Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk the cream cheese with the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and kosher salt in a large bowl until very smooth.

Chill ganache until cool to the touch, about 25 minutes (you can mix with a spatula to encourage cooling). Stir occasionally with a spatula until chocolate is melted and the mixture is homogeneous and thick. Combine the chocolate and heavy cream in a heatproof medium bowl, place over saucepan, and reduce heat to low (make sure bottom of the bowl is not touching the water). Fill a medium pot with 2 cm (1 inch) water and bring to a bare simmer over medium heat. Transfer to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan.

Bake cake, turning pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted into the center of cake comes out clean, 40 – 50 minutes.

Tap pan a few times on work surface to encourage some of the bubbles to escape.

Immediately transfer batter to prepared pan.Whisk warmed milk into batter until lump-free and just combined do not overmix. Warm the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until it comes to just a bare simmer - make sure it doesn’t come to a boil.Using a spatula, mix egg mixture into dry ingredients until fully incorporated.

Whisk the eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until well combined and creamy, about 30 seconds.Sift the cocoa powder into the bowl, then whisk to combine. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt in a large bowl.Grease the bottom and sides of a 22 cm (9-inch) round cake pan with vegetable oil using your fingertips. Place a rack in the center of the oven preheat to 160 ✬ (325 ☏).

Homemade vanilla extract bon appetit