John wanted to make this cake for dinner club and I told him that if he wanted it, he had to make it. But guess who made it? Me! I am overcoming my fear of cakes. This was a pretty easy cake to make.

Ingredients. Lots of sugar, butter, and heavy cream.


Batter, pre-cooked. Please resist the urge to lick spoons.


Cake. Cool it completely on the rack. It was really moist and delicious on its own, but even better with the ganache and praline topping. Oh, the praline topping, so delicious.


Um, there were some other steps in there, but I didn't take pictures of them, evidently. So here's the finished product. So: chocolate cake, ganache, praline topping, raspberries and blueberries. The berries were John's idea.


Oh yeah. That's the stuff. Do you see the pecans? Kate and Sam taught us how to make out with raspberries. That was different.

What's that? You want to know if it was as delicious as it looks? It was. In fact, it was 137,000 times more delicious than it looks.

Chocolate Cake with Ganache and Praline Topping

From Bon Appetit

Cake

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, room temperature
• 1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ganache

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Praline

• 3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup pecans, toasted, chopped

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch cake pan with nonstick spray. Line with parchment. Spray parchment. Dust with flour, tapping out any excess.
2. Place butter and cocoa powder in medium bowl. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water over; stir. Let stand 2 minutes; whisk until blended. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and coarse salt in another medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk, egg, and vanilla in large bowl. Gradually whisk cocoa mixture into buttermilk mixture; whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, whisking to blend between additions (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Run knife around pan edges to release cake. Invert onto rack; remove pan and parchment. Cool completely.
   

Ganache

1. Place chocolate and cream in microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Stir in butter. Let stand until spreadable, about 30 minutes. Spread over top and sides of cake. Transfer cake to plate. Chill 2 hours and up to 1 day.
   

Praline

1. Stir first 3 ingredients in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat until butter melts. Boil 1 minute without stirring. Remove from heat; whisk in sugar and vanilla. Add pecans; stir just to incorporate. Quickly pour praline over cake. Spread just to edges (topping sets quickly). DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome. Store at room temperature.