It’s not like we need a reason to celebrate chocolate, but World Chocolate Day on 7 July certainly gives us an excuse to indulge just a little more. Here is a sensational chocolate cake recipe to try. What’s particularly special about this recipe is that it features an extra dash of coffee, which really brings out the deep flavours of chocolate, and brings out more complexity in the sweetness. Prepare to go in for seconds!
Ingredients
You will need two 20cm springform cake tins.
100g soft butter, plus more for the cake tins
275g of sugar
2 large eggs
200g of flour
75g of cocoa powder
2 teaspoons of baking powder
125ml of brewed, cooled Jacobs Freeze Dried Instant coffee
125ml of milk
Vanilla Extract
For the butter cream
125g of cold butter, diced
25g of cocoa powder
125g powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoon milk
Good quality dark chocolate for garnishing
Method
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 180° C. Grease the cake tins and cover the bottom with baking paper. Beat the butter and sugar with a whisk until frothy.
Step 2: Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each egg thoroughly before adding the next one. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into a second bowl. Stir in the cooled coffee, milk and vanilla essence in a third bowl.
Step 3: While stirring, add the flour and the coffee mixture to the butter-egg mixture and mix everything into a smooth dough. Fill the dough into the two cake tins.
Step 4: Bake the cakes at 180°C in the oven until golden brown, approximately 30-35 minutes. The cakes are ready when they spring back to light finger pressure and no more dough sticks to a stick, when placed into the cake. Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the cake tins for a few minutes, then remove and allow to cool on cooling trays. For the butter cream, melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the cocoa powder and simmer for 1-2 minutes stirring, then remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Step 5: Add the powdered sugar to the cocoa butter and mix thoroughly. Stir in the milk one tablespoon at a time until a smooth, shiny mass has formed, allow to cool (it will thicken). Spread half of the butter cream on to one of the cakes. Put the other cake on top and spread the rest of the cream on to the second cake. Finally, use a peeler or grater to remove pieces from the chocolate. Garnish the cake with the chocolate shavings.
Store: This cake will remain fresh for 4-5 days, if stored correctly in an airtight container, in a cool, dry place.
Why does coffee and chocolate work so well together in baking?
“Coffee and chocolate have been paired together for years, with different chocolates complementing different coffee tastes,” explains Matthew Dees, senior brand manager for Jacobs. “And it is not only the pairing of chocolate while drinking coffee that sees these two flavours working together, but also when they are used in different culinary approaches to bring out various flavours in both food and drink.” Thokozane Radebe, brand manager for Douwe Egberts, concurs and adds that the growth of instant coffee over the past few years allows for this pairing to be used easily in the home and in so many ways due to convenience and improved coffee taste. In short, instant coffee can bring new life to your baked goods!
Top tip: you’ll want to ensure that you use a high quality instant coffee for two reasons. One, that the granules dissolve and blend with the batter. Second, that the flavour elevates the chocolate and does not compete with it.
* Recipe courtesy of DORLING KINDERSLEY PUBLISHING COMPANY GMBH, MUNICH.
