Chocolate Cake Recipe
This is a beautiful moist and delicious chocolate cake with the crunch of toasted pistachios and almonds on the side topped off with rich ganache and chocolate flowers. Perfect for Christmas or any other special gathering.
Chocolate Cake Ingredients:
Makes two 8inch (20.32 centimetres) round cakes or 24 cupcakes
200g (7.05 ounces) of 70% cocoa dark chocolate
315g (11.11 ounces) or 1 1/3 cups margarine or butter
8 large eggs
2 1/4 cups or 485g (17.11 ounces) caster sugar (super fine sugar)
1 1/4 cups or 200g (7.05 ounces) plain flour (use GF flour if coeliac, this recipe has been tested with gluten free flour and works well)
1/4 cup or 30g (1.06 ounces) cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Chocolate Cake Recipe Directions:
Preheat the oven to 180C (356 degrees Fahrenheit).
Place chocolate and margarine into a bowl.
Melt in the microwave (30seconds, stir, 30sec, stir…).
Whisk in the sugar and then the eggs.
Sift flour, cocoa powder and baking powder together and mix into cake mixture until just combined.
Pour into two lined 20cm (7.87 inches) round cake tins.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Test if its done by inserting a skewer into the centre, if it comes out clean it is ready. If the cake is looking done on top but is not yet cooked through put an empty baking tray on the shelf above it in the oven.
For the decoration
600 mL (20.29 fluid ounces) or 2 1/3 cup cream
2 tablesppons icing sugar
dash of vanilla essence
Whip the cream, vanilla and icing sugar until just thickened. Divide your bowl into half and then one half into thirds. Use one of these smaller portions between the layers. Add a generous spoon of ganache to the larger portion and mix in, use this to cover the sides of the cake.
100g (3.53 ounces) or 1 cup flaked almonds
100g (3.53 ounces) or 3/4 cup pistachios, chopped
Roast the almonds and pistachios on a tray in the oven at 180ºC or approx 5 minutes. Leave to cool
Press the nuts onto the side of the cake as shown in the video.
Ganache Recipe
300g (10.58 ounces) milk chocolate
100 mL (3.38 fluid ounces) or 1/3 cup cream
Break the chocolate and put into a bowl. Bring the cream to a boil and then pour over the chocolate. Leave to sit for a couple of minutes and then stir until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and leave on the bench overnight to firm up.
Use the ganache to decorate the top of the cake.
Chocolate Flower Tutorial
How to temper chocolate and what chocolate to use for chocolate decorations
by Ann Reardon How To Cook That
2014
My Cookbook
Stores that sell my book listed by country:
http://bit.ly/ARcookbook
All recipe quantities in the book are in grams, ounces and cups.
I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed the Elsa cake video. I have looked at so many in the past week and by far yours is the best! I am now going to make your chocolate cake for her dress etc. I have a recipe that I have used for a while but am anxious to try yours. I am so glad to have found you on line. I too don’t use margarine so will use butter but think that I have everything else to make this great looking cake. This Elsa cake is for a very important great grandchilds’ birthday and I so want it to be a perfect as I can make it. I have printed a few shots of the cake in progress so that I don’t have to keep running to the computer.
Thanks for sharing your talent and recipes. Your little details make such a difference.
awesome trudy, I hope it turns out really well for you 😀 and happy birthday to your great grandchild
Will the cake turn out if I use regular granulated sugar, or is it better to use the caster sugar?
Hi Rose, give it a go it should be OK, I prefer caster for baking as it dissolves quicker.
Hi Ann
Do you think it will work if I use the chocolate cake recipe to make cupcakes?
Thanks
Hi betty, yes I use it often, they are quite flat on top but taste great so I just add frosting 😀
Hi Ann
I’m just wondering why you use so many eggs?
: D
Hi Marilyn, lots of eggs makes the cake super moist.
Hi Anne! I made your chocolate cake last night for my mum’s 40th and looked great but when I went to check it this morning the nuts seemed to turn back to normal. I’m a bit concerned if the cake has absorbed the cream. Please get back to me ASAP! Thanks
Robyn
Hi Robyn, by turning back to normal do you mean they are not crispy? The nuts will have absorbed moisture front he cream, they are still totally fine to eat but will not give that crunch. In the future store the nuts in an airtight container and put on and hour or two before serving.
I am trying to copy the frozen elsa doll cake and don’t keep having time to go back to the video for the intricate bits would it be at all possible for a picture of it to be sent to my email address please I am a subscriber and it would be great to have a still picture of it
Hi Nathan perhaps you could pin it to pinterest or take a screen shot 😀
hi! can I use semi sweet chocolate instead? I really don’t like the taste of dark chocolate.
Thanks!
Hi Cindy, yes you can but the dark is ‘watered down’ by all the other ingredients
hi ,Ann ur recipes r to gr8,n the tutorials too,i tried mkong the chocolate cake,it turned out nice,but toooooo sweet can ui ireduce the sugar quantity n by how much?????coz after the icing coat n fondant covering the chocolate cake will bcome more sweet.i need to mk it for my daughters 2nd bday….pls help
Hi amee, you’d need to experiment with using less sugar and see if the texture is still to your liking 😀
Hi…
I’m writing you from a far far country. I just wonder, for how many cake trays is this recipe enough? I will use a 30 cm wide cake tin..
Can I substitute the margarine with butter? I do not use margarine.
yes you can Becky
I always love chocolate as a flavour… Tastes really nice… Thank you 🙂
I love your recipes & YouTube videos! I was wondering how long can this cake be stored at room temperature? I’m baking a few days ahead for a party but don’t want it to go bad. Also, is it possible to store the chocolate and butter for the next day after you’ve melted it? I melted it but then realized I need more of the other ingredients and won’t be able to get them until tomorrow.
Thank you!
– Demi
Hi Demi,
cakes are always best if baked maybe just a day before, so they’re really fresh.
Hi Ann,
Thanks so much for the recipe/tutorial! The cake turned out really well! I only had dark choc for the flowers but I think it still looks nice. Thanks again! 🙂
yum! well done Elise
Hi Ann! Your notes say that you have tested this with gluten free flour. I don’t eat gluten so I’m so grateful! The different brands use all different kinds of blends of starches and sometimes bean or almond flours. They don’t all work the same for all things. Do you know the brand of gluten free flour that you tested this with? Many thanks!
XOXO
hi Reese, it was White Wings flour
hi Ann, me again! this was the first of your cakes I attempted..for hubby’s birthday, then I did the lighning McQueen cars one for my son’s birthday, and then the Hunger games one for my friend’s birthday! I really love your work and look forward to seeing more stuff to challenge me to do more 🙂 I won’t post the pic of this one, as it didn’t look as tidy as yours 🙂 but nevertheless it was delicious!!! thanks again!
It’s a yummy one isn’t it 🙂
Hi Ann, you and you creative recipes have been a great inspiration to, loved this cake recipe which is simple and super delicious and i tried it twice so far 🙂 it turned out really well. i made a cake “spiderman theme” birthday cake for my son’s birthday and it was my first attempt, you tell rate it 🙂
Thanks very much sharing such wonderful recipes, Love you loads
Take care
Hi Sidra, can you share how you made your Spider Man cake please? Thanks!
yea Sheryll i would love to, recipe of the chocolate cake and frosting is entirely Ann’s and i used her tips as well and took the print of spider, spiderman font (for name of birthday boy) and a number 5 then use them as a guide/template cut the same way ann does. For web u can use thin black fondant’s sankes and line them as they look like a web (as i did) or u can use black royal icing.
looks great Sidra, well done!
Hi Ann,
Can I replace the dark chocolate for white chocolate ? Looking for a good white chocolate cake to bake for my daughter’s 1st Birthday in two months then cover with fondant.
Btw Ive baked this cake numerous of time and it has turned out beautifully. It was also my son’s cake for his 2nd and 3rd birthday recently.
Thanks always for sharing. You’re a sweetheart : )
yes you can Jenie, happy baking
Hi Anne, thanks so much for your tutorials! I used your chocolate cake recipe to make the dump truck cake (came out wonderful) and the recipe worked a treat. I used the recipe again to make your pistachio cake and the batter was very thick. I thought I did something wrong, too much flour or something and went out and re-bought the ingredients and made it again, double checked all the weights and measurements, but the same thing happened. I don’t know what I am doing differently than the first time I made it and wondered if you had any ideas. Thanks very much for taking the time to do all this.
Terri
Hi Terry!I think that the wrong part with the batter is taht you need to wisk your eggs and sugar together first and then put the other things.I tryed it like that and it wasn’t thick.And put little less sugar. 🙂
At what temperature do you bake the cake?
320 degrees F. or 160 C.
Margarine or butter??? Thnx
I prefer canola margarine