The Bake Off Box: Signature Chocolate Cake
The February 2021 Bake Off Box challenge was the Signature Chocolate Cake - a rich chocolate cake smothered in chocolate ganache and topped with fresh raspberries!
Equipment
- Baking/parchment paper
- 20cm/8in sandwich/cake tins
- 2 large mixing bowls
- Sieve
- Whisk
- Medium saucepan
- Wooden spoon
- Palette knife or spatula
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 245 g plain flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 400 g caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 80 g cocoa powder
- 250 ml whole milk
- 130 ml vegetable oil
- 230 ml warm water
- 2 medium eggs
Chocolate Ganache
- 200 g dark chocolate finely chopped
- 10 g unsalted butter
- 300 ml double cream
- 2 tsp caster sugar
Decoration
- 300 g fresh raspberries
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas 4. Grease two 20cm solid-base sponge tins with a little oil and line the bases with baking paper.
- Sift the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar, salt and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, oil and warm water, then lightly beat in the eggs.
- One third at a time, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing well between each addition. Make sure the mixture is smooth with no pockets of flour.
- Divide your mixture equally between the two sponge tins. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean.
- Once baked, cool in the tins for 10 minutes.
- Carefully turn the sponges out onto a wire rack, remove the baking paper and leave to cool completely.
Chocolate Ganache
- Place the chocolate and butter in a clean mixing bowl and set aside.
- Pour the cream into a medium saucepan with 2 teaspoons of sugar, stir with a wooden spoon, and slowly bring just to the boil.
- Remove the cream mixture from the heat and pour it over the chocolate and butter. Leave the chocolate to melt for 1 minute, without stirring.
- Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth and glossy. Leave to cool and thicken (at least 20 minutes) before decorating.
Decoration
- Place one sponge on your cake stand and spread about 4 tablespoons of ganache over the top, smoothing with the back of a large metal spoon or palette knife.
- Place the second sponge on top, with the flat side facing upwards, and gently press down. Cover the top and sides with the remaining ganache.
- Make swirls in the ganache with your knife to create some texture (I chose keep my sides smooth), then arrange the raspberries on top of the cake to cover.
- Leave to set for 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
The recipe and instructions above are exactly as written on the recipe card provided with The Bake Off Box. This is not my own recipe!