Siren's Chocolate Cake ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

You will hear the Siren calling to you to come and get a slice or 

two of this amazing chocolate cake paired with raspberries

The Cake Slice Bakers are baking through Little Everyday Cakes by Candace Floyd in 2021. This is our fifth month of baking through this book, which focuses on recipes for smaller cakes. Smaller cakes mean that you are able to, in most cases, consume them in a day or two. 

We are are a group of dedicated bakers who all love cake. Each year we choose a new cake-centric cookbook and bake our way through it. Every month we are given 3 choices and on the 20th day of each month we reveal what we have chosen on our blogs. This month's choices were Siren's Chocolate Cake, Peanut Butter Snack Cake and Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Coconut Streusel. I can't ever pass up a cake that has chocolate and raspberry, so the Siren's Chocolate Cake just called to me.

I opted to pass on the Raspberry Wine Coulis that accompanies the Siren's Chocolate Cake recipe in the book. What can I say, I just wasn't feeling it.  Instead I opted to fill my cake with some raspberry jam and then a layer of fresh raspberries.

This cake is very similar to the Mexican Chocolate Cake that I made last month. It is a slightly different technique when mixing the ingredients, but the result is very similar.  And of course it has that amazing Chocolate Ganache Frosting that I raved about last month - seriously you can and I did - eat it with a spoon. Or on a spoon with a raspberry topped with frosting which I also did. I have no regrets.

Siren's Chocolate Cake

Printer Friendly Recipe

Ingredients

Cake ~

• 150g (1½ cups) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 55g (2 ounces) butter
• 55g (2 ounces) unsweetened chocolate
• 1 egg
• 170 ml (¾ cup) buttermilk
• 200g (1 cup) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache Frosting ~

• 230g (8 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 340 ml (1½ cups) heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Cake ~

1. Make ganache as it requires time to cool (see instructions below).
2. Preheat oven to 180℃ (350℉).
3. Spray two 15.25cm (6 inch) round cake pans with baking spray.
4. Line pans with parchment paper, and spray parchment paper with baking spray; set aside.
5. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
6. Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler over barely simmering water.
7. In a large bowl combine the egg and the buttermilk, and using an electric mixer, beat at medium until blended.
8. Add the sugar and vanilla, and beat until blended.
9. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, beating until just blended.
10. Pour in the chocolate mixture, and beat until blended.
11. Pour batter into the prepared pans and smooth the tops.
12. Bake cakes for 25-28 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
13. Run a small knife around the inside of the pans, then place the pans on a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
14. Remove the cakes from the pans, and return them top side up, to the rack to cool completely.
15. Place one layer on a cake plate and frost with Chocolate Ganache. 
16. Place the second layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting ~

1. Place the chocolate chips in a mixing bowl.
2. Heat the cream in a saucepan just until bubbles begin to form around the edges.
3. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and let stand 10 minutes.
4. Whisk the mixture until the chips are completely melted and mixture is smooth.
5. Let cool completely (refrigerate to speed up cooling process if needed).
6. When mixture is cool, beat with an electric mixer on high-speed until fluffy.
7. Beat in the vanilla.

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is Little Everyday Cakes by Candace Floyd. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.

It is a new year and a new book - Little Everyday Cakes - and our choices for May 2021 were ~ 

Siren's Chocolate Cake

• All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• My Recipe Reviews
• Sweet Sensations

Peanut Butter Snack Cake

• Making Miracles
• A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Karen's Kitchen Stories
• A Little Bit of All Right

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Coconut Streusel

• Camille Cooks
• Amandie Bakes