Make a dark chocolate cake this weekend
This recipe is for anyone who, like me, sometimes needs chocolate cake on what feels like a spiritual level. I have been making this cake since 2015 at least; I believe I scaled it down from this Triple Chocolate Cake recipe from Sally’s Baking Blog because I wanted to test out the new 6-inch cake pans I got around the same time. There is a tool via Skillet Lifehacker that lets you divide, multiply, or adapt any recipe that I used way back when to reduce the measurements before I trusted myself + math (I still double and triple check measurements because I ignored all my math teachers and their lessons growing up, sorry to them and honestly sorry to me, too).
We are once again using the same black cocoa for this cake that was in the mole linzer cookies from the other week. It is in a cake that I feel like I can really appreciate the striking color and rich flavor of black cocoa. The bag of King Arthur Black Cocoa suggests using it in combination with Dutch-process cocoa powder, which I did here. I had on hand Special Dark 100% Cocoa Powder from a very evil corporation whose name starts with an H and ends with “shey’s”. So if don’t want to spend $10 plus shipping on the King Arthur black cocoa, the evil H brand dark cocoa powder is easily found in most grocery stores and is obviously much cheaper.
I tested this cake once using black cocoa + unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa, and again with just the latter and the difference was subtle. While both were still damn fine chocolate cakes I missed the black cocoa’s rich flavor when only using the unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa. If you use only unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, weigh out 42 grams (or 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons, which I know is a weird-looking measurement but this is why I now prefer to weigh my ingredients). In fact, writing out this cake recipe was a good reminder to me that measuring ingredients by weight and not volume is the way to go because this recipe lived in my Notes app for the longest time with all these weird-looking measurements from when I reduced Sally’s recipe using the Lifehacker tool that would have made zero sense to anyone but me.
So you’re going to weigh or measure out the dry ingredients, including the sugar, into a small bowl and set that aside. You will be sifting the dry ingredients before mixing into the wet ingredients. You can use a stand mixer for this recipe if you’re tired (don’t blame you) and don’t feel like putting in the muscle for hand-mixing. If using a stand mixer, set the speed to medium (speed 4-6 on a Kitchenaid mixer) and mix the wet ingredients just until the egg is fully combined. If not using a stand mixer, whisk the vegetable oil or other neutral oil, buttermilk, egg, vanilla extract and salt in a large bowl, again, just until the egg is incorporated into the other ingredients.
I rarely measure vanilla extract and I personally ignore when a recipe calls for a measly 1/2 teaspoon — it is simply not enough vanilla! I prefer to measure vanilla extract with my whole chest and so I usually will just pour it into a cake batter until it looks like I have about a tablespoon, which is roughly the amount I use in almost all cake batters. I like what food blogger and recipe developer @itsholly says about “measuring vanilla extract with your heart” — same energy here.
Next, you will set a fine-mesh sieve over the large bowl and sift in your dry ingredients. At this point I switch from a whisk to a sturdy rubber spatula. Once you’ve mixed the dry ingredients into the wet, you will notice that the batter looks and feels less like a cake batter and a bit more like a cookie dough — don’t worry about it, it will come together once we’ve added in the rest of the liquid. Slowly pour in a small amount of the hot coffee (or hot water if you don’t drink coffee) at first; this is to basically temper the egg and make sure we don’t accidentally make scrambled eggs in our batter and mix. And we are using hot liquid in this cake recipe in order to bloom the cocoa powder, which just helps the powder to dissolve and incorporate into the rest of the ingredients. Once you’ve added in all the hot coffee or hot water, carefully stir/mix to incorporate and combine. This will take a little bit of some muscle on your part but it will be worth it.
I tested this recipe twice this week; once in two 6-inch cake pans, and again for you hunnies without 6-inch pans, in one 9-inch cake pan with 4-inch sides. It is important to make sure that if using a 9-inch cake pan for this recipe, the sides come up at least 2 inches to help ensure there is no overflow of cake batter. Divide the batter into the two 6-inch pans, or pour all the batter into one 9-inch pan, if using.
In the 6-inch pans, the cake bakes at 350F for about 23-25 minutes, and in the 9-inch pan for about 30 minutes. The sensory clues for detecting when the cake is done: you can smell the cake inside the oven, you can see that the cake has pulled away from the sides of the pan, a cake tester/toothpick/or even just a fork inserted into the top of the cake has come out mostly clean (it is fine if there are a few crumbs on the cake tester — this cake is very moist).
I’m purposely not including a frosting or buttercream recipe with the cake because you can really go in any direction here and I don’t want to limit you. I used this utterly brilliant chocolate ganache + American-style buttercream recipe from genius Stella Parks of Serious Eats. I used a 70% chocolate bar for my buttercream, and replaced the high-fat Dutch cocoa powder with more of the black cocoa and took this cake to a very, very rich place which, spiritually is exactly what I had been wanting. Use whatever buttercream recipe you like, just keep in mind that the cake itself is rich from the black cocoa. If you are wanting a more balanced dessert, a fruity buttercream like any of these frostings that use freeze-dried fruit once again from Stella Parks would be a great idea. I have made this exact cake with freeze-dried raspberry frosting; it was divine and is still my all-time favorite cake flavor combination. Raspberry + chocolate has long been my favorite cake to eat, in fact I had this exact cake at my 21st birthday party which my family held in the backyard at my mom’s house! Surprised I still remember that considering how much alcohol I probably had that day! If you wanted to go even lighter in flavor profiles, frosting simply with whipped cream would be lovely. However you decide to frost the cake, I know this recipe will lead you to good results.
Silly little picture made in Instagram based on the comic “Selfish Nancy”, 1981
Dark Chocolate Cake
Yield: two layer 6-inch cake; one layer 9-inch cake
Active time: ~10 minutes
Bake time: 25 - 30 minutes
175 grams (about 1 1/4 cup) all-purpose flour
187 grams (about 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
39 grams (1/4 cup) black cocoa powder, such as King Arthur Black Cocoa
11 grams (2 tablespoons) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 grams (about 1/2 teaspoon) kosher salt
58 ml (1/4 cup) buttermilk, room temperature
95 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil or other neutral oil
1 large egg, at room temperature
vanilla extract (about 1 tablespoon)
110 ml (4 ounces; about 1/2 cup) hot coffee or hot water
Frosting ideas:
American Buttercream X Ganache Frosting
To make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray two 6-inch round cake pans or one 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds.
In a medium bowl, add the flour, sugar, black cocoa, unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda and whisk just to combine. Set aside.
Using a handheld whisk or stand mixer on medium speed (speed 4-6 on a Kitchenaid mixer), mix the buttermilk, oil, egg, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl until combined. Set a fine-mesh sieve over the bowl and sift the dry ingredients in to the wet ingredients. Switch to a sturdy rubber spatula to mix in the hot coffee/hot water; add just a small amount of the hot liquid to the batter at first to temper the egg, then add the remaining liquid and stir to incorporate.
Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans or pour into the 9-inch cake pan. Bake for 25 minutes if using two 6-inch pans, or 30 minutes if using one 9-inch cake pan, or until a toothpick/cake tester/fork inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, a few crumbs is fine.
Let cool for 10 minutes inside the cake pan, then transfer to a cooling rack where it should cool completely before frosting.
Frost the cake however you desire.
To store the cake:
Unfrosted the cake will keep for about 5 days in an airtight container. Once frosted, the cake should go in the fridge or on a cake stand with a dome cover where it will keep for about 2 days or however long chocolate cake usually lasts in your home.