A deeply chocolatey one-bowl layer cake — hot coffee blooms the cocoa, and nobody will taste coffee, only more chocolate.
What you need
Ingredients
Servings
10
Before you start
Mise en place
Equipment
Two 20 cm cake tins
Whisk
Cooling rack
Prep checklist
Espresso — hot, or strong coffee
Dark Chocolate — for the ganache
Heavy Cream — for the ganache
4 steps
Method
1
Whisk the dry ingredients with a pinch of salt. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla and beat smooth.
2
Stream in the hot coffee — the batter will look alarmingly thin. That's correct.
Why this works
Hot liquid blooms cocoa the way hot oil blooms spices; thin batter bakes into a moist crumb.
3
Divide between lined tins and bake at 175°C until a skewer comes out with moist crumbs, 30–35 minutes. Cool completely.
33 min — timer available in cooking mode
4
Ganache: pour just-simmering cream over the chopped chocolate, wait 2 minutes, stir from the center. Cool until spreadable, then fill and coat the layers.
From the pass
Chef's notes
Taste before serving and adjust salt and acid — the last 30 seconds of seasoning matter more than any single ingredient.
Afterwards
Keep, reheat & pair
Storage
Covered at cool room temperature 2 days, or refrigerated up to 5.
Freezing
Most baked desserts freeze well for 2 months, tightly wrapped.
Reheating
Most baked desserts revive in a 150°C oven for 5–8 minutes. Custards and mousses are served cold — never reheat.
Make ahead
Almost every dessert here is better made a day ahead — flavors settle and textures set. Add crisp toppings just before serving.
Wine pairing
A small glass of something sweeter than the dessert itself.
Beer pairing
An imperial stout alongside chocolate is a genuinely great pairing; otherwise coffee.