This is the last Chocolate Cake recipe you’ll ever use. Try it once and you’ll never go back to MeeMaw’s Devil’s Food or Great Aunt So and So’s Decadent Fudge. This is it. The be all and end all of gateau de chocolat.
Created by Add A Pinch, this recipe has been adapted by Kerry Knight to include a very special secret ingredient. Which is no longer going to be a secret if we tell you, but we gotta tell you because it is life changing.
Yogurt, and not just any yogurt either, but Greek yogurt. Kerry’s addition took this cake to 11.
The second secret ingredient is some very finely ground espresso. There isn’t enough in the cake to make the end result taste like mocha, just enough to lift the chocolate to it’s ultimate peak. It’s also in the frosting so make extra.
As an added bonus this post includes the finest chocolate frosting recipe – not buttercream! Don’t we all need a break from buttercream? This frosting is quick and chocolate-y and goes on like a dream.
And if you want that frosting to look super luscious take a peek at this video where the secret technique for extra swoopy, swirly icing is revealed.
Fantastic Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon fine ground espresso
• ½ cup Greek yogurt, ½ cup milk and cream
• ¼ cup olive oil, ¼ cup veg oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water
Instructions
• Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans with your favourite method, be that parchment, buttered then floured, whatever you prefer.
• Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso into a large bowl. Whisk.
• Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter until well combined. This batter is thin – don’t worry!
• Distribute cake batter evenly between your two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the pans and letting cool completely on racks.
Quick Chocolate Frosting
1/2 cup butter melted
2/3 cup cocoa
1 tsp finely ground espresso
4 cups icing sugar
6 tbsp milk
Melt the butter and pour into a large bowl. Whisk in the cocoa powder and espresso powder and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the icing sugar and milk. Whisk until smooth and frost right away.