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 6.0g, carbohydrate 55.0g, fat 35.0 g, saturated fat 20.0g, fibre 2.0g, sugar 40.0g, salt 0.51 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, April 2004.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 301-320

  • Binder photo Helen

    22 April 2009

    Helen rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Amazing! I don't 'do' cakes but managed to produce a very professional looking and tasting cake for Easter. Really easy to follow recipe with no major whisking of butter and sugar that I would normally associate with cake making. Only problem now is that I'll make (and eat) it too often!

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  • Binder photo sweetpea

    23 April 2009

    sweetpea rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    My friend made this for a birthday party and it was delicious! Everyone said it was the best cake they'd ever tasted. Now I'm about to try making it myself but have been warned that I'll need to reduce the cooking time if I use two 8 inch tins. Being a bit inexperienced, could anyone tell me how long the cake took to cook if they used two tins this size? Thanks

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  • Binder photo joseph

    25 April 2009

    joseph rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Fantastic recipe. One of the best cakes I've ever eaten and I'm surprised that a home-made cake can be better than the store-bought variety! Like someone pointed out, it's difficult to cut this cake into three layers. I suggest either increasing the amount of batter or perhaps baking it in a smaller cake tin to allow for a greater cake height thus making it easier to slice. It's also quite crumbly when warm, so perhaps it's best to cut the cake when it's completely cooled. You might also need to make extra ganache as I struggled to completely coat the surface of the cake. It also keeps for ages�mine kept for 2 weeks and was still moist (though it had somewhat hardened into chocolate blocks, not that I'm complaining, mind). One thing I must point out is that the coffee in the cake matures the longer you keep it, and at the end of two weeks it was more coffee than chocolate cake!

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  • Binder photo wendy-lou

    27 April 2009

    wendy-lou commented on this recipe

    I made this for my son's 3rd birthday yesterday, and it was so easy and quick to make. I made it without the coffee, and buttermilk. And only used 300g of the sugar (150g of each) And it cooked in 1 hour in my electric oven. I cut it into 2 pieces. It tasted amazing! So yummy and moist and everyone loved it! I would reccommend making this, it looks like it would be a tricky cake to make, but it is the easiest one i have ever made! The ganache was so easy to pour on and spread. TOP recipe, and TOP results!!! I am SO making this again!

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  • Binder photo Juliette

    27 April 2009

    Juliette commented on this recipe

    Just a word of caution, I used 70% and 80% cocoa solids (the Lindt variety) and all the people who ate the cake for afternoon tea had trouble sleeping that night! I presume the stimulants really work! Otherwise the cake was good!

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  • Binder photo weeble cooks

    28 April 2009

    weeble cooks rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Jude

    30 April 2009

    Jude commented on this recipe

    Fabulous recipe - found it really easy to make and have now made it twice, the second time leaving out the coffee as it left a slight taste in the mouth. Also only cut into two as it was too fiddly to do three slices but it was still fantastic. Have now had numerous requests to make it for loads of friends' and relatives birthdays....

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  • Binder photo Janet

    01 May 2009

    Janet rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I've just made this cake for a family get together and it has turned out marvellously. I haven't made a sponge cake for so long I wasn't sure about it. I baked it in two tins so it took less time to bake in my fan oven (about 40 mins). I shall decorate the cake later on and I know it won't look like the picture! If the family like it I'll make it for birthdays and Christmas and Easter...

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  • Binder photo med_girl_a

    03 May 2009

    med_girl_a commented on this recipe

    Hi I'm going to make this cake for my boyfriend's gran's 90th birthday but need to transport it 4 hours from my house to hers - was just wondering if people are keeping it in the fridge because of the cream in the topping? Thanks!

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  • Binder photo med_girl_a

    03 May 2009

    med_girl_a commented on this recipe

    Hi Does anyone know where you can buy chocolate curls as on the picture? Thanks!

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  • Binder photo Galanthis

    04 May 2009

    Galanthis rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this cake on Easter and followed the recipe exactly (well..alomost!). Like most of the people who have commented here, it is pretty hard to slice it into three. So next time I will either bake the cake with two separate tins or just slice the whole cake in two. Secondly I couldn't find buttermilk at the local supermarket so I substitute with milk and lemon juice. Other than that this cake is definately a chocoholic dream. It will stay moist for days if kept properly. Very good recipe all in all.

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  • Binder photo zaf

    04 May 2009

    zaf rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This cake is amazing! it really melts in your mouth. changes made: I divided the mixture between 2 round tins and then baked at 180 degrees(conventional oven) for 35-40mins which worked perfectly! Also instead of the ganache, i just used whipped cream which i put in the middle because the cake is rich enough without putting more chocolate over the top of it (but to each his own). Also instead of butter cream i mixed 75ml milk with the juice of half a lemon and let it curdle for 15-20 mins which is what can be used as an alternative. This is because i could not find any buttercream at my local store. All in all i will definitely make this cake again. It is very simple and easy to make and tastes delicious!

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  • Binder photo L Stephens

    06 May 2009

    L Stephens commented on this recipe

    Rich, moist and fantatic. I does sink alot in middle making it impoissible to cut into 3 pieces, and I found that it overflowed the tin. I cut up the 'overflow' and put it into a tupperware container, voila! Brownies!

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  • Binder photo Charlotte

    08 May 2009

    Charlotte rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    this was really easy to make and delicious!

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  • Binder photo KK

    10 May 2009

    KK rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Thanks for sharing the recipe. This cake turned out very good. It was very moist / gooey as promised. However, I thought this was a little too chocolaty and rich (I followed the recipe EXACTLY). Don't get me wrong, I am a huge chocolate fan, but I thought this was a little too much. My partner, however, liked it more than I did. Though both of us found this to be very heavy. Would recommend only for die-hard DARK chocolate fans. Or, may be with more milk chocolate, less dark for regular chocolate lovers like me.

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  • Binder photo adrianb

    14 May 2009

    adrianb rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This cake is delicious, a doddle to make. Definitely one to do again.

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  • Binder photo SHELL*/*

    18 May 2009

    SHELL*/* commented on this recipe

    Made this for my daughter's 1st birthday struggled with the curls on the top but the cake was absolutely gorgeous!

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  • Binder photo lisatogs

    19 May 2009

    lisatogs rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is sooooo chocolatey - would satisfy the largest craving! Really squidgy and really delicious - forgot the cocoa though but still tasted really gorgeous. Will be making again as a firm family favourite.

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  • Binder photo Jo

    19 May 2009

    Jo rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Kinman

    19 May 2009

    Kinman commented on this recipe

    Really rich, but so delicious! 5 stars!

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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 6.0g, carbohydrate 55.0g, fat 35.0 g, saturated fat 20.0g, fibre 2.0g, sugar 40.0g, salt 0.51 g

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