Chocolate Cake by Dave Lieberman

Happy Labor Day everyone! It's another long weekend and I'm spending it with much gusto. Short breaks such as this, is an opportunity to be had. It's actually a welcome respite from the usual busy weekdays. I had so much time to kill today that I thought of consuming it well in the kitchen. Hence, as usual, I rummaged through some cookbooks and my wandering eyes led me to Dave Lieberman's Dave's Dinners. As I perused his cookbook,  his Chocolate Cake recipe instantly caught my curiousity. He named it his Best Chocolate Cake Ever. Need he say more? Of course, that's more than enough reason to give it a whip. So here's how my take on his recipe turned out.

Overall, indeed it's chocolatey. However, I was expecting for a more decadent cake. It's moist but I was looking for something more. Maybe because I used a low fat yogurt instead of a full-fat one. Other than that, I still enjoyed a scrumptious nibble out of this cake.

What you need:

Cake:

3 large eggs

1 cup full fat yogurt

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

1 cup hot water

Ganache:

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips (I used Hershey's)

How to make:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and yogurt. Beat in the melted butter and vanilla. Gradually beat in the sugar until fully incorporated.

3. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder baking soda, and salt until homogenous.

4. Mix the dry ingredients into the previously prepared batter in two steps alternating with the hot water and end with the dry ingredients.

5. Divide the batter between two 9-inch non stick round cake pans. Bake for 25 mins, until set. Allow to cool completely.

6. Make the ganache. Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan and remove from heat. Add the chocolate chips and whisk until dissolved into the cream and the mixture is creamy and thick. Allow to cool.

7. Put one layer of the cake onto a serving plate and pour half of the ganache on top of it. Cover with the other layer of cake and pour the remaining ganache on top. Smoothen the surface. Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour for it to set. Using a fork, make a swirl on top of the ganache before serving for an added appeal.