A moist chocolate fudge cake sponge, topped & filled with THE BEST chocolate frosting you will ever make!
Chocolate fudge cake
I realise saying that this contains the BEST chocolate frosting ever is quite a statement, but I honestly think it is – its so delicious! I also realised after my Facebook requests post that I hadn’t actually posted my go-to chocolate cake recipe!
My recipe for my chocolate orange bundt cake is delicious as I LOVE chocolate orange, and you can use it just as a chocolate recipe – but this sponge & frosting combination is a winner.
Coffee
Chocolate cake is one of those classics that you don’t want to mess with, but sometimes they can be terrible, or not chocolatey enough, or just not moist enough. I have seen over the past few months that people use coffee or instant coffee in a chocolate cake of forms to make the cake more moist and chocolatey – so I tried this!
I personally cannot taste the coffee, and neither could my family – however, If you don’t like coffee, or never buy it then no worries – you can use just water, but the depth of flavour might not be the same!!
Please please PLEASE trust in using the coffee though – I really am sure that you will love it! It just makes it basically the best sponge ever!!!
Frosting
The magical ingredient in the chocolate frosting is the evaporated milk – I discovered this after trawling through the internet for hours on end and found a couple of mentions that it might be better – and holy smokes it was.
As you can see in the pictures its quite shiny and almost looks wet, but thats just the consistency, I like mine a little more supple than your standard buttercream! However, you MUST use actual unsalted butter – you cannot use a spread for this bit! You want the butter that’s wrapped in foil.
A classic bake
When I posted my recipe for my Victoria sponge – celebration cake I knew you all loved the classics, so I hope this suits well too! However, this cake is so much more indulgent. You can easily make a chocolate version of my Victoria sponge, but this is definitely more dense, and more chocolatey. It’s basically heaven in a bite.
This is the sort of cake that you want to have a slice, and then shove it all in your face. Yes its gooey, and has many more ingredients then you think it probably should have, but it is WORTH IT. Honestly, worth it. It also does seem a little faffy, but again.. its worth it!
Layering it up with the best frosting on the planet, and you will want to devour every single crumb. Because of how it bakes however, it can often take a long time in the oven, and even sometimes less. It’s all down to the mixing!
Top tips!
I do NOT use an electric mixer for this cake recipe, because it will most likely over do it. I just do each bit by hand, and then fold it all together to get a thick fudge cake that bakes to perfection. However, a mixer is good for the frosting side of things!
It is very soft, so it can be difficult if you want to spread the cake in buttercream, so I find its easier just to make layers. If you do want to cover it, you’ll need to refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes to firm it slightly first, and it’ll be easier! Enjoy!
Chocolate Fudge Cake with the BEST Chocolate Frosting Ever!
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Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 225 g dark chocolate
- 225 g unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp instant coffee granules
- 175 g plain flour
- 25 g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 200 g golden caster sugar
- 200 g light brown sugar
- 4 medium eggs
- 75 ml buttermilk
Chocolate Frosting
- 250 g unsalted butter (not stork)
- 500 g icing sugar
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100-125 ml evaporated milk
Decorations
- Sprinkles
- Anything!
Instructions
For the Cake!
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Preheat your oven to 160ºC/140ºC fan and grease & line two 8″/20cm cake tins – leave to the side.
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In a heatproof bowl, microwave the dark chocolate & butter until melted – mine takes two minutes! Pour the coffee granules into 125ml boiling water and mix – add the coffee to the chocolate/butter mix and stir well until smooth!
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In a separate large bowl add the plain flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, golden caster sugar, and light brown sugar and mix well so the ingredients are all mixed with each other well!
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Mix the eggs with the buttermilk – add the chocolate mix & the egg mix to the dry ingredients and stir together, try not to over mix it – it should be thick but runny when finished and no flour lumps!
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Pour the mixture into the two tins and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes (can take a little longer in some ovens) once baked leave to cool in the tin and remove afterwards, or leave for 10-15 minutes and cool on a wire rack for a softer cake.
For the Frosting!
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With an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until its very smooth and supple (couple of minutes)
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Gradually add the icing sugar & cocoa powder alternatively with the evaporated milk until all is incorporated and add the vanilla essence – beat for a couple of minutes so its extra smooth & creamy.
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The more evaporated milk you add the more runny it’ll be, and I have found about 100ml-125ml is perfect for me! If it’s a little hotter weather however, you may find you need less!
For the Decoration!
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Decorate your cake how you like and ENJOY! I spread half my buttercream on the first cake, add the second sponge and repeat!
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And then I sprinkle on all sorts of sprinkles!
Notes
- I recommend putting the cakes in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour before trying to decorate with buttercream on the sides as the sponge is so lovely and light it might crumble a bit if you don’t!
- If you can’t access the buttermilk, you can make your own! Use the same quantity of FULL FAT milk, mixed with 2tbsp lemon juice and mix – it’ll look a bit funky, but thats okay!
- You can also use double cream in the frosting, but I would 100% recommend the evaporated milk over it – it makes such a yummy frosting I would just sit and eat it all with a spoon if I could.
- You can also bake this into 3 layers using 3 20cm tins – they will take 22-25 minutes in the oven!
- This cake will last for 3 days in an airtight container!
- Inspired by BBCGoodFood
ENJOY!
Find my other Cake Recipes on my Recipes Page!
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J x
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