Chocolate Sponge Cake

Happy Birthday to you, you were born in the zoo, with the monkeys and elephants, and you smell like them too ;D


Haha, I am always amused by this version of Happy Birthday song.

I know you must have noticed the not-so-smooth glazing on my cake :p I almost ruined the cake when I tried to glaze it. The only other time I did icing for a cake is for my sis's birthday cake. That was done using whipping cream. This time, I searched high and low for an easy glaze for a chocolate sponge cake. Easy meaning little or no fuss, as I am inexperienced and not so good at frosting a cake.
Also, I wanted to make use of the can of evaporated milk which has been sitting around for some time.

I found this chocolate ganache recipe on Eat Love Cook. It looks straightforward, although I wasn't sure how the texture will be like. It seems like it would be runny. But nonetheless, I gave it a go as I was too lazy to run to NTUC for a packet of whipping cream.

Saw this chocolate cake recipe on HHB's blog some time ago, but never got to try it. From my little research, many recipes call for Dutch processed cocoa powder, which I don't have :p I only have the Hersey's natural unsweetened cocoa powder, so I was determined to use that instead :p I followed HHB's recipes except that I missed out on the 4 egg whites, I used 3 instead. And instead of using the ganache recipe she provided, I used the one from Eat Love Cook.

The baking of the cake didn't give me much problem. The glazing was messy because the ganache is runny, which I anticipated beforehand. so it wasn't much of a shock haha :D I omitted the cocoa powder in the ganache as I thought the chocolate chips will be flavorful enough.

There is a box of Rocher at home (for CNY) and I recall seeing HHB using that to decorate her cake, so I decided to borrow her idea :) Thanks HHB for the recipes and ideas! Rocher really makes my cake look better :D What a brilliant idea!

I didn't mention whose birthday cake this was? It's for me :) My sisters and nieces wanted to do the usual birthday celebration for me, so I thought this is the perfect excuse for me to practice baking :D I highly suspect that the birthday celebration has been an excuse for everyone to feast on yummy cakes :D

I shall update on the taste later.. after we blow the candles and try the cake :)

Verdict
My nieces and kid like the cake :) The adults (except my hubby, who said that the "foam" is missing something. It's sponge cake not foam, my dear hubby) said the cake is ok, but wonder why the ganache doesn't look smooth. I suspect it's because the cake was left in room temperature until it's being cut, and as the ganache was very runny, it probably got absorbed by the sponge cake :p This is what I think happened. If you know the reason, do let me know :D To solve this, I think the ganache has to be poured onto the cake just before serving, or the cake must be kept inside the fridge until ready to serve. Or, it is necessary to use a pouring or whipping cream for a nicer glaze?

It is a light chocolate cake and is somehow a cross between sponge and chiffon cake. Hope you like it too :)