Ultimate chocolate cake

Ultimate chocolate cake

Indulge yourself with Angela Nilsen's heavenly moist and fudgy chocolate cake - perfect for celebrations - birthdays, weddings, christenings - any excuse!

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Cuts into 14 slices

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 30 - 40 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr - 1 hr 30 mins

Plus baking and cooling time
Freezable

Without icing

Method

  1. Butter a 20cm round cake tin (7.5cm deep) and line the base. Preheat the oven to fan 140C/conventional 160C/ gas 3. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
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541 kcalories, protein 6g, carbohydrate 55g, fat 35 g, saturated fat 20g, fibre 2g, sugar 40g, salt 0.51 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, April 2004.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 181-200

  • Binder photo alice123

    08 November 2008

    alice123 commented on this recipe

    amazing cake! i was asked to bake them again twice for friends birthdays. i added dark chocolate flake bars on top as an alternative to the chocolate curls!

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  • Binder photo My Recipes

    09 November 2008

    My Recipes rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    fabulous - needed a lot more cooking in my oven but unbeatable, perfect texture

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  • Binder photo deblet

    09 November 2008

    deblet rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    The best chocolate cake ever!! I reduced the sugar to 300g instead of 400g on the advice of someones review and it was plenty sweet enough.

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  • Binder photo Lorraine

    11 November 2008

    Lorraine rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Truly yummy chocolate cake. Not easy to split into three layers, but you couldn't see the patches once I'd assembled it and stuck pieces together with ganache. Much easier to cut the second day and stayed just as delicious until all eaten four days later, so I would recommend making it the day before eating.

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  • Binder photo Becca23

    12 November 2008

    Becca23 commented on this recipe

    This cake is absolutely gorgeous and definitely the best recipe I have used. I baked this for my friend's 24th birthday and it was a big hit - particularly amongst the boys! I agree that the cake can't really be successfully split into 3 so I used 2 cake tins lined with greaseproof paper on the bottom and greased with a little butter around the edge. The top will crack a little in the tin and may look slightly darker in the centre. I also made chocolate buttercream for the filling and used the ganache for the top. The ganache will be very runny to start with but don't worry it firms up wonderfully especially if put in the fridge for a short while. This is a very dense cake so slice sparingly!

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  • Binder photo Becca23

    12 November 2008

    Becca23 rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Michelle

    14 November 2008

    Michelle rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Elena

    18 November 2008

    Elena rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Mmmmmmmmmmm fantastic, my guests loved it! Didnt cut it, just spread the ganache over the top and is still tasted fantastic! Will be making for my little ones first birthday!

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  • Binder photo horky

    20 November 2008

    horky rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I've made this cake so many times and it is loved by all. It's just as perfect for a sophisticated adult gathering as it is for a child's birthday party (though it can be messy!). Delicious!

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  • Binder photo Tina

    20 November 2008

    Tina commented on this recipe

    This is so easy to make. It is also the biggest chocolate hit you will ever get! Perfect for us girlies. Love it. Already bought the ingredients to make it again.

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  • Binder photo Bees

    20 November 2008

    Bees rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this cake for my partners 30th Birthday and it was a huge hit!! Everyone came back for more! I used Cadburys chocolate on top with some white and dark stars, just to make it a bit different and I know the i'll make it again. This is a first class recipie and I would recommend it every time.

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  • Binder photo Ya Julie

    22 November 2008

    Ya Julie commented on this recipe

    This was a fantastic hit at a recent dinner party with friends and it was great because it could be made well ahead. Really easy to make and looked really impressive. Will definitely make this one again.

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  • Binder photo spoonfool

    24 November 2008

    spoonfool rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Fab recipe. So easy to make and delicious. I used full-fat yoghurt instead of the buttermilk and dark muscovado instead of light. There were some cracks but these were minor and the cake did not dip too much (I have a fan-assisted oven). Didn't have time to make the ganache but cake still tasted great. I made the cake yesterday to bring to a friend's and am already tempted to make another one - for ourselves this time!

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  • Binder photo spoonfool

    24 November 2008

    spoonfool commented on this recipe

    Sorry! Forgot to mention that I cut sugar to 250g instead of 400g and even without the ganache, it still tasted sweet enough for us.

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  • Binder photo Lu_C

    07 December 2008

    Lu_C commented on this recipe

    You legend! My husband used this for our little girl's first birthday cake. He's not a big cake maker at all but this has made him very proud that he could produce somethign so delicious for his daughter. Thank you :)

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  • Binder photo Food Glorious Food

    07 December 2008

    Food Glorious Food rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Big Hit! Could only cut it in two as well but was still amazingly yummy

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  • Binder photo Sapna

    08 December 2008

    Sapna rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Fantabulous.This recipe is really easy for first timer like me. I just want to know can i make plain sponge cake from the same recipe leaving chocolate ,coco.&coffee.Pl.do reply to my query.

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  • Binder photo archana

    15 December 2008

    archana rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    amazing cake. loved it a lot.. must have for chocolate lovers

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  • Binder photo LauraBeth

    22 December 2008

    LauraBeth rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I love making this cake as I get so many compliments from people who eat it! I'm making it as a christmas cake on christmas eve yum yum

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  • Binder photo lilminxbow

    24 December 2008

    lilminxbow commented on this recipe

    i made this cake for xmas and what a disappointment.. unless i simly cannot bake! i had a hole in the middle where it sank too much.. the cake itself tasted fine, even though it was abit too stodgy for my liking.. and as for the ganache.. well im not sure what happened there!! it was not thick enough and hence, made the cake look like a gooey mess :-( i will not be making this again.. not even practicing to make perfect!

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Cuts into 14 slices

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 30 - 40 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr - 1 hr 30 mins

Plus baking and cooling time
Freezable

Without icing

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
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541 kcalories, protein 6g, carbohydrate 55g, fat 35 g, saturated fat 20g, fibre 2g, sugar 40g, salt 0.51 g

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