“Chocolate is the Beyoncé of the food world” – Anjali Johny
Yes I am the one who came up with that quote. I think most of us will agree that it is on point! I can have chocolate any time, any day. I’m a dark chocolate person, I almost never even touch milk or white chocolate, but hey I’m always up for baking with them! The cake recipe is very similar to my black forest cake, just a few changes here and there. I cover it with a rich and decadent chocolate ganache which oh boy! it is just. You know what? I always keep saying that my recipes taste good so I’m just gonna leave this one for you guys to decide.
Alright! enough talking, let’s make some cake!
Easy Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 250 g plain flour
- 280 g brown sugar (or use regular caster sugar)
- 50 g Dutch processed cocoa powder (or regular unsweetened cocoa powder)
- 2 tsp Baking soda
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 250 ml milk
- 1 1/2 tsp Apple Cider vinegar
- 100 ml vegetable/canola oil
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tps vanilla extract
- 200 ml warm water
- 2 tsp instant coffee
For the ganache:
- 200 ml heavy cream
- 250 g chocolate of choice I used 75% dark
- a pinch salt
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat your oven to 175°C and grease and line two deep 7 inch round cake pans (I used deep pans so that I could cut the cake into half to get a total of 4 layers. You can, by all means, use two 8 inch round cake pans.
- In a large bowl mix the coffee granules into the warm water, once dissolved add the oil and mix well.
- to the same bowl add the sugar and whisk well, then add the eggs one by one, mixing after each addition. Then add your vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, sift your flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda then add this to your wet mixture in three stages alternating with the milk. Lastly add the vinegar.
- Bake your cakes for about 25 minutes, keep checking after 23. When a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, they’re done. Let the cakes cool on a wire rack before taking them out of the pan.
Make the ganache:
- In a medium glass bowl, chop up your chocolate and keep aside.
- In a saucepan, add your cream and heat it till it reaches a simmer, don’t let it boil, take it off the heat and pour it over the chopped chocolate.
- Let it sit for 2-3 minutes and whisk the cream to incorporate the chocolate. Add a pinch of salt. In case your chocolate is not completely melted you can microwave it for 10 seconds and stir.
- Let the ganache cool down completely till it reaches a spreadable consistency.
Assemble the cake:
- Once cooled, slice your cakes horizontally in half (totally optional, I like layers and so I did this, you can just use the two layers and frost them)
- Pour about 4-5 tablespoons of ganache, or as much as your heart desires in between the layers and stack up those layers.
- Once you finish stacking the ganache should almost be over as I only made enough to fill the cakes and give a rustic naked cake look. You can by all means make more and cover the whole cake.
- Chill your cake for 30-40 minutes before cutting yourself a slice because it won’t be able to hold all those layers otherwise.
- Put some sprinkles, transfer the cake to a platter and enjoy this beast of a cake!
Do give this cake a go and don’t forget to give me your feedback. I appreciate it a lot! Also, Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram , Pinterest and Facebook to join our amazing food journey!
Love,
Bakesalotlady❤
Hi! I followed the receipe to T and it came so well and tasty. Thank you soo much for receipe, we loved the cake.
Hi Gowri, thank you so much. This made my day! 😀
Hi Anjali!!! I followed the receipe to T and it came out awwesome.. so yummy cake!! Perfect receipe.. Thank you so much for sharing!!
You’re the kindest! Thank you <3
Hi….is the batter suppose to be liquidy??? With the above measurement the overall batter became too liquidy
Yes, the batter is quite runny for this cake. It’s because of the high amount of liquids and oil (butter makes a thicker batter). It will turn out just fine once you bake it. Not to worry.
Any alternative to Apple cider vinegar ?.
You can use regular vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice instead 🙂
Hey, can you tell my why you are adding vinegar in this recipe? 🙂
Greetings from Germany;)
Hi! Vinegar reacts with the baking soda to activate it, it helps in leavening the cake🙂
Hey! Ahh Thanks! Here in Germany we usually only use baking powder.
Hi! I just wanted to know if theres any alternwtives to eggs?
Hi Jay! You can try using 1/4 cup yogurt or maybe even 1/4 cup mashed banana per egg. The banana will add it’s own flavour to the cake. Also, switching the ingredients might change the consistency and sweetness of the batter so you adjust the liquids and sweeteners accordingly. It should work, do let me know if you try it 🙂
Loved the cake and the quote too…It is looking so moist,rich and decadent..Perfect for all the chocoholics..
Hi I am your great fan of baking… Where are you from… I am from Ahmedabad…!!!
Hi Renu!! Thank you so much, that is so sweet of you❤ I am from Ahmedabad too😊