Happy Birthday, beloved one, and God bless you!
Smitty has been under the weather, so I only have a couple of photos this week. I kept forgetting to stop and take pictures in the middle of baking!
The first order of business was making the ganache, because it has to cool for several hours. This particular recipe features both unsweetened and semisweet chocolate, combined with heavy cream and a little cornstarch.
But what really knocks it out of the park is the addition of cayenne pepper. I used a half teaspoon, aiming for the middle of the range recommended in the recipe.
My fellow Alpha Baker, Raymond, who blogs at Your Just Desserts, hates to wash the food processor, and doesn't use it when making ganache. (visit Raymong at https://yjdesserts.wordpress.com/) However, I am hopelessly dependent on my kitchen appliances and wouldn't know how to do it any other way, although I do see his point. Fortunately, I have that other essential kitchen appliance, a dishwasher.
Let me chime in here in favor of Rose's silicone Cake Strips or Wilton's Bake Even Strips. You only have to purchase them one time, and they ensure flat cakes and even baking.
The ganache spreads like a dream, but I never remember that ganache firms up so quickly that there's no time to go back and smooth it out once it's spread on the cake!
The ganache, on the other hand is wicked GREAT! I am not the biggest dark chocolate fan, but this one is fantastic.
Thanks, everyone, for visiting and commenting!