Chocolate Donut Cake

 

For my last birthday my mom gave me a donut-shaped cake pan, and since then I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to try it out. Every month at the food bank I volunteer at we have a birthday cake day for all the volunteers whose birthday falls in that month. My friends and I were in charge of making the September birthday cake so I figured it was a great time to break out the donut pan! We made my favourite chocolate cake recipe and then sandwiched the two layers together with berry jam to simulate a jelly donut. Then the whole thing was topped with chocolate ganache and rainbow sprinkles. I love baking alone, but baking with friends is even more fun (and good teaching practice for me) so you should definitely try making this cake with a group of your friends. Dessert tastes even better when you get to share it with friends!

Chocolate Cake Ingredients:

2 cups white sugar

 1 and 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 and 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Prepared chocolate ganache (recipe below)

Berry jam or jelly of your choice

Rainbow sprinkles

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9" round cake pans, or if you have a donut cake pan then use that. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract.

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with an electric mixer, beating for about 2 minutes. Stir in the boiling water. The batter will be thin.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean with a few crumbs attached. Cool on wire racks for 15-20 minutes, then run a knife around the cake layer and gently turn onto the wire racks. Cool completely before frosting. To speed up the cooling process I usually place the cake layers in the freezer.

Chocolate Ganache Ingredients:

1 cup milk or heavy cream - You can also substitute with soy milk for a non-dairy alternative

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Directions:

Pour the milk into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly bring to a boil. Place the chocolate in a medium, heatproof bowl (glass works the best). Once the milk is boiling, pour it over the chocolate and let sit for 2-3 minutes, until the chocolate softens. Whisk the chocolate and milk together vigorously  with a wire whisk until all the chocolate is melted and a glossy sheen forms, about 2 minutes. Cover with plastic or a lid and refrigerate for for about 1 hour before using. You want this ganache to be thick not runny, but still pourable so that you can just pour it over the entire cake. If it gets too hard in the fridge then just heat it up a little on the stovetop or in the microwave over low heat. 

To Assemble:

Once the cake layers are completely cooled, place the bottom layer of cake on the serving platter or plate. Spread an even layer of berry jam or jelly of your choice over the layer. Place the second layer on top. Pour the prepared chocolate ganache over the top layer using as much or as little as you would like, then sprinkle evenly with rainbow sprinkles before the ganache hardens. Store the finished cake covered in the refrigerator or at room temperature.