2 questions:

1. Is it ok to use choc chips or candy melts for ganache or should it be a baking bar?

2. I would like to mix a homemade choc cake with a pound cake to make it more managable. How much extra cocoa must I add due to the pound cake being vanilla flavor?

thanks

Yes you can use chocolate chips but if you do I suggest that you use Ghirardelli semi sweet chocolate chips. Candy melts are NOT chocolate and since ganache is chocolate and heavy cream NO you can't make ganache using candy melts.

The better quality of chocolate that you use the better your ganache will be.
The Ghirardelli bars make really good ganache...but I rarely can afford those. The chips are not bad.


About the cake question...are you wanting to turn a vanilla pound cake recipe into a chocolate cake? I'm not sure I'm understanding exactly what you're asking about the cake.

sorry, will try to clarify....I have an awesome chocolate cake recipe that I use made from scratch but it is very moist and just not good for carving or stacking. this is a very requested cake. I was told that I could add a box mix pound cake to "tighten" it up. Am afraid if I don't add some cocoa powder I will get a very light chocolate which I do not want. How much cocoa should I add?

If you don't object to using a mix there is a good recipe for a "durable cake" that has been posted in the recipe section:
1 Duncan Hines devil's food cake mix
4 egg whites
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. + 2 T. veg. oil
1 small pkg. instant chocolate pudding
1 c. sour cream

It's good for carving, but it's not scaratch obviously.