Chocolate cake tips and recipes please! (merged)

daska

I have a good basic recipe that gives good detail but I want to make a chocolate one and my head's in a flap and all the recipe's I can think of use chocolate (except Nigella's guiness cake and I'm not making that for a school sale LOL) but I don't have any and can't get out.

I usually use:
440g butter/sugar/SRflour
8 medium eggs

How much flour should I sub with cocoa do you think? I want a decent chocolate flavour and the cake is quite sweet as it stands so I think it can take quite a large hit without worrying about it becoming bitter. 50g? 75g? More?

The main thing is that it needs to be a dense crumb so that the detail of the pan isn't lost so I'm not really up for trying a radically different recipe.

morwenna

I usually use the chocolate cake part from Nigella's Coffee/Chocolate Volcano which uses 80g cocoa powder. Also, if you have it, instant espresso power (just a tsp) makes a chocolate cake more chocolatey without tasting of coffee

daska

Just taken a look, I'm guessing the cake might be a bit too soft for my purposes but it's still very helpful thank you, as looking at the proportions it would seem 25% cocoa isn't impossible.

zippychick

How did you get on? Ive merged this with our chocolate cake thread

Zip

SueC_2

I gave this one a go at the weekend.

http://www.lindyscakes.co.uk/2011/02/02/lindys-chocolate-fudge-cake-recipe/

Seriously good.

Although it uses chocolate so is no good for your current needs.

But still, seriously good. And I mean, seriously!

dragonlily

I want to bake my brother a chocolate birthday cake tomorrow. I usually make a traditional chocolate cake (ie equal flour, butter, sugar, eggs etc). I have also made the Nigella chocolate fudge cake twice. He loves fudge cake but the Nigella recipe is pretty convoluted!

Do any of you have favourite chocolate cake recipes you could share? You would make me very happy

x

shiprob195

I have been baking this http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3092/ultimate-chocolate-cake
cake for over 2 years now. It tastes amazing. Friends always ask for me to make them one for their birthday present.

aliadds

I use the Bero milk chocolate cake recipe

Stephen_Leak

BLACK FOREST GATEAU

One of the world’s classic desserts. The name comes from the colourless cherry brandy, called “Black Forest cherry water” (Schwarzwälder Kirschwasser), which is traditionally used to flavour it. In Germany, it must contain this to be legally sold as a Black Forest gateau. However, in domestic recipes, the more readily available sweet cherry brandy or cherry liqueur are usually used. In Austria, dark rum is usually used.

This version isn’t like the ones you can buy, which are poor imitations of the real thing, It doesn’t use flour, so it’s amazingly light.

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

1 teaspoon of sunflower oil
6 large eggs
150g of caster sugar
4 tablespoons of cocoa powder
300ml of double cream
1 tablespoon of caster sugar
400g tin of morello cherries
50g of dark chocolate

METHOD

Line the bottom of 2 x 20cm (8 inch) sponge cake tins with a circle of the greaseproof paper and coat the paper and the sides of the tin with the oil.

Break the eggs into a bowl, and pick out any bits of shell. Separate the eggs by lifting out the yolks with a spoon. Put them into another bowl.

Add the 150g of caster sugar to the egg yolks. Beat with a fork or whisk with a whisk until they go pale and thicken. Sprinkle the cocoa powder onto the mixture, a little at a time, and gently fold it in (see below) with a spoon.

Beat or whisk the egg whites until they are stiff.

Add a tablespoon of egg white to the mixture and gently fold it in (see below) with a spoon. Then add and fold in the rest.

Put half of the mixture into each cake tin and smooth the tops flat.

Cook in a preheated oven at 180°C, 350°F or gas mark 4 for 15 to 20 minutes until the tops are firm and springy to touch.

Turn the cakes out of the tins and leave to cool. When they are just warm, peel off the greaseproof paper.

When you are ready to serve, put the cream and the tablespoon of sugar into a clean bowl. Beat with a fork or whisk with a whisk until it is “floppy”. This is firmer than when you started, but not solid.

Open the tin of cherries and drain off the juice, keeping 3 tablespoons of it in a cup. If they still have the stones in them, remove them (see below). Keep 12 of the least mangled ones for decoration. Cut the rest into slices.

Put one of the cakes onto a plate. Pour the cherry juice over it. Spread half of the cream over it. Put the sliced cherries on top. Put the other cake on top. Spread the rest of the cream over it. Arrange the whole cherries around the edge. Grate the chocolate over the top.

ADDITIONS & ALTERATIONS

Add 2 tablespoons of cherry brandy, cherry liqueur, cherry water or dark rum to the cherry juice.

tumbletots

shipr!!!95 wrote: »

I have been baking this http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3092/ultimate-chocolate-cake
cake for over 2 years now. It tastes amazing. Friends always ask for me to make them one for their birthday present.

Hi,

Can you taste the coffe in it? I hate coffee. Do you think it would be ok to leave it out. Bit of a baking novice but might give it a go.