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Chocolate Cake

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups good cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk (shaken)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot coffee

Chocolate Buttercream

• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1 extra-large egg yolk (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoon hot coffee

Chocolate Ganache

• 9 ounces bittersweet (or semisweet) chocolate
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon rum or almond extract or vanilla extract or pretty much any other flavor you like (I add raspberry and orange juice instead of extracts) *optional

Instructions: To make the cake batter, combine all dry ingredients in one bowl and stir until combined. Combine all wet ingredients in another, and beat until mixed. Add the wet mixture to the dry bowl gradually while mixing. Voilà, cake batter!

For the buttercream icing, you can either start with a block of chocolate and chop it, or you can use a bag of Ghirardelli (or some other brand) semisweet chocolate chips. (I recommend the Ghiradelli chocolate chips: they’re delicious, they melt well, and their chip format doesn’t require chopping.) So whatever chocolate you use, melt it by putting it in one pot and holding it over another pot of boiling water. The idea is you’re faking a double-boiler. You don’t want to heat the chocolate over an open flame, because it will burn, so you heat it over boiling water instead. When it’s consistently smooth, set it aside to let it cool a bit.

In a separate bowl, beat the butter with a mixer until fluffy. The butter should be room temperature, or this is going to be hard. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar. Make sure you scrape the edges of the bowl, continue beating, and your mixture should start looking smooth and creamy. Now add the coffee and the chocolate gradually. Mix until blended. Voilà, buttercream!

Finally, the chocolate ganache! Put your Ghirardelli chips or your chopped chocolate into a pot and melt it just like you did for the icing, fake double-boiler style. Now slowly add the heavy cream. Now add flavoring or smushed fruit or whatever else you want. I usually make a sort of boiled down raspberries, orange juice, and sugar syrup and add that. Stir until smooth, remove from heat and let cool, and… voilà, ganache!

To make the cupcakes, fill the little paper cupcake cups (cupcake cups? Is there a better term?) halfway full of batter. Then drop a little ganache into the middle. Cover the ganache with more batter, so the cupcake cups are about three-fourths full. Bake them at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes. Remove, let cool, and frost with buttercream icing. If you feel fancy, add a raspberry, cherry, or half a strawberry on top .

Alternatively, you can make a cake. Pour the batter into two eight-inch round cake pans (greased and floured along the edges, parchment paper circle at the bottom) and bake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes. Layer the ganache in between the layers and frost with buttercream icing.