Best Ever Chocolate Cake!

I got this recipe from the BBC GoodFood Recipe site. I made it and I'm telling you, I have been looking for an excellent chocolate cake recipe for a long long time and this one ticks off all the right boxes.

Now I know from experience that a great chocolate cake recipe uses both cocoa and dark chocolate to boost the chocolate flavour. The kicker here though is the coffee! Coffee just does something to enhance the flavour of chocolate. Please make sure that you use the best quality coffee that you can get your hands on. Also it is important that you use dark chocolate with at least 60% cocoa solids. The one I used had 80%! I love my dark chocolate people and even if you don't, please do not skimp on this one.

Another great tip to remember is that you must please watch your oven temperature. There is a reason why it is as low as it is. It's to ensure that the chocolate does not burn as you bake your cake. Therefore this cake is baked at medium temperature over a longer period to ensure that it does not burn. Please be careful, novices.

Another great tip is to bake your cake in silicone bake-ware. The reason I recommend silicone is because your cake will not stick and the heat will be distributed evenly throughout your cake and there wont be areas of over baking as it sometimes occurs with tins. And lastly the best way to check whether your cake is baked or not is by spearing it with a metal skewer in the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, you cake is done, if it's still wet then it means you need to bake it for longer.

Now I know that the recipe says you can use chocolate ganache to ice your cake, I found it extremely rich and wanted to cut down of the richness with something lighter. I have used Chantilly cream which is sweetened whipped cream as icing and butter cream icing on different occasions and found that it works pretty amazing.

Preparation Time is about 30 - 40 minutes
Baking time is about 1 hr - 1 hr 30 minutes 
INGREDIENTS
  • 200g good quality dark chocolate , about 60% cocoa solids
  • 200g butter
  • 1 tbsp instant coffee granules
  • 85g self-raising flour
  • 85g plain flour
  • 1⁄4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 200g light muscovado sugar
  • 200g golden caster sugar
  • 25g cocoa powder
  • 3 medium eggs
  • 75ml buttermilk (5 tbsp)
  • grated chocolate or curls, to decorate
FOR THE GANACHE
  • 200g good quality dark chocolate , as above
  • 284ml carton double cream (pouring type)
  • 2 tbsp golden caster sugar
METHOD
  • Butter a 20cm round cake tin (7.5cm deep) and line the base. Preheat the oven to 140C to 150C depending on the type of oven you own.
  • Break 200g good quality dark chocolate in pieces into a medium, heavy-based pan.
  • Cut 200g butter into pieces and tip in with the chocolate, then mix 1 tbsp instant coffee granules into 125ml cold water and pour into the pan.
  • Warm through over a low heat just until everything is melted - don't overheat. Or melt in the microwave on Medium for about 5 minutes, stirring half way through.
  • While the chocolate is melting, mix 85g self-raising flour, 85g plain flour, ¼ bicarbonate of soda, 200g light muscovado sugar, 200g golden caster sugar and 25g cocoa powder in a big bowl, mixing with your hands to get rid of any lumps. Beat 3 medium eggs in a bowl and stir in 75ml (5 tbsp) buttermilk.
  • Now pour the melted chocolate mixture and the egg mixture into the flour mixture, stirring just until everything is well blended and you have a smooth, quite runny consistency.
  • Pour this into the tin and bake for 1 hour 25- 1 hour 30 minutes - if you push a skewer in the centre it should come out clean and the top should feel firm (don't worry if it cracks a bit). Leave to cool in the tin (don't worry if it dips slightly), then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  • When the cake is cold, cut it horizontally into three. Make the ganache: chop 200g good quality dark chocolate into small pieces and tip into a bowl. Pour a 284ml carton of double cream into a pan, add 2 tbsp golden caster sugar, and heat until it is about to boil. Take off the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
  • Sandwich the layers together with just a little of the ganache. Pour the rest over the cake letting it fall down the sides and smoothing to cover with a palette knife. Decorate with grated chocolate or a pile of chocolate curls. The cake keeps moist and gooey for 3-4 days

Comments

Anonymous said…
Beating 3 medium eggs in a bowl to what consistency before stirring in the buttermilk?
March 27, 2012 at 7:12 AM
Ziyanda Xaso said…
You lightly beat the eggs until they just combine, then stir in the buttermilk
March 27, 2012 at 5:02 PM
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