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Chocolate Cake with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting and Chocolate Ganache

Holly
A yummy chocolate cake topped with a festive pumpkin cream cheese frosting and a drippy chocolate ganache.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients
  

Chocolate Cake

  • 1 15.25 oz Duncan Hines Chocolate Cake Mix
  • 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
  • 1/4 cup Flour
  • 1 TBS Vanilla
  • 1/3 cup Butter
  • 3 Eggs Room Temp
  • 2/3 cup Sour Cream Room Temp
  • 3/4 cup Milk Room Temp

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1/2 Cup Salted Butter Softened
  • 1 Cup Cream Cheese Softened
  • 3 Cups Confectioner's Sugar
  • 1/3 Cup Pumpkin Puree
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon

Chocolate Ganache

  • 2 Cups Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Flavored Melting Wafers
  • 1 Cup Heavy Cream

Instructions
 

Chocolate Cake Recipe

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. While the oven is preheating go ahead and prep your cake pans. I like an 8" springform pan for my cakes. I like to prep my pans by rubbing down the inside of the pan with softened butter and then dusting the butter with flour.
  • In a large bowl mix all of the cake ingredients together. Split the batter into the two separate, prepared cake pans.
  • Bake for about 30 min or until a toothpick can be inserted into the center of the cake and then come out clean.
  • Remove the cakes from the oven and then allow them to cool completely before releasing them from the springform pans. Once the Cakes are cooled and released from the pans chill them while you prepare the frosting.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Cream the butter and cream cheese together in the bowl of a stand mixer until well combined.
  • Next add in the cinnamon and pumpkin puree until the mixture is well combined.
  • Mix the confectioners sugar gradually, 1 cup at a time.

Ganache

  • Place candy melts and heavy cream into a microwave safe bowl.
  • Microwave the candy melts and cream for 30 seconds at a time, mixing the mixture in between each microwave session.

Frosting Instructions

  • Once the cakes are completely cooled and chilled, pull them out of the freezer. Place a dab of frosting on the center of your cake plate and place the first layer of chocolate sponge on the cake plate.
  • Next, add 1 cup of frosting on top of the first sponge layer and spread out.
  • Add the second sponge layer onto of the frosting.
  • Frost your entire cake with the pumpkin cream cheese frosting.
  • If you want the chocolatey, marble look go ahead and make up your ganache and dip your frosting spatula into a bit of the ganache and swipe it onto your cake. I like to swirl the frosting and ganache around the outside of the cake (think more like stripes, instead of little swirls)
  • I place the rest of the ganache into a ziplock bag and allow it to cool (putting it in the fridge helps) until it is about the consistency of pancake batter.
  • Next snip the corner of the ziplock bag and squeeze the ganache around the top edge of the cake allowing the ganache to drip over the sides.
  • Lastly fill in the top with the remaining ganache, you can use a spatula to help it spread out if it is a little bit thick.