Classic Indulgent Chocolate Cake
Chocolate was an expensive commodity that pastry chefs in Austria and France enjoyed in desserts during the 19th century. It wasn’t until the 20th century when chocolate was made available to the masses and we could experiment more with it!
So many countries are popular for their own version of a chocolate cake recipe, and it’s a favorite across the whole world!
I’ve been doing this chocolate cake for years, and it’s always been a favorite in my family! It is so chocolatey and indulgent and satisfies extreme chocolate cravings, and it’s very adaptable. I personally love the combination of hazelnuts with chocolate, but you can alter it to fit your family’s flavor palette!
Below is one of the first versions of the cake that I created. After years of practice and graduating from culinary school and creating many desserts, my skills have thankfully greatly evolved!
Practice makes perfect!
The same cake recipe I’ve baked years ago.
Classic Indulgent Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 350 g flour
- 500 g sugar
- 70 g cocoa powder
- 5 g baking powder
- 15 g baking soda
- 5 g salt
- 300 ml strong coffee, hot
- 200 ml buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 250 g semi-sweet chocolate
- 220 ml heavy cream
- Optional: 300 g chopped hazelnuts
- 600 g powdered sugar
- 350 g unsalted butter, softened
- 50 ml heavy cream
- 20 g cocoa powder
- 5 ml vanilla extract
- 5 g espresso
- 2 g salt
- 60 g chocolate ganache
Instructions
- Butter and flour an eight inch pan and layer it with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer, sift all the dry ingredients together and whisk to combine.
- In a large bowl, whisk all the wet ingredients together.
- Slowly incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until well combined, keeping the speed on low. Do not over mix the batter at this point because developing the gluten will result in a denser, less fluffy cake.
- The batter could be distributed to up to 3 cake pans, however you may use 2.
- Pour the batter into your cake pans and bake at 350ºF (175ºC) for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Once baked, allow to cook for 10-15 minutes before removing from the cake pans and then leave to completely cook on a wire rack.
- In a small pot, heat the heavy cream until it steams and almost boiling.
- In a bowl, add the semi-sweet chocolate chips and pour the hot heavy cream into the bowl.
- Leave it for 1-2 minutes.
- Mix the heavy cream and chocolate mixture until the chocolate is fully melted.
- Leave to cool and set aside.
- Set aside 60 g of the chocolate ganache to incorporate into the buttercream.
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter.
- Sift the cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, and espresso.
- Make sure everything is incorporated by scraping the sides of the bowl then slowly add sifted icing sugar until we reach a smooth, even consistency.
- Mix in the chocolate ganache.
- If the cake sponges are domed, flatten it out by slicing and evening the tops.
- Spread a layer of the chocolate ganache between the cake sponges
- Top with chopped hazelnuts (Optional)
- Pipe the buttercream between each layer on top and use an offset spatula to evenly distribute it across the surface.
- Once the cake sponges are filled between, pipe the buttercream around the outside of the cake and spread with an offset spatula and smooth it all out with a bench scraper.
- Place in the fridge for the "crumb coat" to set for about 15-20 minutes. This is optional if you want a very smooth, crumb-free cake.
- Layer more buttercream and smooth out the surface of the cake.
- I used a 1M Wilton piping tip to decorate the cake with roses.
Notes:
- You may freeze the sponge after it's baked for up to 2 months. Wrap them well in clingfilm and thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and decorate with buttercream as you please.
- Coffee intensifies the flavor of chocolate and is a very good complimentary flavor.
- The cake batter will be quite runny and thin but it will bake and firm up. This is all to achieve a super moist sponge!
- I personally use cake straps when baking cakes to ensure that the edges of the cake doesn't dry up and the center doesn't dome up too much – if you are able to get some cake strips, I highly recommend using them for a flat, moist cake sponge.
- You can make your own cake strip by wetting paper towels and wrapping them in aluminum foil, then wrapping the aluminum foil around the cake pan!
Nutrition Facts
Calories
1076.59Fat (grams)
51.86Sat. Fat (grams)
31.58Carbs (grams)
147.10Fiber (grams)
3.70Net carbs
143.40Sugar (grams)
105.50Protein (grams)
9.60Sodium (milligrams)
990.65Cholesterol (grams)
135.30Bon appétit!
