Death by Chocolate Cake

Oh... chocolate...my love. My favorite flavor in most desserts. If you're like me and love a good fudgey, deep, dark chocolate cake, then this is the recipe for you. Super rich, super flavorful, and super chocolatey. A true death by chocolate cake.

I've eaten A LOT of chocolate cake in my life. Like... a lot. Any time I go out to eat and there's chocolate cake or any type of chocolate dessert on a menu, I will most likely order it. This obviously means that as an obsessive hobby baker, I needed to develop the best recipe ever for a chocolate cake. Sometimes, chocolate cakes don't taste chocolatey enough. This is sadly because people skimp out on getting good, high-quality chocolate. Honestly... just buy it! It's not the chocolate or cocoa powder you'll buy all the time, but just treat yourself a bit if you can! It is so unbelievably worth it - it'll simply blow your mind.

For this recipe, I used 64% Valrhona chocolate and also Valrhona cocoa powder (only use between 50% and 70% chocolate in this recipe.) King Arthur Baking Company also sells high-quality cocoa powder which will certainly do the trick. Another great chocolate brand is Callebaut. You can find this type of chocolate at Whole Foods or online (I've had some luck with amazon.) However, if you can find local, high-quality chocolate in your area, then get it! Also, I'm super jealous.

Kitchen equipment you will need:

a scale (I have converted the recipe to cups but it will turn out better if you use a scale - you don't need anything fancy though!)
stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or a hand whisk)
whisk & spatula
a large mixing bowl
small pot
wire cooling rack (if you have one)
measuring spoons
loaf tin (or something similar)*
parchment paper

* I have this loaf tin from Amazon

Ingredients:

for the chocolate cake

188g (1 1/2 cups) All Purpose Flour
56g (1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon) Cocoa Powder (I used Valrhona cocoa powder)
1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
3/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
225g (1 cup + 1 tablespoon) Light Brown Sugar
2 Lage Eggs
113g (1 stick) Unsalted Butter
170g (3/4 cup) Evaporated Milk
168g (3/4 cup) Hot Water
5g (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) Instant Coffee
100g (2/3 cups) chopped Chocolate (I used 70% Valrhona chocolate)

for the dark chocolate ganache

142.5g (a little under 1 cup) chopped chocolate or chocolate baking chips
62.5ml (1/4 cup) Heavy Cream
113g (1 stick) Unsalted Butter
pinch of salt

HANDS-ON TIME: 30 - 45 minutes

BAKING TIME: 55 - 60 minutes (baking time may change depending on your tin and oven)

COOLING TIME: 2 - 3 hours (if you choose to make the ganache)

Method:

1. To make the cake, preheat your oven to 350F. Place butter and chopped chocolate in a small pot under medium heat and place a lid on top. Stir occasionally until they are just about melted. Turn off heat and place mixture in a medium sized bowl to cool until needed.

2. Place flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl (if you're going to mix by hand). Mix these dry ingredients together until they are fully incorporated.

3. Once your melted chocolate and butter mixture is slightly cooled, add the evaporated milk and incorporate with a hand whisk. Then add the eggs one at a time and whisk completely.

4. Heat your water in the microwave until it just begins to boil. Add the instant coffee to your hot water and stir through until dissolved. Set aside.

5. With your stand mixer on low speed, add your melted chocolate, butter, milk, egg mixture slowly into the dry ingredients. Then slowly pour in your hot water coffee mixture. Make sure to pause the mixer and scrape down all the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix batter until it looks fully combined but do not over mix.

6. Take your prepared loaf tin (which should be buttered and lined with parchment paper) and pour you batter into the tin. Make sure to leave at least 3/4" of space from the top of the tin to allow for the cake to rise without overflowing depending on the tin you use, this may mean you do not end up using all the batter.

7. Bake for about 55 - 60 minutes. Check it at 40 minutes and rotate so that it bakes evenly. Check it again at 50 minutes in case your oven runs hot. Once baked, place on a wire cooling rack to cool for about 15 minutes before you attempt to remove from the tin.

8. To make the ganache, place all ingredients in a bowl over a double boiler. Make sure you have your heat on medium, medium-low. Stir all ingredients constantly and remove from the heat once they are just about all melted. Place mixture in a bowl and cover it. Place it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours until it hardens. Once it has solidified, beat by hand or in a mixture until it gets to a spreadable consistency where you can spread it evenly over your cooled cake. Spread, decorate, and DEVOUR!