Sinfully Good Mini Chocolate Ganache Cakes

These Mini Chocolate Ganache Cakes are the perfect personal-sized cakes for any occasion. This recipe makes three mini two-layer, 3 ½-inch chocolate ganache cake with whipped ganache frosting and a ganache glaze; top it with raspberries to complete the look.

Techniques

• Blooming Cocoa Powder
• Ganache
• Incorporating Air
• Frosting Cake Layers

How it Works

Blooming Cocoa Powder

“Blooming” is a technique used in baking to evenly disperse and intensify the flavor of the cocoa powder. Cocoa is a hydrophobic ingredient; meaning it opposes water. The fat-coated particles in the cocoa powder cause these hydrophobic tendencies. This prevents the cocoa powder from being dissolved in water or milk.

In the simplest of terms, you can “bloom” your cocoa powder by adding a hot liquid (usually water, milk, or melted butter) and thoroughly mixing. The hot liquid dissolves the fat and allows the cocoa powder to suspend in the hot water. This process intensifies the flavor of the cocoa.

Ganache

Ganache is a versatile mixture of chocolate and cream. It is made by adding hot cream to chocolate and stirring to create an emulsion (a mixture of ingredients that normally would not mix). Ganache can be used as a glaze or cooled and whipped to create a frosting. This recipe includes both a ganache glaze and a ganache frosting.

Incorporating Air

This recipe incorporates air in two different ways. The first is in the batter. Incorporating air by beating the batter creates a lighter and fluffier cake. Once air has been incorporated, you want to be careful not to disturb the batter too much; this can decrease the air in the batter.

The second way this is used is in the ganache frosting. Incorporating air with a hand mixer into cooled ganache completely transforms the texture from a thick and viscous mixture to a fluffy, whipped frosting.

Frosting Cake Layers

Frosting cake layers can be a frustrating process. Have you been in a situation where you’re frosting your cake and the surface crumbs start lifting from the cake, causing an unappealing look?

This is a common problem and you’ll find thousands of articles and Reddit posts of people asking: How do I stop getting crumbs in my frosting? The answer is relatively simple but important. You need to cool your cake layers. Cooling the cake layers firms up the cake and prevents the crumbs from lifting.

What you Need for Mini Chocolate Ganache Cake

• Flour: I use all-purpose flour for this recipe.
• Butter: I prefer salted butter in almost all of my baking. But, you can use unsalted or sweet cream butter with similar results.
• Cocoa Powder
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate: You can use either a bar of semi-sweet chocolate and chop or semi-sweet chocolate chips.
• Heavy Cream
• Hot Water
• Sugar
• Espresso Powder: The addition of this bitter ingredient helps to deepen the cocoa flavor allowing for a richer cake.
• Eggs: This recipe asks for two eggs, however, I’ve also tested this with one egg and the results were a lighter and crumblier cake. If you are making cupcakes or a single-layer cake with this recipe, I recommend only using one egg.
• Vanilla Extract
• Salt
• Hand Mixer
• Parchment Paper
• Cooling Rack
• 3 1/2 inch Circle Cookie Cutter: You can substitute this for a small bowl or ramekin if needed.
• 13″ x 9″ Baking Pan

How to Make Mini Chocolate Ganache Cakes

Chocolate Cake

In a medium bowl, add sugar, espresso powder, and cocoa powder. Whisk until the cocoa powder is evenly dispersed in the sugar. The sugar will help to disperse the cocoa powder and make it easier to dissolve in hot water.

Now you’ll “Bloom” the cocoa powder by adding the hot water to the cocoa mixture and whisking for 1-3 minutes. This will intensify the chocolate flavor and fully disperse the cocoa.

In a large bowl, add flour, salt, and baking soda. Whisk until fully incorporated. I recommend whisking for an extra minute or two past when you think it’s dispersed.

Transfer the cocoa mixture to the large bowl. Add melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and heavy cream and beat for 3-5 minutes until the batter forms soft peaks. If you are making cupcakes or a single-layer cake, then I recommend only adding one egg. This will achieve a lighter, more crumbly cake. Adding a second egg strengthens the cake’s structure for the second layer.

Pour batter into a 13” by 9” baking sheet and gently spread the batter, so it evenly covers the pan. Give the pan one gentle shake to help even out the batter. Any more than one gentle shake will allow the incorporated air to escape the batter.

Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes. Check the cake with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean, then your cake is ready.

Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then flip onto a cooling rack. Allow the cake to cool on the rack for an hour. You can begin making the Ganache Frosting during this time.

Transfer the cake to a piece of parchment paper and use a 3 1/2 inch circle cookie cutter to cut out 6 circles. Wrap the circles in plastic wrap and let cool for 45 minutes. Do not skip this chilling step, it makes it much easier to frost the cake layers and prevents crumbs from lifting when frosting.

Save the cake scraps for cake pops, just add a tablespoon of leftover Ganache Frosting and mix. Roll into balls and dip into melted chocolate (Do not dip in the Ganache Glaze, the Glaze does not harden enough for the coating on cake pops).

Whipped Ganache Frosting

Finely chop the semi-sweet chocolate. If you are using chocolate chips, you can skip this step. Then transfer the chopped chocolate to a medium bowl.

Microwave heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl for 2 minutes. 

Pour heavy cream onto the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate has completely melted. If your chocolate isn’t smooth, allow the mixture to sit for a minute or two, then continue stirring. 

Let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then, let chill in the refrigerator for an hour. You don’t want to shock the Ganache by chilling it down too quickly.

Use a hand mixer to whip the cooled Ganache Frosting until stiff peaks form. This should take 2-3 minutes.

Assemble the Cake

Remove the cake layers from the fridge and frost the bottom layers with a thick layer of frosting. You can use a piping bag or just frost using a spatula. I like there to be about a centimeter of frosting between layers.

Carefully add the second layer of cake on top and use a knife or spatula to fill in any gaps between the two layers.

Ganache Glaze

Finely chop the semi-sweet chocolate and transfer it to a bowl or liquid measuring cup.

Microwave heavy cream for 2 minutes and add the heavy cream to the semi-sweet chocolate.

Stir the chocolate mixture until all the chocolate has melted, and the mixture is smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes.

Glaze the Cake

Place the cakes on a cooling rack with a piece of parchment paper underneath the rack. Pour the glaze onto the two-layered cake, starting in the middle and working your way toward the edges. The extra glaze should drip off the rack and onto the parchment paper.

Allow to cool and finish with fresh raspberries.