Moist chocolate cake
Description
Perfect with tea and coffee. Although at first glance the step‑by‑step photos may seem many, making a moist chocolate cake using this recipe is quite easy and simple. The cake can be prepared in 2–3 stages, which greatly simplifies the whole process. The chocolate dessert turns out very tender, truly moist, and incredibly tasty! The ingredients are calculated for a cake with a diameter of 19 cm, a height of 6 cm, and a weight of 1300 g.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare all the ingredients for making the sponge cake.
- 2
Step 2
Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, starch, and salt together. Mix.
- 3
Step 3
In a saucepan pour the milk and add butter. Place it over low heat so that the butter melts and the milk comes to a boil. Meanwhile combine the eggs, sugar and vanilla sugar. Beat on low speed until the sugar dissolves, then increase the speed to maximum and continue beating until the egg mixture increases in volume by 2.5–3 times.
- 4
Step 4
Add the sifted prepared dry mixture.
- 5
Step 5
Stir on low speed until the mixture becomes homogeneous. Then add the boiling milk in several stages.
- 6
Step 6
Carefully mix the batter with a spatula using circular motions from bottom to top, and slowly pour the batter into a baking pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper (I do not grease the sides or the bottom). Bake the sponge cake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 30–35 minutes. Do not open the door for the first 20 minutes so the cake does not collapse. I baked it in an 18‑cm diameter pan. Check doneness with a wooden skewer.
- 7
Step 7
When the sponge cake is ready, let it stand for another 15 minutes in the turned‑off oven with the door slightly ajar. Then release it from the pan and cool it on a rack. Wrap the completely cooled sponge in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for several hours; I left it there overnight.
- 8
Step 8
While the sponge cake is baking, you can prepare the custard base. Gather all the necessary ingredients for the cream.
- 9
Step 9
Crack an egg into the pot, add sugar, and stir.
- 10
Step 10
Add starch.
- 11
Step 11
Mix everything until smooth and pour the milk in a thin stream.
- 12
Step 12
Stir and place to cook over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Reduce the heat to minimum and cook until it boils. After it boils, cook the mixture for 1 minute and remove from heat.
- 13
Step 13
Transfer the custard base for the cream to a plate, cover it with plastic wrap in direct contact, and let it cool. If you plan to make the cake the next day, after cooling place the mixture in the refrigerator.
- 14
Step 14
For soaking, pour water into a saucepan and add sugar. Stir and bring to a boil on the stove. After it boils, reduce the heat to minimum and simmer the syrup for 3 minutes. Then remove from heat, cool, and add cognac or brandy.
- 15
Step 15
Melt the chocolate in a microwave or using a water bath. Stir the chocolate until smooth and let it cool completely. So that the cream is uniform and does not separate. Melted chocolate, butter, and the custard base should be at the same room temperature.
- 16
Step 16
Beat the softened butter on high speed for about 2–3 minutes.
- 17
Step 17
Add all the melted chocolate to the butter.
- 18
Step 18
Whisk the custard mixture until it becomes airy.
- 19
Step 19
Next, add the custard mixture, 2 tablespoons at a time, to the butter with chocolate.
- 20
Step 20
The finished cream should be very delicate and airy. Set aside about 4 dessert spoons of cream for leveling the top and sides of the cake.
- 21
Step 21
Trim the top off the cooled sponge cake, then cut the sponge into two parts.
- 22
Step 22
Grind the trimmed top into crumbs and coat the sides of the cake.
- 23
Step 23
Place an acetate film in the removable ring; I didn’t have any film, so I used parchment. Lay the cake layer and soak it with half of the glaze.
- 24
Step 24
Spread half of the cream on top and smooth it out.
- 25
Step 25
Then place the second layer on the cream, soak it with the remaining soaking liquid, and cover it with the second half of the cream. Cover everything with cling film and put it in the refrigerator to soak and firm up for at least 5–6 hours. It can be left overnight.
- 26
Step 26
Take the finished cake out of the refrigerator, remove it from the mold and the plastic wrap.
- 27
Step 27
Smooth the top and sides with the reserved cream.
- 28
Step 28
Cover the sides of the cake with sponge cake crumbs, and generously dust the top of the cake with cocoa.
- 29
Step 29
The moist chocolate cake is ready.