Description

This Best Matilda’s Chocolate Cake is a rich, moist, and deeply chocolaty dessert that combines a tender chocolate sponge with a luscious chocolate fudge frosting. Perfect for celebrations or indulgent treats, this cake offers a silky texture and an intense chocolate flavor achieved by using buttermilk, coffee, and a blend of cocoa powders. The homemade fudge frosting is smooth, creamy, and enhances the cake’s decadence.

Ingredients

Scale

For the Cake:

2 ½ cups Flour
1 ¾ cups Granulated sugar
2 teaspoons Baking powder
1 teaspoon Baking soda
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
½ cup Cocoa powder
⅔ cup Vegetable oil
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
3 Eggs
⅔ cup Buttermilk
1 cup Hot coffee

For the Chocolate Fudge Frosting:

11.11 oz Unsalted butter
14.1 oz Dark chocolate (60%-70% cocoa)
⅓ cup Cocoa powder
1 ⅓ cups Heavy cream
1 ⅓ cups Powdered sugar
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Prepare the Oven and Pans: Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Line two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper for easy removal and even baking. Optionally, use cake strips to help the cakes bake evenly.
Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, and sift in cocoa powder ensuring a homogeneous dry mixture.
Combine Wet Ingredients: Add buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and eggs to the dry ingredients and mix until almost fully combined, ensuring no streaks remain but avoiding overmixing.
Add Coffee: Pour in the hot coffee and mix gently until the batter is smooth and free of flour lumps. The batter will be runny and fluid.
Bake the Cakes: Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans, weighing the batter if possible for balance. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool the Cakes: Allow the cakes to cool completely in their pans before removing; then cool fully on wire racks to prevent frosting melting or cake breakage.
Make the Chocolate Fudge Frosting: In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine butter, heavy cream, dark chocolate, sifted cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and kosher salt. Stir constantly until fully melted and smooth, taking care not to overheat to prevent graininess.
Strain and Chill Frosting: Strain the warm frosting into a bowl or pan to remove any lumps. Cover the surface with plastic wrap touching the frosting to avoid skin formation. Let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for 1-2 hours until thickened.
Assemble the Cake: Remove frosting from fridge. Place a dollop of frosting on your cake stand or plate, position the first cake layer on top. Spread about one third of the frosting evenly over this layer.
Top with Second Layer and Frost: Place the second cake layer on top of the frosted first layer. Cover the entire cake with the remaining frosting, using an offset spatula to create a wave pattern or texture as desired.

Notes

Use room temperature ingredients such as eggs for better mixing and baking results.
Ensure the baking soda and baking powder are fresh for proper rising.
Measure flour correctly by spooning it into the cup and leveling to avoid dense cake texture.
Do not overmix the batter to keep the cake moist and tender.
If frosting is too soft, refrigerate for about 30 minutes before use to firm it up.
Line pans with parchment for even baking and easy cake release.
Serve the cake at room temperature for optimal frosting texture and flavor.
Patience is key: let the cake cool fully to avoid melting the frosting and crumbling.
Use medium heat when preparing frosting to avoid burning the chocolate and grainy texture.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 slice (1/14 of cake)
Calories: 420 kcal
Sugar: 35 g
Sodium: 230 mg
Fat: 24 g
Saturated Fat: 12 g
Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 50 g
Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 5 g
Cholesterol: 75 mg