Whiskey Cake

Whiskey isn't my alcohol of choice, but it is for my close friend as well as my brother-in-law. I'm not opposed to it, and I like to incorporate it into baked goods. This one-bowl cake from How Sweet It Is seemed like an easy and delicious cake to make.

My frosting/ganache didn't set right, so I'm not sure if I slightly goofed my measurements there. And I ended up with quite a bit extra, which was delicious right over the spoon and darn tasty spread warm over vanilla ice cream.The ganache is a solid idea worth repeating.

The cake itself didn't wow me, although I liked the pieces of chocolate melted into the cake. Probably not a repeat for us, as there are other whiskey recipes like Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes or Honey Whiskey Cupcakes that take the cake, so to speak.

Whiskey Cake
1/2 cup hot coffee
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup Irish whiskey
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp.
1/4 tsp. salt
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate. chopped 
Ganache Frosting
10 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Irish cream liquor

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease an 8x8 inch pan with butter, and set aside. In a measuring cup, whisk the hot coffee and butter until the butter melts, and then set it aside until ready to use.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, whiskey and vanilla. Stir in the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda and salt. Once it's about halfway mixed, pour in the coffee/butter mixture, and stir until you have a smooth batter. Stir in the chopped chocolate. Pour the batter into the greased pan, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake is just set in the middle. Let cool completely before frosting.

To make the ganache, place the chocolate in a bowl. Heat the heavy cream and Irish cream in a small saucepan over low heat until it just bubbles around the edges. Pour the cream over the chocolate, and let it sit for 5 minutes. Stir continuously until the chocolate melts into the cream and comes together. Let sit for one hour at room temperature, and then spread the ganache all over the cake. (You could probably halve the ganache recipe, plan to have extra left over (which is a good thing) or have a frosting layer that's extremely thick.) Makes an 8 x 8 cake.