GUITTARD COM RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light.
• Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth.
• Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
• Drop by well-rounded teaspoonfuls (or cookie scoop) onto ungreased (I always use parchment paper) cookie sheets, spacing at least 2-inches apart.
• Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C. In a pan, bring 210ml water to a boil, turn off the heat and add the cocoa powder. Whisk until smooth, then set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. With a hand mixer, beat in the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. Add the cocoa mixture and blend until smooth. Divide the batter between the cake tins and let rest for 30mins at room temperature. Bake for 30-35 mins. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool.
• Line a baking tray with parchment paper and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Using a knife, loosen the sides of the cakes and flip onto a wire rack. Leave to cool for about 1 hr. Put the cakes on the sugared baking tray and chill for 1 hr until the cakes are completely cold.
• To make the ganache, put the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. Set aside. In a pan, bring the cream and syrup just to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Leave to stand for 3 mins, then whisk until the chocolate has melted. Add the butter and stir until combined. Pour the ganache into a shallow baking dish and let cool at room temperature until it is spreadable (at this point, you can wrap the ganache tightly in clingfilm and store at room temperature for up to 1 day.)
• To make the buttercream, melt the white chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Set aside. Put the sugar, egg whites and salt in a second heatproof bowl and set it over the simmering water. Whisk the sugar mixture continuously until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is thin and warm. Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Whisk the sugar mixture on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 mins, then turn the speed to low and mix until cool, about 10 mins. add the vanilla and butter on low speed. add the melted white chocolate, in 2 additions, continuing to blend on low, until combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the buttercream is smooth and shiny.
• To assemble, using a serrated knife, cut both cakes in half horizontally. Put one layer on a cake stand. Spread one third of the ganache on the cake. Repeat until you have 4 layers of cake. Chill the cake for 30 mins. Apply a “crumb coat” (or first layer) of buttercream by spreading half of the buttercream on the top and sides of the cake. You should be able to see some chocolate crumbs in the white frosting. Chill the cake for 15mins to firm up the buttercream. Use the remaining half of the buttercream to apply the final coat. This time you won’t see any chocolate crumbs. It should be completely white.