Sunday, June 7, 2009

Tres Leches Marble Cake with Strawberries and Chocolate Ganache

I made this cake for my sister's birthday. It's definitely a special occassion cake, but worth every calorie!

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 egg whites
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
1/3 cup chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 pint strawberries
2 tablespoons sugar

Ganache:
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 12-oz. bag chocolate chips (I used bittersweet.)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2 8-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper. Butter parchment paper and dust it and sides of pan with flour.

In a medium size bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In mixer, cream butter until smooth, about a minute on medium speed. Add in sugar, and beat until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 more minutes. With mixer on medium low, add in egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in vanilla, and beat until mixture becomes cohesive and smooth, approximately 3-5 minutes.

With the mixer on low, add in a third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the milk and sour cream. Add in the next third of the flour mixture, the second half of the milk and sour cream, and finally, the last third of the flour mixture. Mix until just combined.

Remove a third of the batter and place in a medium bowl. Sift in cocoa powder and pour in melted chocolate. Gently fold together. Divide white batter evenly among pans and drop chocolate batter by the spoonfuls, and swirl with knife. Tap pans on counter to remove any bubbles.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then move to a cooling rack. Remove cakes from pans. Peel off parchment paper and put the paper rounds back into the pans. When cakes have completely cooled, cut off the tops of the cake with a serrated knife. Return the cakes to the pan with the cut sides up.

Mix condensed milk, regular milk and cream together in a large glass measuring cup. Pour evenly over the tops of both cakes. Cover and refrigerate cakes for 6 hours or overnight.

Reserve 4-5 strawberries for garnish on top of cake. Slice the rest of the strawberries and mix in 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Place three pieces of parchment paper on serving plate. Place the first layer, cut side up on the serving plate. Layer the strawberries on top of the cake, and then top with the second layer, cut side down.

In a microwaveable medium size bowl, heat cream until it just boils, approximately 30-60 seconds. Immediately stir in chocolate chips and let stand for one minute. Add vanilla and honey, and whisk until smooth and shiny. If lumps remain, microwave mixture for an additional 20 seconds, and whisk again.

Pour ganache over the top of the cake using an offset spatula to spread over the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until set. Run pairing knife around the bottom of the cake to release the ganache from the parchment paper. Remove the parchment paper. Garnish top of cake with halved strawberries, and serve.

--Adapted from the blog, Sophistimom

1 comment:

E. said...

How much sugar is supposed to be mixed in with the butter? I think it got left off the ingredients list