Cherry Garcia Cake (Ben & Jerry’s Week!!)

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened, Dutch process cocoa powder (I used Hershey Special Dark)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• Frosting:
• 3 sticks salted butter, slightly softened
• 10 oz jar maraschino cherries -- juice drained and reserved and cherries chopped and set aside
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped into small chunks
• Ganache:
• 2 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped into small chunks
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 TBS light corn syrup (or honey)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 2 eight or nine inch pans.
2. In the bowl of a mixer, combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together until fully combined. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then slowly stir in the boiling water. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans and bake for 30 -40 minutes, until tops of cakes spring back when you lightly touch in the center.
3. Remove cakes from oven. Allow to cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then remove to finish cooling on wire racks.
4. Prepare Frosting:
5. In the bowl of your mixer, combine butter and reserved cherry juice, beating on low until combined. Slowly add powdered sugar, beating on low until just mixed. Increase speed to high and beat for about a minute, until smooth and fluffy. Fold in chocolate and cherries.
6. Split each cake round in half with a serrated knife, giving you four layers. Frost and stack layers and place in the refrigerator while you prepare ganache.
7. Ganache:
8. In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and heavy cream. Microwave for about a minute, stirring every 15 seconds, until melted and smooth. Add corn syrup (or honey) and refrigerate until thick and cooled, but still pourable.
9. Pour ganache over chilled cake.
10. If desired, top with whipped cream swirls and additional cherries, but wait until ganache is chilled and set on cake before doing so.

Notes