Trying Something Out

This is the first real cake I ever made, and it was for my nephew's fifth birthday. The one problem was that it wasn't really a kids cake; it wasn't sweet enough. I got the recipes from Martha Stewart and combined them together. It's baked in two 2"x8" circle pans, both sliced in half (remember to slice off the rounded top part or else it won't lay flat), each layer is covered in ganache then topped with whipped cream (I'd let the ganache set first before putting the whipped cream on), then cover the whole thing in ganache, let it sit in the fridge, last, top with whipped cream and keep in fridge until serving.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 cups all-purpose flour 3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup vegetable oil 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 3 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 1/2 cups hot water

TOOLS
Two 8-by-2 inch round cake pans, Parchment paper, Flour sifter, Electric mixer and bowl, Rubber spatula, Long serrated knife
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper, and butter paper. Dust the pans with cocoa; tap out extra.
Sift cocoa, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar into bowl. Beat in oil, buttermilk, vanilla, eggs, and hot water one at a time, using a mixer set at low. Beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Pour batter into pans. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean; an adult should rotate the pans halfway through and remove cakes from the oven.
Let cakes cool in pans on wire racks, 20 minutes, before inverting to remove. Discard paper. Cool completely on racks, top side up. An adult should cut off top of one layer.

Chocolate Ganache
1 cup heavy cream
16 ounces semi sweet chocolate bar chopped
Directions
Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour over chocolate in a bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. Slowly whisk until smooth. Let cool completely, stirring often with a rubber spatula
Whipped Cream
1.In a deep mixing bowl, beat 2 cups very cold heavy cream (try to get it where it's not ultra-pasteurized, probably the organic kind, it beats up better) until soft peaks form
2. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons granulated sugar over cream; beat until soft peaks return. Do not over beat (seriously don't, it's turns to butter, believe me I know).