How many more days?

"So how many more days do you have left in school?" This is the big question. It's under ten now, so I feel that I can talk about it without jinxing it with a snow day. Believe me, even teachers want out come June (okay, May). As much as I have loved working at my new school it's nice to start thinking about staying up late, being able to sleep in, not correcting papers, not making tests, not responding to annoying emails or phone calls, not having to listen to excuses for lost homework (or books, or calculators), being able to eat lunch at a normal time, and being able to go to the bathroom when you need to! So, yes, I am looking forward to my summer vacation!

My mother-in-law's birthday was today. We celebrated with family and even got some shoe shopping in! She requested a chocolate cake with white frosting. I searched around for a new recipe and spiced it up a bit. This one was from an episode of $40 a day with Rachel Ray, when she was visiting Santa Barbara. It looked so good, I knew I had to try it. It's very rich, so only a small piece is necessary. 14 of us only finished half of this towering cake, Food Network says 6 servings...who are those 6 people?!?









Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting and Chocolate Ganache

adapted from foodnetwork.com
Cake:

3 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
3 eggs
2 2/3 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/8 cups cocoa powder

Chocolate Ganache Filling:
9 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
6 cups confectioners' sugar
2 cup butter
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons whipping cream

Chocolate Ganache Topping:
9 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)

Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 3 (9-inch) cake pans with non-stick spray.

In the bowl of an electric mixer on low speed, combine the brown sugar and oil. Mix in the eggs. Let the sugar, oil, and eggs mix while sifting together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Set this mixture aside.









In another small bowl, mix the vanilla into the milk and set this aside as well. Bring the water to a boil and pour over the cocoa and whisk it until it is smooth.
To the egg mixture, alternately add the flour mixture and the milk mixture beginning and ending with flour, scraping  down the sides of the bowl after each addition. With the mixture at a low speed add the cocoa. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pour this mixture into the prepared cake pans.




Bake the cake for approximately 25 minutes or until tester comes out clean. When cake layers have cooled, remove from pans and refrigerate until cold.











Chocolate Ganache Filling:
 Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chocolate chips, and whisk until smooth. Stir in the rum if desired.








Allow the ganache to cool until thick, then whip with a whisk or electric mixer until light and fluffy. Spread a layer of this on two cake layers. Refrigerate until vanilla buttercream is ready.










Vanilla Buttercream:
In an electric mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading.














Spread over the chocolate ganache filling and assemble cake layers. Frost the entire cake and refrigerate for 10 to 20 minutes.















Chocolate Ganache Topping:
Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chocolate chips, and whisk until smooth. Stir in the rum if desired.








Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake.Refrigerate for 20 minutes or longer.

















Serve the cake cold or allow it to come to room temperature before serving