Indulgent Chocolate Cake
The only chocolate cake recipe you will ever need. I’ve made this cake in various forms - bundt, four-layered, traybake style - and every time I share a slice with family and friends, there is a mention of it resembling that cake that was devoured by greedy little Bruce Bogtrotter from Roald Dahl’s Matilda. Deliciously dark and decadent, this is the ultimate, can’t wait to get in your mouth chocolate cake, that I’m sure that the fierce and tyrannical Miss Trunchbull would be delighted with.
Ingredients
For the cake
- 250 g dark chocolate (about 60% cocoa solids)
- 250 g butter
- 2 tbsp instant coffee (mixed in with 100ml of water) or a single shot of espresso
- 85 g self-raising flour
- 85 g plain flour
- 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 200 g dark muscovado sugar
- 200 g golden caster sugar
- 30 g cocoa powder
- 3 eggs
- 75 ml buttermilk
For the chocolate ganache
- 300 g dark chocolate
- 500 ml double cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Butter your cake tins. (Quantities work well for two tall 6-inch tins or two regular 8-inch tins.)
- Melt the chocolate and butter in a pan over a low heat.
- Mix 1 tbsp instant coffee granules into 100ml cold water and pour into the pan or add your single shot of espresso
- Mix all the dry ingredients; flour, bicarb, cocoa, sugars etc.
- Whisk the eggs and buttermilk together.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients and then pour into your cake tin(s).
- Bake at 180C for 25 minutes or when a skewer poked in comes out clean. Cool on wire rack in tin(s).
For the chocolate ganache
- Heat the double cream and chocolate in a pan. The mixture must start to boil but be careful not to let it burn.
To decorate
- Wait till cooled and spread between and on top of the cake (if doing two or just on top of one).
- The ganache can also be used to make truffles to decorate. Simply refrigerate/freeze until the mixture is a little more solid. Then roll into balls with your hands and then roll into cocoa powder or nuts to allow the truffle to keep its round shape.
- This cake is great with just the ganache but feel free to add any kind of decoration on top - edible flowers, meringues, truffles etc.
Notes
- If you don't have buttermilk then you can substitute for normal milk or even plant-based milk. I have made with all three and had great results.
- If making this in the summer and you're worried about the ganache melting, then just add more dark chocolate to your ganache to firm it up.