Martha Stewart’s chocolate ganache cake is a rich, fudgy single-layer cake topped with a thick pour of dark chocolate ganache. The cake uses melted butter and cocoa for a dense, brownie-like crumb, and the ganache is just heavy cream and chopped chocolate, heated until smooth and poured over the top.
This is a one-layer cake, not a tall layer cake. The ganache slides down the sides and pools at the edges, and that is the look you want. Simple to make, hard to mess up, and it looks like it took much longer than it did.
Try More Chocolate Cake Recipes:
What Makes The Ganache Different From Regular Frosting
Frosting is beaten butter and sugar. Ganache is heated cream poured over chopped chocolate and stirred until smooth. Ganache sets into a shiny, firm shell on the outside while staying soft underneath. It tastes like pure chocolate, not sugar.
The ratio matters. More cream makes a thinner, pourable ganache for glazing. More chocolate makes a thicker ganache for spreading. Martha’s recipe uses a pourable ratio so it drips down the sides of the cake naturally.
Martha Stewart Chocolate Ganache Cake Ingredients
The cake has butter and cocoa melted together, which gives it a fudgy texture closer to a brownie than a fluffy cake. The ganache is two ingredients: cream and chocolate.
For the cake:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
For the ganache:
- 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
How To Make Martha Stewart Chocolate Ganache Cake
- Preheat and prep the pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan, line the bottom with parchment, and butter the parchment.
- Melt butter and cocoa: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Let cool slightly.
- Mix the batter: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the cocoa-butter mixture. Add the flour mixture in two additions, alternating with the sour cream, mixing until just combined.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
- Make the ganache: Put the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Heat the cream until it just starts to simmer, then pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for 2 minutes, then stir slowly from the center out until completely smooth and shiny.
- Pour the ganache: Set the cake on a rack over a sheet pan. Pour the ganache over the top of the cake and let it flow down the sides naturally. Let it set at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Let The Ganache Sit Before You Stir
After you pour the hot cream over the chocolate, wait two full minutes before you touch it. The heat needs time to melt the chocolate from the inside. If you stir too early, the ganache can break and turn grainy instead of smooth.
When you do stir, start from the center and work outward in small circles. The ganache should look shiny and thick, like melted ice cream. If it breaks, add a tablespoon of warm cream and stir slowly until it comes back together.
One Layer Is Enough
This cake is rich enough that one layer is a full dessert. The fudgy texture and the thick ganache on top mean every slice is dense and satisfying. A thin slice with coffee is all you need.
If you want a taller cake, double the recipe and stack two layers with ganache between them. But the single layer with ganache dripping down the sides is how Martha presents it, and the simplicity is part of the appeal.
How To Store Ganache Cake
Keep it at room temperature for up to two days if your kitchen is cool. In warm weather, refrigerate it. The ganache firms up in the fridge but softens again at room temperature in about 20 minutes.
Cold ganache has a truffle-like texture that some people prefer. If you like that, serve it straight from the fridge. The chocolate mousse cake has a similar cold-is-better quality. The chocolate pound cake is sturdier if you need something to travel.
FAQs
- Can I use milk chocolate for the ganache? You can, but the ganache will be sweeter and softer. Semisweet or bittersweet gives the best contrast against the sweet cake.
- Why did my ganache break? You stirred too early or the cream was too hot. If it looks oily and split, add a tablespoon of warm cream and stir gently from the center until it smooths out.
- Can I make the ganache ahead? Yes. Make it, let it cool, cover it, and refrigerate for up to a week. Reheat gently in the microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring between, until pourable again.
More Dessert Recipes:
Nutrition Facts
(1 slice, serves 10)
- Calories: 450
- Total Fat: 30g
- Saturated Fat: 18g
- Cholesterol: 105mg
- Sodium: 120mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 42g
- Protein: 6g
Martha Stewart Chocolate Ganache Cake Recipe
Description
Martha Stewart’s chocolate ganache cake is a rich, fudgy single-layer cake topped with a thick pour of dark chocolate ganache. The cake uses melted butter and cocoa for a dense, brownie-like crumb, and the ganache is just heavy cream and chopped chocolate, heated until smooth and poured over the top.
This is a one-layer cake, not a tall layer cake. The ganache slides down the sides and pools at the edges, and that is the look you want. Simple to make, hard to mess up, and it looks like it took much longer than it did.
Ingredients
For the cake:
For the ganache:
Instructions
- Preheat and prep the pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan, line the bottom with parchment, and butter the parchment.
- Melt butter and cocoa: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Let cool slightly.
- Mix the batter: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the cocoa-butter mixture. Add the flour mixture in two additions, alternating with the sour cream, mixing until just combined.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
- Make the ganache: Put the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Heat the cream until it just starts to simmer, then pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for 2 minutes, then stir slowly from the center out until completely smooth and shiny.
- Pour the ganache: Set the cake on a rack over a sheet pan. Pour the ganache over the top of the cake and let it flow down the sides naturally. Let it set at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Wait before stirring: Let the hot cream sit on the chocolate for 2 minutes before stirring. Stirring too early causes the ganache to break.
- Fix broken ganache: Add a tablespoon of warm cream and stir slowly from the center out.
- Ganache ahead: Make up to a week ahead, refrigerate, reheat gently in 15-second microwave bursts.