Step 1

Separate the egg yolks from the rest of the egg. You can get a fancy tool, however it's simple just to use your hand. Beat the egg yolks until smooth and set aside.

Step 2

In a small saucepan, combine the milk, sugar and salt and slowly heat over medium heat. Whisk together egg yolks and cornstarch until smooth. Once milk mixture just barely begins simmering, remove about 1/2 cup from the pan and slowly stir into the egg yolk mixture. Then slowly pour that combined egg yolk/ milk mixture back into the pan with the rest of the milk. Whisk continuously until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in  vanilla.

Step 3

Pour custard into a bowl and press plastic wrap on surface of filling to prevent a tough layer from forming on top. Refrigerate at least 2 hours until set.

Step 4

Heat the oven to 350°F. Spray just the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with non-stick baking spray. You can also cut out a round of parchment paper and place it on the bottom of your cake pan or use a springform cake pan.

Step 5

In a large bowl, beat all cake ingredients with an electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, stopping frequently to scrape batter from side and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape bowl. Pour batter into the pan; use a rubber spatula to scrape batter from bowl, spread batter evenly in pan and smooth top of batter.

Step 6

Bake about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a cooling rack 20 minutes, then remove onto cooling rack to finish cooling completely, about 1 hour.

Step 7

Microwave heavy cream and butter in a small glass or ceramic bowl for 1 minute 20 seconds.

Step 8

Pour in chocolate chips and cover with a plate to trap in the heat. Let sit 5 minutes, then whisk until smooth.

Step 9

Let sit 30 minutes to 1 hour, so that ganache cools and thickens slightly.

Step 10

To split cake horizontally in half, I first put the cake in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Having the cake be a little hard makes it easier to cut.

Step 11

Insert a long, thin knife into the middle of the cake and begin cutting horizontally, working around the entire cake until you can remove the top half. You can inset toothpicks around the cake to use as a guide, or just wing it!

Step 12

Place the bottom layer of the cake on a serving plate with the cut side up. Spread custard over bottom layer. Place top level of cake with the cut side down, on top of the custard.

Step 13

Pour ganache over top of cake, tilting the cake slightly to guide it and letting some glaze drizzle down side of cake. If you begin topping cake with the ganache and most is sliding down off the cake, stop and let both cool another hour. Then continue with pouring cooler ganache on top of cake.

Step 14

Refrigerate uncovered until serving. Store any remaining cake covered in the refrigerator.