Wedding cake - rich dark chocolate cake

Recipe uploaded by

Jane Hornby

21 ratings

Recipe by Jane Hornby

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1. Video tutorial: Lining a cake tin

1. Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 4. Butter, double-line and wrap the sides of the 30cm cake tin as before. Put the butter and chocolate into a medium saucepan, then stir over a low heat until melted and smooth. Stir in the coffee and vanilla.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into the biggest bowl you have. Add the sugar, breaking down any lumps with your fingertips if necessary. Beat the eggs and soured cream together in a jug or bowl and pour into the flour mix. Pour in the melted chocolate mix as well, then stir with a wooden spoon until you have a thick, even chocolaty batter.
3. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 2½ hrs - don't open the oven door before 2 hrs is up, as this will cause the cake to sink. Once cooked, leave in the tin to cool completely. The unfilled cake will keep for up to four days, wrapped as before, or frozen for a month.

Per serving

274 kcalories, protein 3g, carbohydrate 30g, fat 16 g, saturated fat 9g, fibre 1g, salt 0.23 g

Latest comments and suggestions

Results 41-60

• jstokes

  23 August 2008

  jstokes commented on this recipe

  when you say 10 eggs, is that medium or large?

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• elainatan

  26 August 2008

  elainatan rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Amazing! It is a supermoist cake. Very chocolatey. It stayed moist for a week (I was testing it's shelf life in preparation for a wedding). I halved the recipe and baked for 2hrs at the recommended temp. I made a mousse buttercream (chocolate of course) and it worked absolutely perfect together. Does anyone know how long it should be baked for for a 4", 5", 6" cake as these are the top layers of a 7 layer wedding cake? Thanks for your feedback!

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• AbElastigirl

  29 August 2008

  AbElastigirl commented on this recipe

  I am doing a two tier wedding cake using this recipe because it sounds so good and such great comments, but I would like to know if anyone has tried the cake without the filling. I'll be covering the cake with chocolate fondant and wondering if this will be alright or whether it really needs the filling.

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• Elizabeth

  30 August 2008

  Elizabeth commented on this recipe

  Made as an engagement cake - will use again for the wedding- but probably a different size. Because it's a wedding cake it would be useful to have the scaling sizes to adapt the recipe. I've done this on a spread sheet - but can't get it to paste nicely onto this site. 2 eggs ( divide ingredients by 5) makes a 5 inch round. 3 egss (divide ingredients by 10, multiply by 3 - or divide by 3.33) makes 6 inch square, and is just a little too much for 6 inch round. 4 eggs does 7 inch round and 6 eggs a 9 inch round I am more concerned about how long to cook the smaller sizes - 2 hrs seems a long time for the 2 and 3 egg versions?

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• Golden Spatula

  09 September 2008

  Golden Spatula rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Made half the recipe with an 11-inch/28cm round cake pan (filled half full) a few times. Family and friends crave after this cake especially when I baked this with some really dark roasted French espresso I always buy back from France. The fullness of the coffee flavor really goes well with the chocolate. Italian espresso tend to make this cake too bitter and acidic for the kids and younger teenagers tastes. Covered the cake with homemade milk chocolate ganache and everything gets wiped clean every time. The cake needs to usually sit and rest for two days for the flavors to blend before serving. I usually reduce the temperature by 5 degrees Celcius because my first cake got a little burnt by the sides and top and I had to trim quite a bit away.

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• dee

  15 September 2008

  dee rated and commented on this recipe

  

  followed the recipe and ended with a cake spilage in the oven, recovered it.. just.. dissapointing outcome. tasted better..

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• Golden Spatula

  25 September 2008

  Golden Spatula commented on this recipe

  Try to fill only HALF the cake pan if you do not want to scrap your oven after the two hours . It's a rather heavy cake and it will rise almost double from the initial batter because of the 1-1 baking powder, baking soda ratio. The extra air helps with the dense batter. I usually line parchment paper about two inches above the sides of the pan and the cake rises nicely without spilling out.

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• Ooh Tasty!

  29 September 2008

  Ooh Tasty! rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I am using this recipe for a 3 tiered round wedding cake 6", 8" and 10". I finished trial 6" cake last night using 1/4 of the recipe amount. I baked slowly in a fan assisted oven on 140 degree setting for 2 hours and it was perfect and so so moist. Cuts brilliantly too using bread knife. I am using 1/2 the recipe amount for the 8" cake and 3/4 for the 10". I will be using white chocolate ganache as frosting as decorating with white chocolate cigarellos and white chocolate curls. Make sure you use deep cake tins approx 4" deep and line up to 2" above the edge. This cake is the tops!!...I strongly recommend having a go.

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• greencake

  08 October 2008

  greencake commented on this recipe

  Can someone help change the grams to cups please.

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• Jendeb

  30 October 2008

  Jendeb commented on this recipe

  Hi - Isnt this the loveliest receipe!!! Has anybody got the quanties and cooking times they used for different size tins? I am looking for all sizes :)

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• Hetty

  03 November 2008

  Hetty commented on this recipe

  Hi, can anyone tell me what size eggs to use for this recipe, please? Also, when is the cake cooked? Is it when a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean, or is it more like a chocolate brownie where a few crumbs of mix should adhere to the skewer and the centre of the cake still have a slight wobble? I baked this at the weekend for someone else and I used large eggs and cooked until the skewer clean. I think the eggs should have been medium and not cooked until the skewer clean. Any help would be greatly appreciated. It still tasted great, though, just not happy with the texture. Thank you.

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• lm4999

  04 November 2008

  lm4999 commented on this recipe

  Hi, Anyone have this recipe in cups etc...i'm not good at converting!!!

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• Fiona

  10 January 2009

  Fiona commented on this recipe

  Am about to trial this as I hope to use it for a christening cake and have not left much time for mishaps! Can anyone please tell me whether I should use medium or large eggs?

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• Maisam

  11 January 2009

  Maisam commented on this recipe

  I am making this cake in three tiers, 6", (15cm) 9" (23cm) and 12" (30cm) for my son's wedding. I've read all the comments and it seems that whatever the size it takes 2 1/2 hours to bake. Is this correct please? Mai

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• Jackie

  15 January 2009

  Jackie commented on this recipe

  I originally made the whole 3-tier cake for my niece's wedding 2 years ago. Everyone thought it was great. I have now done a trial chocolate tier for my son's wedding, but can't seem to get the texture right. If I cook it until a skewer comes out clean the cake is heavy and dry. Any suggestions would be welcome.

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• kdearlove

  16 January 2009

  kdearlove rated and commented on this recipe

  

  This cake is just perfect, I've made so many trial wedding cakes now and this one comes out the best. So moist yet firm enough to ice and stack and not crumble all over your guest outfits. I'm definitely using this recipe for my wedding cake now. One question, I've frozen the latest one I've made to see how fresh it stays. I don't want to be defrosting then icing the cake the day before my wedding but afraid it will go stale quicker than a fresh one! Can anyone advise?

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• Hogmanay

  03 February 2009

  Hogmanay commented on this recipe

  I made this as a 3 tier for my wedding in September. I replaced the coffee with fresh squeezed orange juice and grated in orange rind from a couple of oranges. It was really, really tasty and I've even made it for a couple of birthday cakes too. I would recommend it to anyone as I had no experience of baking cakes before and now I am hooked!!

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• Rhian

  04 February 2009

  Rhian commented on this recipe

  PLEASE could someone provide a recipe for chocolate buttercream filling and topping for this cake (or another suitable chocolate filling and topping). I can't find the recipe listed here for the filling for this cake - only the lemon curd one!! Many thanks.

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• mrs cake

  09 February 2009

  mrs cake commented on this recipe

  the choc buttercream is on here....under how to make a wedding cake but it is as follows 500g butter 1kg icing sugar 142ml double cream 200g 70% solid choc bring cream just to boil , pour over cream leave 2 min stir til smooth then fold into the butter cream made using the butter and icing sugar.....if not a plain ganache icing is lovely porb best doing an internet search for amounts thou

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• Hell

  18 February 2009

  Hell rated and commented on this recipe

  

  This cake is wonderful - I am going to make it for a friend's wedding cake and so did a practise run at the weekend. I changed the expresso coffee for Cointreau which worked really well. Can anyone suggest ways to cut the cake in half when it is as large as a 12inch as I am worried my knife won't be big enough?

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Ingredients

• 650g unsalted butter
• 650g plain chocolate (70% cocoa)
• 100ml very strong coffee- espresso is ideal
• 3 tsp vanilla essence
• 650g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 950g light soft brown sugar
• 10 eggs
• 2 x 284ml soured cream

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Difficulty and servings

Serves 50

Preparation and cooking times

Prep 40 mins

Cook min 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

• 650g unsalted butter
• 650g plain chocolate (70% cocoa)
• 100ml very strong coffee- espresso is ideal
• 3 tsp vanilla essence
• 650g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 950g light soft brown sugar
• 10 eggs
• 2 x 284ml soured cream

Per serving

274 kcalories, protein 3g, carbohydrate 30g, fat 16 g, saturated fat 9g, fibre 1g, salt 0.23 g

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