Champagne Ganache Covered Cake

When I think of the holidays, I think elegance. It is a time to get dressed up in sparkly clothes, red lipstick, and beautiful heels. It is a time to indulge in fancy foods and bubbly with friends and family.

We have a lot to celebrate in the month of December, including birthdays, Christmas, and our wedding anniversary! Every celebration begins with the perfect glass of sparkling wine! Convivial, social, elegant, fun — the sparkling wines of Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards are a perfect match for any special occasion and are arguably the most social beverage. Exuberant and fruit-forward, Gloria Ferrer wines are outstanding with today’s diverse and flavorful cuisine, and go especially well with this Champagne and Ganache Covered Cake.

The cake is made up of a light French Butter Sponge cake delicately brushed with bubbly champagne. It is then filled with a champagne chocolate mousse and wrapped in silky ganache. The perfect slice to serve with a delicious and refreshing Sonoma Brut.

Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards is Carneros’ original sparkling wine house, owned and founded by the Ferrer family of Spain. Named for José Ferrer’s wife, Gloria, the winery opened in 1986 in the breezy, now-famous region in southernmost Sonoma County. Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards was the fulfillment of a longtime family dream: to make world-class méthode champenoise sparkling wines in an exceptional New World terroir. So if you are looking for the perfect bottle to start your celebration, this is it! And while you are at it, pick up an extra one for a wonderful hostess gift! Especially if you are coming to my house...hint hint. 

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Champagne Ganache Covered Cake

Author: Jackie

Ingredients

French Butter Sponge Cake

• 1 cup cake flour
• 7 large eggs , separated
• 1 cup granulated sugar , separated
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or almond extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 ounces butter , melted then cooled

Chocolate Champagne Mousse

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate , broken into ½-ounce pieces
• 2 ½ cups heavy cream , separated
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons Champagne

Chocolate Ganache

• 1 and ½ cups good quality chocolate , broken into small pieces
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

For assembly

• ¼ cup champagne
• gold leaf

Instructions

1. To begin the process, start with the first part of the mousse, as this needs to chill for a few hours.
2. In a small saucepan on medium low heat, heat 1 cup of heavy cream until it hot, but not boiling, about 160 degrees.
3. Place chocolate chunks in a large bowl and pour hot cream over the chunks, and stir until smooth. Once smooth, stir in the champagne.
4. Cover mixture and place in the fridge to cool.
5. To make the cake, preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Spray three 7 inch round pans or two 9 inch round pans with nonstick cooking spray and line the bottoms with a parchment paper round.
6. Melt butter, then set aside.
7. Separate eggs. In the clean bowl of your mixer using your paddle attachment, beat egg yolks, ½ cup of sugar, and salt on medium high speed, until the have doubled in volume and are pale, about 5 minutes.
8. Place egg yolk mixture into a large bowl and throughly clean and dry your mixing bowl.
9. Stir vanilla or almond extract into egg yolk mixture.
10. Place egg whites in clean mixing bowl with remaining ½ cup of sugar. Beat egg whites on high until soft peaks form (when you remove the whisk attachment, your peak should curl over slightly). Do not beat to stiff peaks.
11. Measure out flour.
12. Scoop about a quarter of the whites over the yolk mixture and fold together gently with a few broad strokes of a rubber spatula.
13. Sift about a third of the cake flour over the mixture and scoop about a third of the remaining whites over the flour, folding together gently.
14. Repeat process two more times, until all egg whites and flour have been combined.
15. Fold cooled melted (should be room temperature to the touch) butter into the cake batter, folding together gently.
16. Pour batter into pans and bake until sides are no longer touching the pan and tops have browned, about 35-40 minutes.
17. Remove from oven and cool completely.
18. Once cakes have cooled and chocolate custard (1st step) is cold, continue making the mousse.
19. In a clean bowl, beat remaining 1 and ½ cup heavy whipping cream to stiff.
20. Fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture.
21. To assemble the cake, place 1st layer on the a cardboard cake round (preferably the same size as the cake). Brush with champagne.
22. Spread a thick layer of mousse onto the 1st layer and stack with next layer. If making a 3-tiered cake, repeat process.
23. Refrigerate cake while you make the ganache.
24. To make the ganache, heat heavy whipping cream in a small sauce pan on medium low heat, until hot but not boiling.
25. Place chocolate in a bowl and pour hot cream over chocolate. Stir until smooth.
26. Place cake on a wire cooling rack with foil underneath the rack to catch excess ganache.
27. Pour ganache over cake until it is completely covered.
28. Allow cake to sit and cool, about 3 hours.
29. Enjoy the within 2 days.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.