One for the chocoholics
a deep dive into the ultimate classic choccy cake + more cocoa concoctions
As some of you may know, these past 6 months I’ve launched myself into the entrepreneurial space with an artisan baking business called BEAU Cakes (named after the most handsome greyhound you ever did see - pic below for reference). It’s been a massive learning curve for me, both from a small scale business world perspective and on the baking side of things. Whipping up a batch of muffins for your mates is one thing, but baking cakes and tarts for the masses has seen me swimming up to my neck in a sticky mixture of sugar, butter and eggs. One major positive that’s come from this recent venture, is that I’ve been writing and creating more baking recipes than ever - and it’s been such a joy to riff off new flavour combos and textures, and then see the surprise, intrigue and deliciousness it brings to customers. What I’ve come to realise, is that while everyone has their own unique palate and preferred tastes, there is one ingredient that rules in the broad appeal category: CHOCOLATE. Whether it be a layer of melted chocolate on a caramel slice, a fudgy chocolate brownie, or even just a dusting of cocoa on top of a tart, chocolate consistently entices and pleases… and none more so than a slice of moist, rich, decadent, droolworthy, dangerously desirable chocolate cake. So as I wait for my flowering broad beans to fruit, and for the spring elderflower trees to fully blossom (recipes for both I hope to share with you in the coming month), I figured indulging in a little chocolatey goodness for this week’s newsletter is timely and needed.
I’m feeling in a particularly generous mood today, so on the topic of chocolate, and with my brain very much in baking mode, I’ve decided to share my go-to classic chocolate cake recipes with you all. These form the base of my Parauri Cake, which is by far the most popular cake from my business’ online orders (again, affirming that most of us are chocolate lovers at heart!), and will quickly become staple chocolate cake recipes to whip out at a moment’s notice in your own kitchen!
The process behind the pudding
Before starting BEAU Cakes, I invested time in trialling a lot of different chocolate cakes (including regular, vegan and gluten-free), taking inspiration from different schools of chocolate cake theory, to try and create a chocolate cake recipe that would tick the most boxes and have the broadest appeal - in terms of flavour, texture, moistness and mouthfeel. Because I’ve also learned in this process that while most people enjoy a slice of chocolate cake, everyone’s ultimate chocolate cake can look and taste very different! And I’m happy to say that I think I’ve landed on a cake that makes most people cry chocolate tears of joy… you can thank me for doing the hard yards for you later :)
In my chocolate cake conquest, there’s a few factors which I’ve found are crucial to a great chocolate cake:
A combination of oil and butter is king. Often chocolate cakes call for one or the other to make up the fat component of a chocolate cake batter, but from my testing, I think a mixture of the two brings the best results. Butter brings flavour that oil often lacks, but using butter alone can often result in a dry chocolate cake. Because oil stays liquid at room temperature, similarly it improves the moistness of a chocolate cake. So for my regular and gluten-free cake recipes I use both oil (usually canola, or on occasion olive) and butter. For vegan cakes, oil is the go-to.
Use the best quality cocoa powder you can get your hands on. For those shopping in New Zealand supermarkets, Donovan’s Premium Dutch Cocoa Powder is a good choice.
Acid is key. Adding acid to a chocolate cake helps to balance flavour, improves leavening by reacting with the raising agents, and also enhances the tenderness of the crumb. I like to use sour cream or buttermilk to achieve this, or adding a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar is also a great idea, as balsamic complements chocolate excellently. If making a vegan cake, I like to make a plant-based ‘buttermilk’ by adding apple cider vinegar to soy milk and letting it sit for 10 minutes to curdle slightly and acidify.
Boiling water improves the chocolatey-ness. Using boiling water helps to fully activate the cocoa powder, for improved chocolate flavour.
Coffee is a good idea, but not essential. I do think that adding a little coffee (e.g. 1 tsp instant coffee dissolved in boiling water) can enhance the flavour of a chocolate cake, but this is less essential than the other points above.
So with all this in mind, I present to you two of my go-to classic chocolate cake recipes (one regular and one gluten-free). These recipes are for a 20cm round cake tin, but you can easily adjust the recipe to fit whatever size tin you have (baking times will vary):
15cm round cake tin = 0.5x quantity
23cm round cake tin (ie standard springform tin) = 1.25x quantity
Large rectangular baking tin (33cm x 23cm) or 25cm round tin = 1.5x quantity
If you’re also after some top notch vegan chocolate cake recipes, my absolute favourite is my Dark chocolate, basil & banana cake found on pg 184 of my cookbook Good Vibes (just leave out the basil for a more classic cake), or check out this article I recently wrote for RNZ on How to successfully bake a delicious vegan cake.
Alby’s Best-Ever Chocolate Cake (regular)
makes one 20cm round chocolate cake
Ingredients
100g butter, softened to room temperature
100g soft brown sugar
100g caster sugar
2 eggs
60ml canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp sea salt
125g sour cream
1 tsp instant coffee granules
Method
Preheat the oven to 150°C fan-forced (or 170°C conventional). Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper.
In a large bowl using an electric hand or stand mixer (with the paddle attachment), beat the butter and both sugars for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, oil and vanilla and mix until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream until smooth. Mix half of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, followed by half of the sour cream. Repeat, adding the remaining flour mixture then sour cream, mixing until just incorporated and smooth. In a cup, whisk together the instant coffee granules and 125ml boiling water until the coffee is dissolved. Pour the hot coffee into the batter and mix until smooth. Pour the cake batter into the lined cake tin and bake for about 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 15 minutes before removing from the tin and placing on a wire rack to cool fully.
Alby’s Best-Ever Chocolate Cake (gluten-free)
makes one 20cm round chocolate cake
Ingredients
75g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
75g butter, chopped into small cubes
200g caster sugar
80ml canola oil
3 eggs
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
125g ground almonds
50g buckwheat flour
80g cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp sea salt
1 tsp instant coffee granules
Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan-forced (or 180°C conventional). Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper.
Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan one-third full with simmering water. Gently whisk together until melted completely, then remove from the heat. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs, balsamic vinegar and vanilla until well combined. Pour in the melted chocolate/butter and whisk until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together the ground almonds, buckwheat flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet until smooth. In a cup, whisk together the instant coffee granules and 125ml boiling water until the coffee is dissolved. Pour the hot coffee into the batter and mix until smooth. Pour into the lined cake tin and bake for about 40-50 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 15 minutes before removing from the tin and placing on a wire rack to cool fully.
Chocolate is good for the soul
Now if you’re feeling any chocolate-tinged guilt thinking about all the chocolate cake you’re now wanting to eat, I would like to quickly point out that cacao (the raw material that is used to make cocoa products) actually has lots of health benefits which are often overlooked. Mind you, these are best attained if you consume it in its purest, rawest form (as opposed to mixed with sugar and such). Cacao is high in antioxidants which are thought to improve your heart health, and it also contains things like tryptophan (important in the serotonin pathway) which encourages mental wellness. What I’m saying is that chocolate is totally okay as part of a balanced diet.
The culinary uses for cacao and chocolate don’t just stop with a slice of cake either. With the globalisation of the cocoa industry, we often think of cocoa as being synonymous with sweetness, but it actually lends itself excellently to savoury cooking too. Cacao has long been considered a sacred plant in Mexican culture, and as one of the primary producers of cacao in the world, it is unsurprising that it’s a commonplace ingredient in Mexican cooking. While travelling in Mexico, I especially enjoyed the Mole Oaxaqueño, especially the mole negro, a Oaxacan sauce that uses cacao to form its unique and delicious flavour. Inspired by this use in savoury cooking, I love to sometimes add 1-2 tsp of cocoa powder to stews, chilli or darker sauces, to add depth and richness. Some examples of this can be found in my Smoky leek, lime + sweetcorn soup or Party-time harissa nachos. There are also two great savoury recipes in the ‘Comfort’ chapter of Good Vibes that lean into cocoa: Beetroot & jackfruit chilli (pg 150) and Kūmara & black bean enchiladas with pecan mole (pg 168). I encourage you to give one of these recipes a go, or be brave and add a little cocoa powder next time you’re making a stew or similar - it’s good stuff!
Cocoa isn’t just for dinner & dessert either - scroll down for another epic way to use cocoa when kickstarting your day - it’s my new go-to cereal I have on hand for when I need a morning mood booster!
Much love,
Alby xx
This week’s MOOD BOOSTER:
Hazelnut bounty granola
Breakfast this good shouldn’t be legal. This plant-based granola is packed with lots of wholegrains and seeds, and sparkles in your mouth from the goodness of cocoa and a little sweetness from our best mate maple syrup. It’s honestly like an adult feel-good version of cocoa pops. The child within will love you for making this!
makes about 6-8 servings
Ingredients:
200g traditional wholegrain rolled oats
150g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
75g buckwheat groats
75g coconut chips
75g pumpkin seeds
75g quinoa
75g sunflower seeds
3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp sea salt
60ml olive oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla paste
120ml maple syrup
Method:
Preheat the oven to 150°C fan-forced (or 170°C conventional). Line two large oven trays with baking paper.
To a large bowl, add the oats, hazelnuts, buckwheat, coconut, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, sunflower seeds, cocoa, cinnamon and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon to evenly mix through. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, vanilla and 75ml of the maple syrup. Pour the liquid over the oat mixture and fold through until evenly coated. Spread evenly onto the two prepared oven trays in a single layer and leave to sit for 10 minutes.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring and swapping the trays after 15 minutes, until toasted evenly. Because of the cocoa, you won’t be able to use colour (ie golden brown) to tell when the granola is ready. When the smell from the oven starts to intensify this usually means it’s ready, or taste a hazelnut and piece of coconut - if they are crisp and crunchy then your granola is perfect (cooking time depends on your oven). Turn off the oven. Tip the granola back into the mixing bowl and stir through the remaining 45ml of maple syrup. Return to the trays and place in the turned off oven. Leave for 1 hour to dry out as the oven cools down. When cooled completely, store in an airtight container.
Serve topped with unsweetened yoghurt (plant-based or dairy) and your favourite milk.
Best of the season this fortnight (NZ):
Brassicas
Spinach, Salad Greens
Asparagus
Late Grapefruit
Avocados
Onion Weed
Early strawberries & blueberries
Early capsicums
Kitchen music of the moment:
Does anyone remember Aaradhna? She stormed on to the NZ music scene back in the early-mid 2000s with a host of great tracks, and this past week I’ve been reminded of her music, which I’ve been very happy about. This track below, featuring none other than Savage, was a favourite back in the day for 10-year-old me and my Mum.
Anyone who knows me well will know that I am a longtime Lady Gaga stan, and she’s often at her best when the glamour and glitz is stripped back and it’s just raw pure gaga vocals at the piano. Her country-twinged album Joanne is not one of her most well known, but it actually has a couple of my favourite songs of hers, including Diamond Heart, and the stellar track below that I listened to this week.
Interesting reads:
‘The global food system is the leading cause of early death’ - thoughts from nutritional psychiatrist Felica Jacka
A great NZ chocolate company to support
Up-and-coming wahine Māori led bean-to-bar chocolate
A history of cacao in Mexico
Another choccy cake number from the vegan pastry master
