Rich Chocolate Cake
Recipe for a rich chocolate cake unlike I’ve never made before. This is a layer cake, drenched with chocolate syrup and filled with whipped dark chocolate ganache. It may seem very sweet and busy, but it’s super balanced.
The cake batter is very simple to make, and I’m using a lot of cocoa powder, some of which is black cocoa, which lends a gorgeous black color to the sponge. If you don’t have black cocoa powder at home, it’s going to turn out delicious anyways, just made sure to use Dutch processed cocoa powder for that extra chocolatey flavor.
The cake batter also includes sour cream, and as much as I loathe this ingredient, it lends a softness to sponge cake unlike any other. However, I find that adding 10% baking soda (in relationship to the amount of the sour cream) fully negates its flavor and aroma, which makes the experience a lot more acceptable to my taste. You’ve got to try it at least once, I promise you, you’re gonna love it.
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Rich Chocolate Cake:
Equipment: Two Round cake pan, 15cm (d) x 7.5cm (h), sides and bottom lined with parchment paper.
Recipe: A single cake sized 16cm (d) x 10.5 cm (h)
For the cake:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Cake Flour | 95g |
| Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder | 32g |
| Black Cocoa Powder (or additional Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder) | 18g |
| Baking Soda | 9g |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp |
| Melted Unsalted Butter | 40g |
| Boiling Water | 80g |
| White Granulated Sugar | 135g |
| Vanilla Sugar | 10g |
| Eggs | 80g |
| Vanilla Extract | 1 tbsp |
| Sour Cream (15%) | 95g |
| Vegetable Oil | 95g |
For the chocolate syrup:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder | 10g |
| Boiling Water | 120g |
| White Granulated Sugar | 40g |
| Hot Chocolate Powder | 20g |
| Espresso Powder | 2 tsps |
| Cold Milk | 55g |
| Coffee Liquor (optional) | 2 tbsps |
For the whipped dark chocolate ganache:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Dark Chocolate (55-60%) | 300g |
| Heavy Cream (38%) | 300g |
For the chocolate drips:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Dark Chocolate (55-60%) | 40g |
| Heavy Cream (38%) | 40g |
For piping decorations:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder | 7g |
| White Granulated Sugar | 10g |
| Heavy Cream (38%) | 70g |
Cake preparation and assembly instructions:
Cake batter:
- Line the bottom and sides of the baking pans with parchment paper and set to the side.
- Preheat your oven to 160C (fan mode off), setting a baking rack at the lowest level of your oven.
- In a bowl, mix together the butter and oil.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder(s) and boiling water, to a smooth paste. The boiling water helps bring out all the flavors and aromas of the cocoa powders.
- Add the cocoa mixtures to the butter and oil mixture, and whisk them together with the sugar, vanilla sugar and salt, for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and at a tepid temperature.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk well to combine.
- Sift the flour and baking soda over the chocolate mixture and whisk slightly together. Add in the sour cream and whisk for about 2 minutes, to get a smooth chocolatey mixture, that is without any lumps and liquid.
- Pour the cake batter into a baking pans lined with parchment paper (about 341g in each pan), and bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Transfer the cakes to a cooling rack and allow them to cool down 10 minutes before unmolding and letting them cool down completely.
- Once the cakes have cooled down, slice them into 4 layers, 1.5cm thickness each.
Chocolate syrup:
Mix all ingredients thoroughly, except for the milk and liquor. The milk should be added once all the other ingredients are mixed, and the liquor is added last, once the mixture is no longer hot. Keep refrigerated until use.
Whipped dark chocolate ganache:
- In a medium sized bowl, melt together in the microwave dark chocolate and heavy cream, in 30 seconds pulses until the cream is steamy. Wait 2 minutes and mix thoroughly to a smooth ganache. Note that there should be no traces of unmelted chocolate, and that the mixture should be fully smooth.
- Adhere a piece of plastic wrap directly to the surface of the ganache, and refrigerate for 50 minutes. Then freeze for 15 more minutes, The texture should be quite stable and very creamy.
- Using a handheld electric mixer, beat the ganache on medium speed for 2 up to 3 minutes- the ganache color should become lighter, and firm peaks should form. Do not overbeat.
Assembly:
- Brush a cake sheet with the chocolate syrup.
- Evenly spread the cake sheet with about 90g of the cream and cover it with the next cake sheet.
- Repeat steps 1-2 with the rest of the cake sheets and cream. Note that if the whipped ganache firms up as you work, you may beat it on the lowest speed of your handheld mixture, only for a few seconds, to restore its silky smooth and nice to work with consistency.
- Prepare the ganache for the chocolate drips by melting together the whipped cream and chocolate in the microwave. Mix to a smooth ganache. The mixture should be at body temperature before using (not to pour the ganache over a cold cake).
- For the piping, I’ve used a closed star piping tip, no. 844. Beat the heavy cream, sugar and cocoa powder to a piping consistency and decorate as per your personal preferences.
