The Best Chocolate Cake
The self proclaimed best ever chocolate cake from James Morton. This showstopper of a recipe embraces dark chocolate, rich espresso and a pinch of chilli.
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Introduction
I couldn’t get through this chapter without including a chocolate cake, could I?
Here, I want to show you how far you can go: the amplification of flavour that results from the aggregation of marginal changes. Sure, on one end of the spectrum you can whisk a tablespoon or two of cocoa into my standard Victoria sponge recipe. Or you can, from the ground up, taking the structural and flavour characteristics of dark chocolate into account, create a customised chocolate cake recipe.
I’m not saying this is ideal, I’m saying this recipe is what I want from a chocolate cake. Which isn’t what I want from a brownie or a chocolate torte, for example. The former I want like a slab of peat, the latter like crumbly compacted compost. This is different. A cake is altogether more formal. A cake should be an occasion. Then we add everything that has been shown to make chocolate better.
Although this cake has a raspberry element, it is there for sharpness rather than flavour. Similarly with the coffee – it brings out the chocolate flavour. The chilli powder imbues the cake with a mere tingle, almost like the warmth of alcohol. The yoghurt cuts through the bitterness of the cocoa. This is a chocolate cake.
Due to the whipped cream, it doesn’t keep brilliantly at room temperature, but it doesn’t take long to build from its component parts, so do steps 1 to 7 in advance and leave step 8 until just before serving.
Ingredients
| 250g | softened, salted butter |
| 250g | caster sugar |
| A pinch | of table salt |
| 100g | good dark chocolate |
| 4 | medium eggs |
| a short shot | of espresso (or 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules dissolved in hot water) |
| ½ tsp | hot chilli powder, optional |
| 1 tsp | chocolate extract, optional |
| 200g | natural yoghurt |
| 100g | high-quality cocoa powder |
| 250g | plain flour |
| 3 tsp | baking powder |
| For the whipped cream: | |
| 150ml | double cream |
| A dash | of sugar and vanilla seeds or extract |
| For the raspberry ganache: | |
| 130g | fresh raspberries |
| 200g | dark chocolate |
| pinch of salt | |
| For the mirror glaze: | |
| 2 leaves (4g) | gelatine |
| 100ml | double cream |
| 100g | caster sugar |
| 50g | cocoa powder |
Essential kit
You will need a blender and two 8-inch sandwich tins.
Method
Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4. Draw around two 8-inch sandwich tins onto baking paper and use these discs to line the bottom of each tin. Grease the sides well.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and salt together with an electric whisk or wooden spoon until light, fluffy and almost white in colour – this will take at least 5 minutes. Whilst you’re doing this, you can melt the chocolate slowly in the microwave or over a pan of hot water on the hob.
Add the eggs to the creamed butter and sugar, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Then gradually whisk in all the melted chocolate. At this point, add the coffee, chilli (if using), chocolate extract (if using) and yoghurt and whisk them in too. Don’t worry if the mixture curdles.
Finally, dump the cocoa, flour and baking powder on top (using your fingers to disperse the baking powder into the flour) and fold them in as gently as you can. Pour the mix into your cake tins and bake for 30-40 minutes on the middle shelf, or until springy and a skewer comes out clean.
Leave in the tins to cool whilst you make the fillings. For the whipped cream, whisk the cold cream, sugar and vanilla in a cold bowl until just coagulated. Cover and set aside.
For the raspberry ganache, first blitz the raspberries in a blender then pass them through a sieve to remove any bits. Place this purée in a pan with the salt and bring to the boil. Whilst it’s heating, chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl. As soon as the raspberry purée is boiling, add in your chocolate and mix together until smooth. Cover and leave to cool to room temperature.
For the mirror glaze, soak the two leaves of gelatine in cold water. Place your cream, sugar and cocoa in a pan and heat until just about boiling, stirring all the time. Once hot, strain through a sieve into a jug, then stir in the soaked gelatine. Set aside until needed.
All steps can be done in advance, but build the cake just before serving. Place one cake (the less perfect one) upside down on a plate or cake stand. Spread with a thick layer of the raspberry ganache, making sure you can see it at the sides. Then top this with the whipped cream, again making sure it nearly reaches the sides. Finally, top gently with the other cake. Reheat your mirror glaze in a pan or in the microwave to melt it, then drizzle it over your cake so it drips down the sides.
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