Chocolate cream cake

Pastry cream: pour the milk into a saucepan with some of the sugar without stirring, add a sprinkle of salt and heat over medium until steaming hot.

Separate four eggs and whisk the yolks with the remaining sugar, the cornstarch and the heavy whipping cream until smooth.

Pour the steaming milk into the egg mixture to raise its temperature, whisk, return everything to the pot and whisk constantly until it boils and thickens.

Off the heat whisk in the vanilla, transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and cool completely, then chill.

Syrup: whisk the water, sugar and coffee syrup in a little saucepan and bring to a boil until the sugar dissolves, then whisk in the vanilla off the heat.

Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

Pour one and a half cups of hot coffee over the semi-sweet chocolate to melt it.

Whisk the coffee and chocolate mixture into the granulated sugar.

Whisk in the vegetable oil, then the vanilla, yogurt and heavy whipping cream, and finally the whisked eggs.

Add the dry ingredients in a few batches, whisking a little at a time until just incorporated; do not over mix. The batter is thin.

Grease the pans and fill each halfway up the sides, leaving room for the cake to rise.

Bake at 350F on the centre rack about 35 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean or with moist crumbs; the deeper round pan took about 10 minutes longer.

Pierce the rectangular cake all over with a toothpick, brush all of the syrup over it and cool completely.

Ganache: heat the heavy whipping cream just to a boil, pour it over the semi-sweet chocolate, let it sit a few seconds, add the instant coffee and whisk smooth and shiny.

Whip the very cold heavy cream with the confectioner's sugar and vanilla, starting slow and increasing to high, until thick and fluffy.

Flavour the whipped cream with three tablespoons of the ganache, tasting as you go.

Flavour the chilled pastry cream with four tablespoons of ganache.

Lighten the pastry cream with some of the chocolate whipped cream, whisking it in, and reserve the rest of the whipped cream for decorating.

Spread the lightened cream over the cake with an offset spatula and freeze 10 minutes to set.

Warm the ganache in the microwave 20 seconds, stirring at 10, until it is runnier and easy to spread.

Pour the ganache over the cake and spread carefully without pressing down into the cream.

Chill or freeze 10 to 15 minutes until the ganache sets, then cut into serving pieces.

Pipe stars or rosettes of the reserved chocolate whipped cream on the corners of each piece.