Chocolate layer cake with chocolate ganache

I must admit I was nervous about the addition of coffee into the cake. Love them both individually, but not combined. I did some research and found that apparently the coffee deepens the chocolate flavour, resulting in a delicious chocolate flavour with no coffee taste. I was skeptical. Mr X added to my anxiety when he tasted the raw cake batter. "Hmmm... is there coffee in the cake? That's all I can taste!". Uh-oh. But popped the cake in the oven anyway. Mr X tasted the cake once baked and changed his mind about the coffee taste. I got the thumbs up. Phew!

The oil is used instead of butter leaving the cake lovely and moist - it also stays fresh longer without going dry.

Ingredients:
Cake
3 cups plain flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking soda
Pinch salt
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (sifted)
1 1/3 cups rice bran oil
1 1/2 cups buttermilk - well shaken
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups freshly brewed hot coffee (I used two shots of long black from our coffee machine topped up to 1 1/2 cups with warm water)
1 1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste

Ganache (enough to fill cake between the layers and to ice the cake) 
250 grams dark chocolate
100 grams of milk chocolate
3/4 cups thickened cream

Method:
Preheat the oven to 176 degrees C degrees. Grease and line two 20cm round cake pans with baking paper.

Place flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add oil and buttermilk. Add the eggs one at a time, beating the mixture continuously on low with an electric beater. Slowly pour hot coffee down the side of the bowl and into the mixture, continuing to mix on low speed. Add vanilla and mix until batter is smooth. Divide into pans. Pop in oven and bake until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs, about 30-35 minutes. Rotate half way through baking. Mine took 35 minutes to bake. Let cool in pans for at least 20 minutes.

While cakes are baking, pop the cream in a microwave on medium head for one minute, being careful not to burn it. Add chocolate to cream and mix, allowing the chocolate to melt. Continue to stir until fully incorporated. It looks so smooth and shiny - you will not be able to risk tasting it! Delicious!  Set aside to cool and thicken at room temperature, stirring occasionally.

Once baked and cooled, carefully remove cakes from pans. Place one layer of cake on a serving plate. If the cakes are a little uneven onto, carefully trim the tops with a serrated knife. Place some of ganache in the middle of the cake and smooth it out towards the edges using a spatula. Repeat the process with the second cake, before placing the untrimmed side down on the top of the first cake, forming two layers. Press down gently.

Spoon more ganache on the top and smooth it around the sides, adding more ganache as needed to cover the entire cake. Leave it to set for a few minutes (if pressed for time, put it in the fridge for 10 minutes) then smooth on another layer.

Another nice option would be to put caramel in between the layers before covering with ganache.