Every good baker needs one great vanilla sponge and one chocolate cake recipe, and everything else you create after this is a bonus. Chocolate cake needs to be moist and rich, decadent and light – and this recipe is the absolute perfect measure of all those things.
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Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp coffee powder
- 1 cup milk or buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 cup boiling water
Method
Preheat your oven to 180ºC. In a mixing bowl add the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and coffee powder. In another bowl, add all the wet ingredients together – milk, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla essence. Add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry ingredients and combine (either in a mixer or by hand) until combined.
Coat two pans with cooking spray and distribute equal parts of batter into each. Bake for 40 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Remove and allow to cool completely.
Ganache topping
Ingredients
80ml fresh cream
1 cup chocolate chips
Method:
In a small saucepan, bring the fresh cream to the boil. Take it off the stove, place the chocolate chips in the fresh cream and cover for 5 minutes. Mix until combined and you have the perfect chocolate ganache. If it’s too runny, place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Decorate the cake
Once the cake is cooled and the chocolate ganache is at the right consistency, cover the top of one layer with a think layer of the chocolate. Sandwich the two cakes together and pour the rest of the ganache over the top of the cake – allow to dribble over the sides to coat the sides.
Decorate with nuts, or any type of berry.
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