2teaspoonkosher salt1 teaspoon fine sea salt if you don't have kosher
1 ½tablespoonvanilla extract
¼teaspoonalmond extract
Chocolate Ganache
113gramsdark chocolate
120gramsdouble cream
28gramsunsalted butter
⅛teaspoonkosher salt
Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
225gramsgranulated sugar
135gramsegg whitesabout 5 eggs
300gramsunsalted butter cut into pieces
½teaspoonkosher salt¼ teaspoon if you have fine sea salt
¼teaspooncream of tartar
156gramsdark chocolate
Instructions
Yellow Cake
Preheat oven to 165°C. Grease 3 9"cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease the top of the parchment paper too.
In a small bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
In a larger bowl, using a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer, beat the eggs, vanilla, sugar and almond extract until thick and gold, about 2-3 minutes at medium-high speed.
Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl and mix just enough to combine.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, simmer the milk. Once it has started to simmer remove from heat and add the oil and butter. Stir until all the butter has melted.
Turn the mixer on a low speed, and slowly pour in the milk mixture. Combine until the mixture is smooth. Compared to other yellow cake batters, this one is much more fluid - but that isn't a bad thing!
Divide the batter evenly among the three pans. Bake the cakes for 35-40 minutes, you'll know they're ready when a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool for 15 minutes before taking them out of their pans, and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
Once the cakes are completely cool, I wrap each one in clingfilm and keep in the fridge to frost the next day.
Chocolate Ganache
Place chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the double cream and salt to a simmer over medium-low heat. Pour the cream mixture over the chocolate and let it sit for 10 minutes. Whisk the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted and glossy. Let it cool, for 45-60 minutes.
Using a mixer on medium speed, beat the butter in the ganache until the mixture is light and has turned matte, about 3 minutes.
Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Fill a medium saucepan with a few inches of water, bring to a gentle simmer. Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a heatproof bowl. Carefully place the bowl in the saucepan, but don't let the bowl touch the water! Stir occasionally while the chocolate melts. Once you have just a few chunks left, take it off of the heat and whisk the mixture so all of the chocolate melts. Leave to cool completely to room temperature.
Keep the medium saucepan with the water simmering. Combine the sugar, salt, cream of tartar and egg whites in a large mixing bowl (if you have a stand mixer, you'll want to use that bowl), set the bowl above the simmering water. Heat, whisking constantly, until the sugar dissolves. The mixture will go from a yellowy, granular substance to white and opaque, this takes about 5 minutes. Using a thermometer, it should read 115°F. If you don't have a thermometer, when you pull the whisk up feel the mix with your fingers - if it is no longer grainy then it is ready!
Put the bowl into your stand mixer with a whisk attachment and beat on medium-high until you get a stiff, glossy meringue - about 8-10 minutes. You'll want to be beating the mixture until the bowl is completely cool.
Add butter one piece at a time, allowing it to incorporate fully, while still at medium-high speed. This should take 8-12 minutes. When you've added all the butter and the mixture looks smooth, slowly pour in the chocolate. Give it one final mix using a rubber spatula to make sure all of the chocolate is incorporated.