Super Chocolatey Chocolate Cake
For all those chocolate cake lovers out there (I know I’m not the only one), this cake well and truly delivers! Chocolate sponge, chocolate chips and chocolate buttercream – why not add chocolate sprinkles too!
My husband and son love this cake and my son has now decided that this is his birthday cake of choice this year – I’m sure I’ll also be requested to add a Hulk or Spiderman figure to it nearer the time.
The recipe can be used for both cupcakes and a larger cake. I did both (why not hehe) and themed them for Valentines day. Feel free to use the recipe below and personalize the decoration to your occasion, whether it’s a birthday, Christmas, afternoon tea or as part of your weekend baking sesh.
Ingredients – Sponge
- 200g soft spread (or room temperature butter)
- 200g caster sugar
- 4 small/medium eggs
- 200g self-raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder (level)
- 50g cocoa powder
- 100g dark chocolate chips
Ingredients – Buttercream
- 170g butter
- 450g icing sugar
- 60g cocoa powder
- 7 tbsp milk
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees (fan).
Mix the eggs, sugar and spread together. I used a stand mixer for this but you can use an electric or hand whisk.
Step 2
Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa and add to the mixture.
Step 3
Using a spatula, fold in the flour and cocoa. The figure of 8 technique works best for me.
Step 4
I then split the mixture into 2 different batches to make 5 cupcakes and 1 x 6 inch cake.
Cooking times were: 12 minutes for the cupcakes and 40 minutes for the 6 inch cake.
Once baked, let cool, then slice the large cake in half.
Tip: use a cake tester to check the cake is cooked throughout. If it comes out clean, it’s baked throughout. If it comes out with mixture on, it needs longer.
Step 5
Whilst the cake is cooling, use a hand whisk or stand mixer to whisk the butter. You’ll want to spend at least 5 minutes doing this until you get a pale, creamy consistency.
Step 6
Sift the icing sugar and cocoa and add to the butter in stages, whisking as you go. This can be messy as icing sugar tends to fly out of the bowl!
Step 7
Add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time and mix into the buttercream. You want to achieve a creamy consistency that’s spreadable but will hold it’s shape.
Step 8
Decorate! You can use any decoration you like at this stage. I piped the buttercream in the centre of my large cake then on the top and sides. For the cupcakes, I piped buttercream using a round nozzle then added little red hearts made from fondant.
Your cake is now complete and ready to enjoy!
