Vanilla cake + a chocolate filling is a very underrated combo in my opinion. They taste amazing together, but I don’t see them together that often.
I’ve had a few people tell me to make more simple, basic recipes, Which I get, not everyone wants a 23 step recipe.
For me personally, the more steps there are, the more excited I get, but I get it. So I felt like this was a pretty simple cake to make, and it also doesn’t take too long!
Video Tutorial
A few tips on making the cakes
Beat the butter, oil and sugar together
The first thing you’re going to do when making the cake batter is beat the butter, oil, sugar and vanilla together.
If you have an electric mixer, beat them together on medium-high speed for 5 minutes. You will notice that the mixture will look fluffier than before.
This step just helps you get a fluffier, softer cake.
If you don’t have an electric mixer, that’s fine, I make this by hand all the time. Just aggressively whisk them together for as long as you can. You don’t have to do the full 5 minutes, but do it for at least 1 minute.
Adjust the baking time
I used two 6 inch cake tins to make this cake. I use 6 inch cake tins for pretty much all of my cakes, I feel like it’s the perfect size.
However, if you only have 7 or 8 inch cake tins, those work too. Your cake layers will just be a little thinner, so they will probably need less time in the oven.
Just keep an eye on them, they’re done when the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out of the centre clean.
This isn’t one of those cakes that will get ruined if you open the oven door too early so don’t worry!
Take them out of the tins whiles they’re warm
For most cakes I usually just let them cool in the tins completely before taking them out. But with my vanilla cake, I’ve realised that they come out of the tins way better when they’re still a little warm.
So when they’re baked, I recommend leaving them to cool down for 10 minutes, then take them out of the tins,then leave them to cool completely.
Whipping the ganache
For the filling for this, I made a ganache. This was actually the first thing I made, I left it in the fridge to set, then once the cakes were baked and cooled, I then whipped the ganache.
If you’ve never had whipped ganache YOU HAVE BEEN MISSING OUT. It’s sooo good, I love it. It’s like eating fluffy chocolate….thats the only way I know how to describe it.
As the name suggests, all you are doing is whipping a ganache that has set. I use an electric hand mixer to do this, you just want to whip it until the ganache lightens in colour and almost doubles in volume!
Do I have to use dark chocolate?
I always make ganache with dark chocolate, I like the taste of dark choclate but I know a lot of peole dont.
You can make it with milk or white chocolate too. Just make sure to half the amount of cream if you are going to use milk or white chocolate. So instead of 200ml of double cream, use 100ml instead.
Milk and white chocolate have more milk solids than dark. So if you add the same amount of cream, the ganache will just end up too runny!
Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
- For the ganache:
200g dark chocolate
25g unsalted butter
200ml double cream
- For the cake:
125g softened unsalted butter
125ml any flavourless oil (I use vegetable)
250g granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
250g self-raising flour
50ml warm milk
Directions
- Making the ganache:
- Add the chocolate, butter and cream into a bowl and put this into your microwave for 30 seconds.
- Take this out, stir it, then put it back into the microwave for 15 seconds this time. Now take it out and stir again. Keep repeating this until all the chocolate has melted and you get a smooth mixture.
- Leave this in the fridge to set.
- Making the cake:
- Start by pre-heating your oven to 170c/325f. Also grease and line two 6 inch cake tins.
- Add the butter, oil, sugar and vanilla into a bowl and beat these together, on high speed, for 5 minutes. If you're making this by hand, just whisk them for as long as you can.
- Add in 2 of the eggs, whisk, then add the remaining 2 eggs. Now add the flour and milk then whisk until you get a smooth batter.
- Divide this batter between the 2 cake tins, then bake them for around 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Once they're baked, leave them to cool for 10 minutes. Then take them out of the tins and leave them to cool completely.
- Putting the cake together:
- Once the cakes have cooled and the ganache has set, you can put everything together.
- Whip the ganache until it lightens in colour and almost doubles in volume. Also at this point, if you want to cut the tops of the cakes off so that you get even layers, you can.
- Add a layer of cake down onto a cake board or plate, add some ganache over this and smooth it out. Add the second layer of cake on top of it, then add some ganache on top.
- I recommend leaving this in the fridge just for about 10 minutes so that the ganache can set up a little, but then cut into it and enjoy!
It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly donate to this outstanding blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to new updates and will talk about this website with my Facebook group. Chat soon!
Author
Ahh I’m so glad you like it!
If I dont have a self raising flour??? How much baking powder or baking soda should I add?? Please
Author
2 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder will work best!