Dark Chocolate Cake
Everyone needs one (or 10) dark chocolate cake recipes. Seriously, the internet is saturated with chocolate cake recipes, so I’d be more than happy to share my part. With elegant design in mind, it easily looks like an “out of the box”, simple chocolate cake, that anyone can make at home.
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Dark Chocolate Cake:
Equipment: Round cake pan, 18cm (d) x 7.5cm (h), bottom and sides are lined with parchment paper.
Recipe: A single, 3-layered chocolate cake
Cake Batter:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Melted Unsalted Butter | 120g |
| Brown Sugar (Demerara) | 80g |
| White Granulated Sugar (1) | 50g |
| Egg Yolks | 38g (2 Large egg yolks) |
| Egg Whites | 72g (2 Large egg whites) |
| Sour Cream (15%) | 50g |
| Milk | 120g |
| Vanilla Extract | 7 (1/2 tbsp) |
| All Purpose Flour | 150g |
| Baking Soda | 1 tsp |
| Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder | 32g |
| Malt Powder (optional) | 1 tsp |
| White Granulated Sugar (2) | 30g |
Dark Chocolate Ganache:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Heavy Cream (38%) | 75g |
| Dark Chocolate (55-60%) | 75g |
Insert Cream:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Heavy Cream (38%) | 125g |
| White Granulated Sugar | 20g |
| Mascarpone Cheese | 50g |
Cake preparation and assembly instructions:
Cake Batter:
- Preheat the oven to 175C (fan mode off), placing a baking rack at the lowest level in the oven.
- Melt the butter in the microwave and combine it with the milk in a large mixing bowl.
- Add in the demerara sugar and sugar (1), whisk them together. Sift in the cocoa powder, optional malt and whisk to combine. Then add the vanilla and egg yolks and whisk again until smooth. Lastly, add the sour cream and mix to combine.
- In a separate bowl, using an electric handheld mixer, beat the egg whites with sugar (2) to stiffly whipped peaks and set to the side.
- Sift in the flour and baking soda over the chocolate mixture, and whisk thoroughly until the mixture is smooth and without lumps. If doing this using an electric handheld mixer, mix for about 1.5 minutes.
- Fold the meringue into the cake batter in 2-3 parts.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake for 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes before unmolding. Then cool down completely before filling and decorating.
For the ganache:
In a bowl, melt the chocolate together with the heavy cream in the microwave and mix to a silky-smooth ganache. Allow it to cool down to a workable consistency, temperature should be about 19-21C.
For the insert cream:
Whip the cream with the sugar and mascarpone cheese and beat until stiff peaks form.
Assembly:
- Divide the cake into 2 equal layers, each should be about 2.5 cm thick. It is possible and preferable to brush the sponge cake with some sugar syrup.
- Spread the entire amount of the insert cream on top of the cake layer and arrange the sides neatly. Cover it with the second cake layer.
- Frost just the top of the cake with the entire amount of the ganache. Evenly spread the ganache and using a pattern cake comb or a small offset spatula, make a swirl pattern at the top of the cake. Arrange the sides but leave the border untrimmed for an aesthetic presentation (see video demonstration). Decorate with some fresh Rosemary / Thyme leaves, or even glazed cherries.
