I have tried many chocolate cake recipes, but this moist chocolate cake is by far the most delicious I know. An absolute delight!
Even as a child, I was a big chocolate fan. On the other hand gummy bears, chewy candies, fizzy drinks and the like didn't interest me at all. The only sweet I really liked was chocolate, preferably in the milk-nougat version, and later with whole nuts. That hasn't changed to this day, although I know of course that dark chocolate is the healthier option. But sometimes I'm overcome by pure sweet tooth and when a piece of melt-in-the-mouth milk nougat chocolate finds its way into my mouth, reason and the health nut in me play an extremely subordinate role.
Interestingly, however, chocolate cake has never been at the top of my list of favorite cakes. But at least since I have children, I can't help but bake just such a cake every now and then. In recent years, I have therefore baked my way through a whole lot of different chocolate cakes. Some recipes were simple, but also terribly boring. Others were terribly complicated, but ended up tasting no more exciting than the simple recipes. At worst, the cakes were just dry in the end. But this cake was different!
The perfect Chocolate Cake
For a long time I was looking for a recipe for a simple and moist chocolate cake with a certain zing. However, it depends not only on the recipe, but also on the ingredients used. In fact, for a comparatively simple recipe like a sponge cake, the ingredients are crucial in my eyes. Let's start with the butter. This should be soft, but not melted. It's best to take it out of the refrigerator about an hour before baking. Only soft butter can be mixed with sugar and eggs to form a nice creamy mixture. The eggs should also be at room temperature, organic quality goes without saying here.
For sugar, I prefer to use raw cane sugar, but the cocoa powder for baking should be unsweetened. Now, a chocolate cake wouldn't be called a chocolate cake if its main ingredient wasn't chocolate, and that's exactly what should be of the very best quality. However, it does not matter what percentage of cocoa the chocolate contains. For example, in my experience, a high cocoa content of 70-80% does not combine well with the other ingredients and tends to make the cake dry. Milk chocolate (or at least a cocoa content of 50-60%) is better in that case. Also, the mixture of flour and almonds (ground hazelnuts also work) makes for a fluffy loose dough and a little cinnamon adds that certain something.
For me, this is by far the most delicious and moist chocolate cake I can remember. I will bake again and again just as easily!
Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- Loaf pan
- Food processor or hand mixer
- Baking paper
Ingredients
- 300 g butter room warm
- 150 g raw cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract alternatively vanilla sugar
- 5 organic eggs
- 180 g flour
- 150 g ground almonds, with skin
- 30 g dark cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch of salt
- 100 g milk chocolate chips
- 150 g milk chocolate coating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees top/bottom heat. Line a loaf pan with a sheet of baking paper.
- Beat the softened butter together with the sugar, vanilla extract and eggs for at least 5 minutes until very fluffy. This is best done in a food processor or with a hand mixer.
- Mix the flour with the almonds, dark cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon and 1 pinch of salt. Add to the butter and egg mixture and stir in just briefly.
- Fold in chocolate shavings and pour batter into prepared pan and smooth out.
- Bake the cake in the middle of the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes. Towards the end of the baking time, cover with aluminum foil if necessary to prevent the cake from getting too dark. Prick the center of the cake with a wooden stick. The cake is done when no dough sticks to the stick.
- Let cake cool first in the pan, then on a wire rack. Coat all sides with chocolate glaze and allow to set before cutting.
Notes
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