Chocolate cake is the most popular cake flavor after vanilla cake or yellow cake how it is called in the United States. It is almost all the time guaranteed moist and fluffy! Here is a quick recipe on how to make one without buttercream or any fancy decoration!
Eating chocolate increases your serotonin level so you feel happier - I think everybody can support that!
Omit the frosting and make a chocolate glaze!
Sometimes you just don't want a heavy frosting sitting on your cake especially when it is an airy and light chocolate cake like this one! A better option is to make a chocolate glaze that is thick enough to not run off the cake but not as heavy!
To make an easy chocolate glaze you can either make a ganache which will set firm or you can make a sugar syrup based glaze like I did here. For the glaze boil two parts of sugar with one part of water until the sugar has melted. I recommend to let it boil for another minute on medium heat after the sugar has melted because there might be small sugar pieces left that give it a grainy texture later on.
Coffee in the cake batter simply enhances the chocolate aroma without leaving an after taste in the cake!
Easy Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate cake layer:
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 cup 3 tbsp (140 g) flour
1/2 cup (50 g) cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 medium eggs
2/3 cup (160 ml) butter milk
1/3 cup (80 ml) vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup (160 ml) coffee, hot
Chocolate glaze:
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
1 1/2 cups (250 g) dark chocolate
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 1/3 cups (410 g) apricot jam without pieces
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1:
Preheat oven to 350 °F. Start off with a large bowl. Combine the sugar, eggs, salt, and vanilla. Add oil and butter milk. Mix it until fluffy. Sift in flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda and mix until everything is thoroughly incorporated. Stir in the hot coffee; the batter will be very thin.
Step 2:
Divide the batter evenly among 2 8-inch cake pans that are lined with parchment paper and greased for an easy release after baking. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each layer comes out clean. Cool the layers in the pans for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 3:
For the chocolate glaze combine sugar and water in a sauce pan and heat it at medium heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. Let it boil for one more minute just to make sure it is all liquified. Turn off the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate and coconut oil. Whisk it until it comes together in a smooth consistency.
Step 5:
To decorate the cake make sure that the cake does not have a big dome. Cut each layer with a serrated knife so flatten it out on the top. Place the bottom layer on a plate. Evenly spread about half of the apricot jam over the cake. Top with the second layer and cover it all with apricot jam on the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for about 30 minutes to give the jam enough time to soak in. Then cover it with the chocolate glaze. I like to use an offset spatula to spread it out easily. You can add the glaze in multiple layers and let it dry in between.
Enjoy!
**Pro Tips**
No coffee fan or no coffee at home? Just use hot water instead.
Chocaholic? Add mini chocolate chips covered in flour to the cake batter before baking
