Birthday cake for my son

A Hershey’s and Hellman’s chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and buttercream frosting.

A good stand mixer is worth its weight.

I always store cocoa in ziplocks, because of the ill fitting lids and impossibility of proper cleanup.

Recipe:
3 cups of flour, 1 cup cocoa, 2t baking soda, 1/2t baking powder, 2 1/2 cups sugar, 6 eggs, 1 1/2t vanilla, 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise, 2 cups water

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and baking powder together.

Accurate measurements are important in baking.

Beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla together, and least for 3 minutes, preferably more.

Add the mayonnaise and combine.

Get it fluffy!

Add the flour and water, alternating so that the flour mixture goes in first and last. Mixture, 1 cup water, mixture, 1 cup water, mixture. Combine very well at each step.

When pouring the water, a skewer works as a pouring spout nicely.

Scrape down the sides frequently.

I prefer to use actual shortening when flouring and greasing the pans, and I use cocoa instead of flour when working with chocolate.

The cocoa is a pain to clean, so work with it over a sink.

Properly protected pans. The cakes will pop out nicely.

Fill the pans 2/3rds full, and tap the bubbles out.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, and check with a toothpick. If it doesn’t come out clean, bake for 5 more minutes, and repeat.

They’re done when a toothpick comes out clean. I forgot my oven has been running hot. I should have dropped the temp by 10F and cooked it longer.

Even the top with a knife or cake leveler.

For the ganache, you’ll need 9TB of coconut cream (don’t shake the can of coconut milk, and scoop out the floating thick cream). Heat till almost boiling.

Pour over 2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips. If it doesn’t melt properly, microwave for 1 minute.

Spread the ganache over the leveled bottom layer.

Put the top layer on upside down. That helps to make a nice even top.

Score an x into the top, and cut between two points. This method makes your round cake into a heart.

Stick it on with buttercream frosting (forgot to take pics of making the buttercream, but it’s 1 cup of softened butter, 1 cup shortening, 2t vanilla, 4 TB milk)

Squish the cake on. The frosting will hold it in place.

Do the other side.

Cover it on frosting, kinda thick. You’ll even it with the frosting knives next, and decorate. I couldn’t keep taking pics while making it, as it’s messy and you have to work kinda fast before the frosting dries out.