Boatloads of Chocolate

For my mom's birthday this year, I asked her what kind of cake she wanted - something sort of fruity or something chocolate?  She very emphatically said, "CHOCOLATE!"  So, I googled "rich chocolate cake" and THIS BonAppetit recipe popped up.  Wow.  I decided to try it out.  It was amazing.  I made a couple of minor tweaks to it.  I used dark chocolate instead of bittersweet chocolate in the ganache and since the cake wasn't very tall when baked, I did not cut it horizontally into the four separate pieces described.  Mine just had that one middle layer of ganache and caramel.  It was actually enough, I'm not sure more ganache/caramel layers would have helped.  I also drizzled more of the caramel on the top of the cake. 
The great thing about this cake, if you are a true chocolate-lover, is that it is not very sweet.  It is truly dark, rich chocolatey goodness.  The dark chocolate I used was the 72% 1-lb bricks from Trader Joe's.  I would say it's on the verge of creating a ganache that is too bitter, so I can't imagine using the bittersweet chocolate the recipe calls for.  I think if I were to make this again, I would mix in a bit of milk chocolate just to cut it a little bit.  Pouring caramel over the top definitely helps, though.  Oh!  And I used half-n-half in the ganache instead of heavy cream.  It cuts the fat in half and nobody could even tell.  I highly recommend saving yourself those calories.  Half-n-half is cheaper anyway.
If you are in need of a seriously rich, decadent chocolate cake, this one definitely fits the bill.
...and here is the birthday girl with her cake...(by the way, trying to put nuts on the side of a cake is a challenge, next time I think I'd just put them on the top)