Bourbon-Chocolate Cake

By yollymg

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 1 cup butter
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. saIt
• Chocolate Ganache
• Praline Frosting
• Bourbon Glaze
• -
• 1 . Grease bottoms of 3 (8-inch)
• round cake pans; line with wax paper.
• Grease and flour wax paper and sides
• of pans; set pans aside.
• -
• 2 . Cook first 3 ingredients in a
• saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly,3 to 5 minutes or until butter melts and mixture is smooth; remove from heat, and let cool.
• -
• 3 . Beat buttermilk and next 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add butter
• mixture to buttermilk mixture, beating
• until blended. Combine sugar, flour, and salt; gradually add to buttermilk
• mixture, beating until blended.(Batter will be thin.) Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.
• -
• 4 . Bake at 350F. for 25 to 28 minutes
• or until a wooden pick inserted into
• centers comes out clean. Cool in
• pans on wire racks 10 minutes.
• Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. (Cake layers
• will appear thin.)
• -
• 5 . Spread about 1/2 cup Chocolate
• Ganache between each cake layer;
• spread remaining Chocolate Ganache on sides of cake. (Do not frost top of cake.) Chill cake 30 minutes. Pour warm Praline Frosting slowly Over
• top of cake, spreading to edges.
• (Cover and let stand up to 24 hours,
• if desired.)
• -
• 6 . Pierce about 25 holes in top of cake using a wooden or metal skewer. Pour warm Bourbon Glaze over cake.
• -
• Chocolate Ganache:
• 2 cups (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate
• morsels
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
• 1 . Microwave chocolate morsels and
• cream in a glass bowl on MEDIUM
• (50% power) 2 to 3 minutes or until
• morsels are melted, stirring after
• l 1/2 minutes; whisk until smooth.
• Gradually add butter, whisking until
• smooth. Cool about 35 minutes or
• until spreading consistency, whisking
• every 10 minutes.
• -
• Praline Frosting:
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp. whipping cream
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• -
• 1 . Bake pecans on a baking sheet at
• 350 F. for 15 minutes or until golden
• brown, stirring once.
• -
• 2 . Bring butter, brown sugar, and
• cream to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan
• over medium heat, stirring often;
• boil, stirring often, 1minute. Remove
• from heat, and whisk in powdered
• sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add
• toasted pecans; stir gently 3 min or until frosting begins to cool and thicken slightly.
• -
• Bourbon Glaze:
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup bourbon
• -
• 1 . Melt 4 Tbsp, butter in a skillet over medium-high heat; stir in sugar,
• brown sugar,and vanilla. Cook,stirring constantly, 1 minute. Remove skillet from heat, and stir in bourbon. Carefully ignite the fumes just above
• liquid mixture with a long match or
• long multipurpose lighter. Let stand until flames disappear.
• -

Preparation

Step 1

Chocolate Ganache: makes 2 1/2 cups

Praline Frosting: makes 3/4 cups

Bourbon Glaze: makes 1 cup