Ingredients
150gms – Unsalted butter, at room temperature
100 gms – Cocoa powder
200 gms – All purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp – Baking Powder
1/4 tsp – Baking Soda
300 gms – Powdered Sugar
2 nos – Eggs, at room temperature
125 ml – Espresso, cooled
125 ml – Milk
For the icing
200 gms – Dark Chocolate
200 ml – Fresh cream
For soaking
3 tbsp – Sugar
1/4 cup – Esspresso
Preparation
Line two 10 cm loose bottomed deep cake tins with baking paper.
Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda and set aside.
Method
Pre heat the oven to 180°C.
Cream butter and sugar together, till it turns pale and fluffy, using a hand blender. Add eggs one by one beating well after each addition. (If all the ingredients are in room temperature, the mixture will not curdle)
Using a spatula fold in 1/3 part of flour , espresso and milk and mix well. Repeat it with other two parts mixing well after each addition.
Divide the batter into the prepared tins and bake it 30 mins, or till the skewer comes out clean when piereced in the center of the cake.
Leave the cake in the tin for 5 to 10 mins and then carefully remove it and let it cool on a cooling rack. You can make this a day or two in advance.
For Icing
Heat cream and chocolate in a sauce pan on a low flame. Keep stirring. Let the chocolate melt completely. The mixture will start looking glossy. Set the Ganache aside to cool completely.
For soaking liquid
Heat the espresso and sugar together only till the sugar is dissolved.
Assembly
Place one layer of cake on the serving tray. Brush the soaking liquid over this layer. Spoon a little icing on this layer and spread it evenly.
Place the next layer over this and brush the soaking syrup over this top layer. Now spoon the icing over this and spread one layer of the icing as even as possible using a spatula. Refrigerate the cake for 1/2 an hour. This helps the icing harden and the crumbs of the cake as well. ( this step is known as crumb coating) this step will ensure that the next layer of icing will be clean and easy to spread without any crumbs sticking to them.
Spoon more icing over the cooled cake and spread it as per your choice. Finish it neatly with sharp edges, make it look rustic or pipe it using a piping bag. Top it with chocolate flakes or strawberries.
Make this cake a day in advance and keep it at room temperature,covered. This helps in the cake soaking the soaking liquid and the icing well. It tastes much matured and flavour comes out much more the next day..
Hi Madhuriji. Your cake looks both, sinfully-devilishly-hell n sweet-oh-so-yummy-addictively-deliciously heaven. I plan to make this helly-heavenly cake for Valentine’s day, for my chocolate lover hubby. I have a couple of doubts.
1) What can I use instead of two eggs, as I’m a vegetarian?
2) What is espresso? How do I make it or where can I get it from?
Awaiting your response Madhuriji…
Hey Saloni, thank you so much.
I am not good with eggless recipes, and hence will not be able to help you there ? sorry.
Espresso is coffee dicoction. You can boil some coffee in water, strain it and use it. Or you can use instant coffee also.
If i use Amul cream, do i need to cool and separate the watery part from it or else i can use it directly.
Hey Vigneshwari, no need to seperate the watery part. Mix it well and use it.
Hi Madhuri,
I love your blog and your plating. I am new to baking and I tried this cake. The cake came out good but the ganache was not as thick as it looks in your pictures. I used amul cream and Morde chocolate compound…..do we need to refigerate the ganache as well?
PS. Even the thin ganache was tasty but the icing didn’t look clean
Thanks,
Hey Roopal,
Did you cool the ganache completely. It thickens as it cools. You could refrigerate for sometime as well. And Amul cream is good enough.