| 1 | 1.preheat oven to 350°F. |
| 2 | Grease 2 nine inch round cake pans. |
| 3 | Dust with flour, tap out excess. |
| 4 | 2.in a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar with electric mixer or medium speed until light and fluffy,1-2 minutes. |
| 5 | Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well blended. |
| 6 | Add chocolate and beat 1-2 minutes. |
| 7 | 3.mix together flour, baking soda and salt. |
| 8 | Add to chocolate mixture in two additions alternately with buttermilk. |
| 9 | Beat until well blended. |
| 10 | With mixer on low speed, add boiling water and beat until smooth( batter will be thin) pour batter into prepared pans. |
| 11 | 4.bake 35-40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. |
| 12 | Let cool in pans 10 minutes, then unmold onto racks and let cool completely. |
| 13 | 5.make chocolate ganache:in a 2 qart glass measure, combine chocolate chips and heavy cream. |
| 14 | Heat in a microwave oven on high 3 minutes, or until melted and smooth when stirred. |
| 15 | Stir in butter and vanilla. |
| 16 | 6.cover and refrigerate 1 hour, or until ganache holds its shape and is thick enough to spread on cake. |
| 17 | 7.cover a cake layer with a little more than 1/3 of chocolate ganache. |
| 18 | Set second layer on top. |
| 19 | Frost top and sides of cake with remaining ganache. |
| 20 | Press almonds into side of cake. |
| 21 | Refrigerate cake 3-4 hours, or until ganache is firm, before serving. |
