One bowl chocolate cake
- May 6
- 3 min read
A simple but incredibly delicious chocolate cake. Rich and decedent with a soft chocolatey sponge, perfect for any special occasion.
Time to prepare : 20 minutes
Time to bake : 1 hour
Serves : 12
Ingredients
260g butter, softened
250g caster sugar
200g good quality dark chocolate (chips or a block chopped finely)
125ml freshly made coffee*
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
240g plain flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
40g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
225ml sour cream
Ganache
I mostly use this 2-ingredient chocolate ganache to fill and decorate my cake
You could also use a buttercream frosting
Method
Pre-heat a fan oven to 170ºC. Grease and line a deep 8" (20cm diameter) loose bottomed cake tin with baking paper. You could also use 2 x 8" regular cake tins for a cake with two sponge layers.
Melt the chocolate in a small saucepan over a low heat (or in the microwave in 30 second blasts) until it's almost melted. Remove from the heat and continue to stir until it's smooth and glossy with no lumps. Set to one side.
Make the coffee fresh using either instant coffee with boiling water or a coffee machine, set to one side.
In a large mixing bowl, use a handheld electric whisk (or standing mixer with whisk attachment fitted) on a low speed to beat the butter for about 1 minute until it's fluffy and pale in colour. Add in the caster sugar and whisk again until combined. Pour in the melted chocolate and whisk until combined, the batter should be glossy but still quite thick. Pour in the fresh, slightly cooled coffee and whisk again, on a low speed to prevent it splashing over the bowl, the batter should be thinner and run off the whisks now. Continue on a low speed, whisking in the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.
Sieve in the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Use a spatula to fold this through until nearly combined, it should have a thick, heavy and mousse-like texture. Finally, add in the sour cream and fold through until evenly mixed.
Pour the cake batter into the cake tin(s) and bake in the middle of the oven for ~1hr (if using the deep tin) or about 35 - 40 minutes for 2 x sandwich tins. The sponge(s) are ready when they don't jiggle anymore, have a soft spring back when pushed with fingertips and a knife or skewer comes out with no raw batter - it's OK if there's wet chocolate crumbs, but not wet, streaky batter.
Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool in it's tin whilst you make the ganache. Once the cake tin is cool enough to touch, remove the tin (place the cake on something sturdy like a pint glass or NutriBullet cup, so you can push the cake tin collar down and off), peel of the sides of the baking paper, then gently slip the sponge off the base, peeling off the base baking paper and place the cake onto a cooling rack. Leave to cool completely before decorating.
Nutritional Information
(per slice, un-iced)
415 calories
4g protein, 33g carbs, 29g fat
Good to know:
Vegetarian
To store, wrap slices in cling film (to stop the sponge from drying out) and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To freeze, wrap either the un-decorated sponge or decorated individual slices tightly in cling film and then again in tin-foil and store in an airtight container, freeze for up to 3 months.
To make this cake gluten-free, use gluten-free plain flour. Baking powder and cocoa powder are generally gluten-free as they don't contain wheat, but double check the label or buy certified GF ingredients if this is important for you.
You don't need fancy coffee here and you can't taste it within the cake - it just enhances the flavour of the chocolate. If you're using instant coffee, dissolve 1 1/2 tsp into 125ml boiling water.
This recipe is for 8" circular cake tins, different sizes and shapes may require different baking times and temperatures.
Baking 'low and slow' creates a sponge that has a slightly more flattened top, this is the perfect base for icing, don't worry if it has a few cracks on top - this is completely normal with one bowl bakes and will be covered when you decorate it.
