Chocolate Genoise with Peanut Butter Whipped Ganache

Rose's Heavenly Cakes, Page 184: Chocolate Genoise with Peanut Butter Whipped Ganache

Still longing for the peanut butter ice-cream i had in Melbourne, i was quite happy to see that this week's recipe has some peanut butter in it.  Usually, i don't like peanut butter on anything, but the peanut butter ice-cream gave me a whole new perspective.   

For the black raspberry syrup, i couldn't bring myself to use Chambord that i carried all the way back from my last trip.  If you have not seen the Chambord, the bottle is sooo cute that i just couldn't bring myself to open it. LOL! Thankfully, i have another black raspberry liquor which doesn't have a cute bottle.  I bought that first before i found Chambord.   

I placed both bottles side by side and contemplated for quite a while.. 

can you see why i can't open the Chambord? 

The chocolate genoise turned out great. I panicked when i saw the genoise shrank away from the sides while baking, and i quickly removed it from oven. Only then did i realised that Rose had mentioned in her book that when the cake is fully baked, it will shrink from the sides.  I panicked for nothing..lol!    

The chocolate genoise tasted delicious, or shall i say SUPER delicious on its own...i kept eating the top crust of the cake..while getting it ready for syrup brushing.  It's one of the best chocolate genoise i've ever tasted.  Super chocolatey and moist light crumbs. I used bleached flour and if i had used cake flour, i would think the genoise would be even more delicate.   Normally i'm not a fan of any syrup, but this black raspberry syrup is soo good, reminds me of Ribena. I grew up with Ribena and so did my kids...(and I'm still drinking it)...:p!   I brushed lots of the syrup onto the chocolate genoise, even though the genoise is pretty moist imo, but i still brushed quite a lot of it. 

Peanut Butter Whipped Ganache is pretty straight forward...and tasted really good too.  Not sure what percentage of chocolate i used cos the label faded away..but i know it's Valhorna Equatorial or something like that.    After it's whipped, the ganache feels very soft and not so easy to frost..but i managed to frost it quite neatly and with sharp edges..yay! :D.  Since i just got back, i did not have any strawberries or fruits in the fridge to decorate the cake with...i only had mini Oreos..lol!  I wanted to use Reese peanut butter cups but because of our hot weather, the peanut buttercups went out of shape. 

VERDICT:  WINNER! Super delicious!!  I was pleasantly surprised that the genoise didn't taste too wet or too moist after i brushed so much of the syrup in it. Also the syrup blends in very well with the chocolate genoise and enhanced the chocolate flavor imo.  Best chocolate genoise i've ever tasted.  Light & chocolatey.  Paired with the light whipped ganache, it's heavenly.   In fact, i think i would eat the genoise on it's own too!  And I see lots of possibilities i can do with this chocolate genoise base.   Everyone in my family loves it!  Guess what? My son too!  He ate a huge slice and I'm so happy! :D