina Garten’s Beatty’s Chocolate Cake. It’s a dream, and takes all sorts of frostings equally well.

Chocolate Ganache Toffee Cake

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Ingredients

  

• 2 9- inch round chocolate cakes
• Toffee:
• Chocolate Ganache Filling:
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 24 ounces good quality dark chocolate chopped
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups finely chopped toffee

Instructions

 

• Bake chocolate cakes, set aside to cool.
• To Make Filling:
• Place cream in a medium saucepan and heat until just before it boils, about 5 minutes. Place chopped chocolate in a food processor and pour in hot cream, processing until the chocolate is completely melted. Turn off the processor, then add the butter and vanilla. Pulse until incorporated. Transfer chocolate to bowl of electric mixer. Chill until slightly stiff; about an hour in the refrigerator or two hours on the counter. Whip the filling with an electric mixer until lightened, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Place 1 1/2 cups of filling to the side to frost the top of the cake. Add the chopped toffee to the the remaining filling and mix until combined to use for the filling and sides of the cake.
• To Make Toffee:
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
• Vegetable oil for pan
• Oil a cookie sheet and set aside. Combine sugar, butter, and 4 ½ tablespoons water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook while stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 300 degrees, about 16 minutes. A candy thermometer is highly recommended!
• Once the mixture reaches 300 degrees, immediately pour onto cookie sheet, spreading evenly. Let stand until completely cool and hardened.
• Tap the cooled toffee with a spoon to crack into pieces. Save about a third of the toffee pieces to decorate the sides of the cake with.
• Assembly:
• Top one of the chocolate cake layers with 1 cup of the toffee ganache filling. Place second cake layer on top. Cover the sides of the cake with the remaining filling. Spread the plain filling on top of the cake.
• Place the cracked toffee around the sides of the cake until completely covered. Decorate the top as desired.