Sour Cream Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate Ganache

I got into the Goons with Spoons CAKE thread a few years back and tried out a couple of the recipes shared. I haven't been doing any cake baking lately, but I did rediscover one of the recipes I'd made before. It was delicious! Seriously. It was probably the best cake I have ever made. Ever.

The recipe was posted on Smitten Kitchen and can still be found there, but I just wanted to copy it out here so that I have it on hand for future reference.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake
2 c. (250g) all-purpose flour
2 1/2 c. (500g) sugar
3/4 c. (~65g) Dutched cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. canola oil
1 c. sour cream
1 1/2 c. water
2 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs

1. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
2. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend.
3. Gradually beat in the water.
4. Blend in the vinegar and the vanilla.
5. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended.
6. (The recipe states to split among three 8" round cake pans, but I'm pretty sure I did this as a single 9" square layer.) Divide the batter among greased cake pans. The bottoms and sides of the pans should be greased for this.
7. Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes or until tester comes out almost clean.
8. Cool in pans for 20 minutes before inverting on a wire rack and lifting off the pan. (Smitten Kitchen blogger notes that the cakes are much easier to work with if you stick them in the freezer for a bit before trying to do anything with them. I don't think I did this, but she said it makes them a lot easier to handle.)
9. Frost the cake with the peanut butter frosting. (Doing a crumb coat and then chilling the cake before adding the rest of the frosting should result in a neater looking finished product. Chilling again before applying the ganache will probably improve results as well.)
10. Pour the ganache over the top of the cake and use a spatula to spread it all over the top just to the edges. Allow the ganache to drop down the sides of the cake.
11. Chill until the ganache is well-set.

Peanut Butter Frosting
10 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (1/2 c.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 c. (600g) icing sugar, sifted
2/3 c. (170g) smooth peanut butter

1. Beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
2. Gradually add the icing sugar, scraping down the bowl as you go. Continue to beat again until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes).
3. Add the peanut butter and mix thoroughly.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Ganache
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp. (50g) smooth peanut butter
2 Tbsp. (40g) light corn syrup
1/2 c. half-and-half

1. Combine chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup in a double boiler. Cook, whisking as the chocolate melts.
2. Once the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth, remove from head and whisk in the half-and-half. Beat until smooth. Use while still warm.

It's been two or three years since I made this, so I can't offer any detailed notes on exactly what I did or how it came out. I remember it being really, really good though. TF still fondly remembers it as well. He's got some photos kicking around somewhere. I'll see if I can find them and put them up when I get a chance.

Update: Found those photos!