It's Elspeth's birthday coming up and she has requested a chocolate cake. I can't remember now what I made for her third birthday (terrible mother that I am), but I know I made chocolate zucchini bread in a Bundt pan for her 2nd birthday. For her 4th birthday, I'm going to do it in a 9x13 pan and add some chocolate frosting, at her request.
My friend Valerie inspired another family favorite dessert, a type of parfait that layers chocolate cake with tart cherries, whipped cream, and chocolate ganache and accented with slivered almonds. I thought the ganache would be a great, easy frosting for my buttercream-hating daughter and should also work well for the rocket ship stencil I plan to attempt. (The rocket will be done in rainbow sprinkles). The zucchini cake already uses chocolate chips, so I can just use the rest of the package in the ganache.
Valerie really likes the Joy of Cooking (I'm more of a Fannie Farmer girl myself), so I use their recipe in her honor. It's also a good one. Valerie is the one that tipped me off that I could use chocolate chips for this. I like Trader Joe's semisweet ones.
INGREDIENTS
3/4 c heavy cream
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
1 TBSP liqueur (optional--might be good for texture, but I never use it)
DIRECTIONS
My friend Valerie inspired another family favorite dessert, a type of parfait that layers chocolate cake with tart cherries, whipped cream, and chocolate ganache and accented with slivered almonds. I thought the ganache would be a great, easy frosting for my buttercream-hating daughter and should also work well for the rocket ship stencil I plan to attempt. (The rocket will be done in rainbow sprinkles). The zucchini cake already uses chocolate chips, so I can just use the rest of the package in the ganache.
Valerie really likes the Joy of Cooking (I'm more of a Fannie Farmer girl myself), so I use their recipe in her honor. It's also a good one. Valerie is the one that tipped me off that I could use chocolate chips for this. I like Trader Joe's semisweet ones.
INGREDIENTS
3/4 c heavy cream
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
1 TBSP liqueur (optional--might be good for texture, but I never use it)
DIRECTIONS
- Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan big enough to add the chocolate
- Take the pan off the heat and stir in the chocolate chips, stirring until the chocolate is nearly all melted
- Cover mixture and let sit for 10 minutes
- Stir the mixture until very smooth
- Stir in liqueur if using
- If using for frosting, let sit until spreadable, then use as desired. This can also be used as a pouring glaze. If doing that, don't let it sit so long before using
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