Chocolate Cake
This chocolate cake has my heart. It is so tender and rich, is quick and easy to throw together (mix wet, mix dry, mix them both), and I truly now have no need for another chocolate cake recipe.
Ingredients
- 240g cake flour
- 200g caster sugar
- 220g light brown sugar
- 230g high quality cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 350g buttermilk
- 150g grapeseed oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 250g sour cream
For the icing:
- 100g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 250g cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 300g icing sugar
- 20g high quality cocoa powder, sifted
Equipment:
- 2 x 23-30cm cake pans (avoid springform cake pans with removable bottoms as the mixture can leak through)
Method
- Preheat oven to 170°C.
- Butter or oil cake pans and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper
- Sift dry ingredients into a bowl and whisk to combine (it’s important not to skip this step, the brown sugar and cocoa can cause lumps).
- In another bowl, whisk together wet ingredients until well combined and no lumps of sour cream remain.
- Gently fold wet ingredients into flour mixture until just incorporated (you don’t want to overwork the mix).
- Pour into pans and bake 40-45 minutes, until cakes spring back when touched and a knife comes out with moist crumbs attached.
- Allow to cool to room temperature before icing (up to an hour).
- Use a stand mixer or electric beater to make the buttercream. Beat butter on high for around 2 mins, until it lightens in colour.
- Add cream cheese and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
- Add icing sugar on low speed to combine, then turn up to high and beat until light and smooth.
- Add sifted cocoa powder and beat until incorporated.
- Place one cake on your serving platter and spread over half the icing. Place the second sponge upside down on top, to create a flat cake top with the base then ice with remaining icing.