Marble Cake with Chocolate Ganache

The most frequent deserts in our family have been banana Chocolate Chip muffins and chocolate brownies. The ingredients for these two recipes are always in my kitchen and they are so quick and easy to make. A couple of days ago my daughter came from school asking for a marble cake. Researching on line different recipes for marble cakes I found that it can be made with cocoa powder or with chocolate. Going for the chocolate option, I combined a couple of different recipes and came up with the following recipe for the Marble cake that my family approved. Now, we have this quick and easy recipe for a delicious cake with rich chocolate flavor. It’s moist and wonderfully tender. The instant coffee or espresso powder used in the cake and ganache is really enhances the chocolate flavor. The chocolate ganache is optional, but oh, my…this will bump your cake from an everyday nice cake to a yummy extraordinaire!

Ingredients for the cake:
5 oz. semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips
2 tbsp. brewed coffee
2 1/4 cup self-raised flour
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (Cut the butter into small chunks to speed the process)
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk

Tip: the self-raised flour can be replaced by all-purpose flour by adding to it 2.5 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. baking soda and 1/2 tsp. salt

Ingredients for ganache:
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. instant coffee granules

Directions

Make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in center of oven.
Place the chocolate and coffee in heatproof bowl and melt it over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
If you use an all-purpose flour, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat with electric mixer the butter until smooth. Add gradually the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and sour cream.
With the mixer on low/stirring speed, alternately add the flour and milk in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
Remove a little more than half of the batter and transfer it into a separate bowl. To the remaining batter add the melted chocolate and beat well to combine.
Butter a 10 inch Bundt pan and place the spoonful’s of batter alternating vanilla and the chocolate.

Then, with the knife, gently draw a couple of swirls through the batter to marbleize it. Don't over mix.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and set it aside to cool. While the cake is warm, use a sharp knife and run it around the edge of the pan making sure to keep your knife vertical to not cut the cake. This way when the cake is starting to cool and set, it won’t crack.

When the cake is cooled, gently remove it from the form and transfer it to the plate.

Make the ganache:

Place chocolate chips, heavy cream, and instant coffee in heatproof bowl and melt it over a saucepan of simmering water until smooth, stirring occasionally.

Cool slightly and pour it over the cake.
Serve the cake warm or at room temperature. 

Enjoy with coofee, tea, or milk!