Ultimate Chocolate Cake
A one-bowl chocolate cake, deepened with hot coffee, layered with whipped chocolate ganache and finished in chocolate buttercream – properly rich, built for a crowd and one of my six wedding cakes.
Ingredients
Method
Heat the oven to 175°C and prepare three 15cm (6") or two 20cm (8") cake pans — spray the sides and line the bases with parchment circles.
Put all the dry ingredients into a stand mixer and mix on low for 30 seconds to combine.
Add the olive oil, eggs, vanilla and buttermilk and mix on low until just combined.
With the mixer still on low, slowly stream in the hot coffee (or hot water), then turn to medium and beat for about 2 minutes, until smooth — the batter will be very thin, that's normal.
Divide between the pans, filling each no more than two-thirds full, and bake for 32 to 36 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
For the ganache, put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Warm the cream in a saucepan until it just starts to simmer, then pour it over the chocolate, cover with a plate, and let sit for 2 minutes.
Whisk until completely smooth, with no flecks of chocolate left. Cover the surface with clingfilm and refrigerate until it reaches room temperature — it should look like smooth peanut butter.
Whip on medium-high speed until it lightens in colour and holds a peak, about 2 to 3 minutes. Use straight away — if it sits out and softens later, just re-whip it briefly to bring it back.
For the buttercream, whip the butter on medium-high until pale and creamy, 4 to 5 minutes.
Scrape down the bowl, then add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk, salt, ganache and vanilla. Drape a clean kitchen towel over the mixer to stop everything flying out, then mix on low until it starts to come together.
Remove the towel, scrape down the bowl, and keep mixing on low until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes more. Make a second batch the same way.
To assemble, place a cake layer down, spread a thin layer of buttercream over it, then pipe a buttercream ring around the edge as a dam. Fill the centre with half the remaining ganache.
Add the next layer and repeat — buttercream ring, ganache filling.
Top with the final layer and crumb coat the whole cake with the rest of the first batch of buttercream.
Chill for 30 minutes to an hour to set, then decorate with the second batch of buttercream — pipe a design, or keep it simple.
The batter looks alarmingly thin once the hot coffee goes in that's exactly right, don't panic and add more flour. And this genuinely needs two full batches of buttercream, not one, one batch barely covers the crumb coat.