Chocolate cake has to be one of the most popular cakes out there – it’s beloved by all ages, and can be as simple or complex as you’d like. Our easy recipe below doesn’t require a stand mixer, or even an electric whisk – just a 20cm cake tin, a whisk and a bowl.
How do you stop chocolate cake from being dry?
One of the most common pitfalls of chocolate cake is it coming out dry. Cocoa powder, while delicious, is very drying and its inclusion means there’s a fine line between baked and overbaked. You’ve probably heard that cake is cooked when a cake tester comes out with just a few crumbs on it. But, you also want to be able to leave a slight indentation in the top of the cake when you press it. Your cake is over-cooked and will likely be dry if the top springs back fully.
Why has my cake sunk?
On the other hand, underbaking a cake can also be a disaster. If you have baked brownies or cookies, you may have heard the advice to pull them out the oven when they look wet and ‘underdone’. The same is not true for chocolate cake sadly! If you pull this cake out of the oven and it’s very wet and wobbly, your cake will probably sink.
Sinking can also happen if you check on your cake too early, so resist the urge to peek and keep the cake in the oven for at least 25 minutes for this recipe.
How do you make frosting that’s not too sweet?
Frosting or icing on cake can be quite divisive – some people want as much as they can get and others scrape it off in disgust. However, there are just as many types of frosting as there are types of cake. Variations on buttercream – like Swiss meringue buttercream or German buttercream – abound, as do types of ganache or glazes.
If you’re someone who generally finds frosting too sweet, you might like this sour cream frosting. It's less cloying than a buttercream and lighter than a ganache, and can be made without an electric mixer. We think it’s worth giving a go even if you’re not someone who typically goes for a frosting.
How to make chocolate cake
This recipe takes inspiration from a huge range of different cakes and frostings, which we tested when developing the recipe. We found that Stella Parks’ devil’s food cake was the moistest cake, and so incorporated dark chocolate into the batter like she does. We also used some sour dairy as well as coffee in the batter like Claire Saffitz’ chocolate cake recipe for NYT Cooking. For the frosting, we were inspired by Samin Nosrat and King Arthur Flour’s tangy and simple sour cream frosting recipes.
This cake is all made in one bowl, and without a stand mixer. If you have good scales and a steady hand, you can place your bowl on the scale, tare it out to zero, and measure your ingredients directly into the bowl. However, if you prefer, the ingredients can be measured out separately.
Serves 8-10
Metric
Imperial
Sponge cake
- 50g of hot coffee, or 50g hot water mixed with ½ tsp instant coffee
- 90g of 70% dark chocolate, melted
- 25g of cocoa powder
- 110g of vegetable oil
- 70g of sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 medium eggs
- 150g of brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp Doves Farm Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Doves Farm Bicarbonate of Soda
- 1/4 tsp table salt
- 85g of Doves Farm Organic Plain White Flour
Sour cream frosting
- 75g of unsalted butter, melted
- 75g of 70% dark chocolate, melted
- 1 pinch of salt
- 100g of icing sugar
- 30g of cocoa powder
- 150g of sour cream
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Grease a 20cm round cake tin, and line the bottom with a round of baking paper
Whisk together the hot coffee and melted chocolate
Once smooth, place a fine mesh sieve over the bowl and sift in the cocoa powder. Whisk until smooth
Whisk in the oil, sour cream and eggs and vanilla
Whisk in the brown sugar – if your brown sugar is particularly lumpy, you might want to press out any lumps with a spoon in a separate bowl first. This makes it easier to whisk it smoothly into the batter
Whisk in the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Once completely incorporated, whisk in the flour until just combined
Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl, and up from the bottom of the bowl, to make sure there are no hidden pockets of flour
Use the rubber spatula to scrape the cake batter into the cake tin. Give it a gentle shake back and forth to level out the surface, and then tap the tin firmly against the counter a few times to pop any large air bubbles
Bake the cake for 25–30 minutes, or until just set and your finger leaves a light indentation in the centre of the cake when pressed. Let the sponges cool in the tin for 30 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack
Over-baked chocolate cake is disappointingly dry, so if you know your oven runs hot, turn it down slightly and check on your cake around the 25 minute mark. Similarly, an underbaked cake unfortunately won’t be deliciously gooey like brownies – it will just be a bit wet and collapsed. So, if your cake is still wobbly at 30 minutes, put it back in the oven for 5 more minutes
While the cake cooks and cools, make your frosting. First stir together the unsalted butter and dark chocolate with a pinch of salt
Set a fine mesh sieve over a separate bowl. Sift in the cocoa powder and icing sugar, then mix them together
Mix in half the cocoa powder and icing sugar into the chocolate mixture – you will end up with something stiff and shiny
Mix in all the sour cream and whisk until smooth. You will have to whisk it quite vigorously
Whisk in the remaining cocoa and icing sugar until smooth
Swirl the frosting over the cooled cake. If you chill the frosting first, it will set up very firmly, so microwave it on low before using to soften it, or leave at room temperature until softened
How long can you store chocolate cake?
This cake, wrapped tightly, will keep for several days at room temperature without frosting. The frosting will last for 3–4 days in the fridge, but shouldn’t be used past the expiration date of the sour cream.
The frosted cake should be stored, covered, in the fridge for 3-4 days.
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