The Timeless Temptation of Chocolate Fudge Cake
Few desserts can captivate the senses and ignite cravings like the decadent allure of chocolate fudge cake. Its mere mention conjures visions of rich, moist layers enveloped in velvety ganache, exuding an irresistible aroma that tantalizes taste buds and beckons indulgence.
This beloved confection is more than just a dessert; it's a culinary masterpiece that transcends generations. It evokes memories of childhood birthday celebrations, cozy gatherings with friends, and intimate moments of self-care. With its irresistible combination of deep cocoa flavor and luscious texture, chocolate fudge cake has become a timeless baking classic.
In this article, I will embark on a delectable journey into the origins, ingredients, and techniques that make chocolate fudge cake a beloved treat across the globe. From its humble beginnings to its modern-day variations, I explore the magic behind this iconic dessert and uncover the secrets to creating the perfect slice of indulgence. So, prepare to awaken your sweet tooth and join us as we delve into the enchanting world of chocolate fudge cake.
Origins
The origins of chocolate fudge cake can be traced back to the United States in the late 19th century when chocolate became increasingly popular in desserts. While the exact origin story remains somewhat elusive, it is believed that chocolate fudge cake evolved from the traditional fudge recipe, adding flour, eggs, and leavening agents to create a moist and fluffy cake texture.
As the recipe spread across the country, variations emerged, each adding its unique twist to the classic dessert. Whether it's the dense richness of Mississippi mud cake or the light, airy crumb of a classic chocolate layer cake, chocolate fudge cake has continued to evolve over the years, adapting to the tastes and preferences of bakers worldwide.
Ingredients
The key to a sublime chocolate fudge cake lies in the quality of its ingredients. This indulgent dessert requires the holy trinity of chocolate, butter, and sugar, along with flour, eggs, and leavening agents such as baking powder or baking soda.
For the chocolate component, high-quality cocoa powder or melted chocolate can infuse the cake with intense flavor. Butter adds richness and moisture, while sugar provides sweetness and caramelization during baking. Eggs act as a binder, helping to create a tender crumb, while flour provides structure and stability to the cake.
Additional ingredients such as vanilla extract, espresso powder, or buttermilk may be incorporated to enhance the cake’s flavor and texture. Some recipes also call for sour cream or yogurt, which add tanginess and moisture to the batter.
Techniques
Achieving the perfect chocolate fudge cake requires precision and care in both mixing and baking. Here are some key techniques to keep in mind:
- Creaming the butter and sugar: Begin by creaming the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. This step aerates the mixture, creating a tender crumb and ensuring an even distribution of ingredients.
- Incorporating the dry ingredients: Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt to remove any lumps and aerate the mixture. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar mixture, alternating with the wet ingredients (eggs, vanilla extract, etc.), and mixing until combined.
- Proper mixing: Avoid overmixing the batter, which can lead to a tough and dense cake. Mix until the ingredients are incorporated, being careful not to overwork the batter.
- Baking: Preheat the oven to the specified temperature and prepare the cake pans by greasing and lining them with parchment paper. Divide the batter evenly between the pans and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, rotating the pans halfway through baking for even cooking.
- Cooling and frosting: Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, frost the cakes with your choice of frosting, whether a classic chocolate ganache, creamy buttercream, or indulgent cream cheese frosting.
By mastering these techniques and using high-quality ingredients, you can create a chocolate fudge cake that will delight the senses and leave a lasting impression on all who indulge.
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Fudge Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
For the Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3½ cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup whole milk or heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C)—grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Stir in the boiling water. The batter will be thin, but that's normal.
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. While the cakes are cooling, prepare the frosting. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter until smooth and creamy.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder, alternating with the milk or cream, until the frosting reaches your desired consistency. Beat in the vanilla extract and a pinch of salt.
- Once the cakes are completely cool, frost the top of one layer with a generous amount of frosting. Place the second cake layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.
- Serve slices of this decadent chocolate fudge cake and enjoy!
RG
I asked Chef Garrett to describe how he would "beat" the egg yolks and egg whites in his recipe. He said,
"Beat either with a hand-held mixer or a standing mixer such as Kitchen Aid, until well mixed but don't overdo it by beating in too much air. Remember, you're looking for a dense cake and this is surely it. "
When I asked him if you could use a common kitchen whisk, he said
"A whisk will work fine for the eggs. I wouldn't try one with the rest of the recipe for the chocolate cake, however. The mixture is just too dense. It would require a lot of muscle and would also clog up the whisk. "
Karen
hi, can you recommend an easy to cook chocolate frosting that will go with this chocolate fudge cake?
thanks in advance.
Karen
Chef Terrell
Hi Karen
I don't think you want any icing for this cake except the whipped cream I suggested in the recipe, because this cake is so rich anything that is regular icing based would be overkill.
I suggest you try serving it with the whipped cream first to see if you really want to do anything else.
Chef Terrell
Sheri
How many will this serve?
Sheri
I see the 12 servings - but only an 8-inch pan. Serve thin like a cheesecake, then?
Veronica
Dear Reluctant Gourmet,
I thought I would try this chocolate cake recipe today - seemed very simple, and so it was. PLEASE tell me what went wrong with this dessert I've been dreaming of ever since I read the recipe:
My cake rose in the pan - looked absolutely gorgeous. With 7 minutes to go, I left the room - came back when I heard the oven ping. And ... the kitchen smelt like something was burning. In the oven was a BLACK beautifully domed cake with a charred crust. Oh Well! Determined not to be disappointed, I left it to cool. An hour later I put it into the frig. 2 hours later the dome has deflated and cracked. The outermost layer is hard (burnt) about a 0.5cm ring is sort of cooked and the rest is still molten liquid chocolate.
So what went wrong?
I thought that 425 deg was too high but I always try a recipe exactly per instructions for the first time before I decide how I want to change it. I wish I'd gone with my gut feeling and used a lower temperature. Any thoughts that can help? I was keen to try this out before I made it for company I've invited over next week.
Disappointed and deflated!
Veronica
RG
Hi Veronica,
Thanks for telling us about your experience with this recipe. I emailed Chef Garrett to tell him about your experiences and see what he has to say, but have not heard back from him yet.
I also contacted my friend Chef Jenni Field who is a pastry chef and here is what she had to say,
"Since the entire baking time is only 15 minutes, I have a hard time believing that, after only 7-8 minutes it was doming and rising. My only thought would be that they set the oven to 425C instead of F--if such a thing is even possible on a home oven.
Having said that, I've never seen a cake baked at such a high temp--a muffin, yes, but not a cake. Even so, I can't imagine that 15 minutes was enough to burn the crust through to a depth of 5 mm unless the oven was set at an extremely high temperature.
Personally, I would have baked it at 325F. Chocolate--and the bulk of this cake is made of pure chocolate--is very delicate and burns at temperatures over 140F. "
Hope that helps.
Veronica
Thanks for that response. My oven only does Farenheit so I couldn't have gone wrong there. Also I've never had a problem with other recipes and when cakes call for a 350 deg oven, this one does just fine. I also did a check with placing a thermometer in it, and its pretty close to true heat.
I wait with interest to see if Chef Garrett has any advise on this.
Meanwhile ... no chocolate is ever lost in this home. With a chocoholic husband and son, it has been spooned out of the pan in great delight and gone down the hatch just the same!
shirly estrada
i think that fudge cake was totally the best cake ever
Big AC
Fudgealicous
Namrata
I love to bake cakes but my cakes never come out good. plz tell me the temp and time at which i should bake if i am using a microwave. please help.
thanks
Judy
Before I make the cake, did you find out if the baking temperature is 425 or should it be 325.
RG
I have not heard back from the chef so I would go with 325 degrees F.
Devin
This looks great! I'm going to try it for my family since they are pretty much my test subjects! haha
-Devin
Nicole Skinner
i like this a lot, the juicy chocolate fudge yum :);)
Jiva
I am only 11 years old and the cake turned out perfect.My family were very proud and it tasted delicious. The only thing that i had to change was the duration of time it was in the oven. I only kept it in 10 more minutes ,other than that it was perfectly wonderful!
Hi Jiva, I'm thrilled the recipe worked for you. Thanks for sharing. - RG
Randa
Hi, just tried this cake, it looked amazing and I've been dreaming of it for a while. So finished baking it yesterday, and tried it today. I substituted stevia in the raw for sugar and unsweetened coco powder melted with butter for the semi-sweet chocolate. I had to put lots of stevia in order to sweeten the unsweetened powder, and I tasted it before mixing everything together. The texture was wonderful, but it had a bitter aftertaste. Any suggestions to making it again with unsweetened cocoa powder or unsweetened baking chocolate squares and stevia? What ratio stevia should I be using for coco powder or for baking squares? Should I use a sugar alcohol instead? The stevia I'm using is branded "no aftertaste", soo.... not enough stevia to chocolate ratio?
Hi Randa, for those not familiar with stevia including myself, it is a South American herb that has been used as a sweetener by the Guarani Indians of Paraguay for hundreds of years. Saying that, I'm not sure what ratio you should use of stevia with coco powder and hope someone reading this blog with more insight lets us all know. Otherwise, I would suggest you contact one of the companies that markets this product and hopefully let us know what you find out. - RG
ann
Lovely
Richard
To Randa. This is cake, CAKE I SAY!, forget stevia ect and eat CAKE. Maybe don't eat too much but eat CAKE.
Megan
I LOVE THIS CAKE!! I changed a few things the 2nd time and I think it is better.
I increased to 5 eggs, turned the oven down to 350, cooked for 30 minutes and used a water bath. This cake is like a dream in your mouth.
Hi Megan, I love when home cooks take a recipe, experiment and find something better. Thanks for sharing. - RG
Linda
How many calories is each slice?
Hi Linda, I have no idea and I'm sure I don't want to know. - RG
Laura
Hi,
I was just wondering the height of this cake.
I have a specific order for a dense chocolate cake and this sounds amazing but I want to make sure it will be high enough
Hi Laura, I'd say it is as tall as your 8" cake pan. - RG
nate
I'm a beginner in this cooking and baking area. i saw this recipe, thought it looked simple enough for me, I'm just not sure about the part where you beat in the yolks into the melted chocolate and butter mixture. Do you take the saucepan off the heat or just continue on low heat? because the batter didn't look right. Still the final result tasted good. thanks!
Hi Nate, I would take the saucepan off the heat when beating in the yolks so I have a nice sturdy surface but I'll ask Chef Jenni. - RG
Jiva
Thank you for the delicious recipe! It tastes amazing! =)
Faz
This cake looks and sounds AMAZING!! I am a chocoholic and cant wait to try this recipe.
Can you add a picture of a cake slice so I can see what the texture of the cake will look like t compare with my own?
Thanks!
Next time I make it Faz -RG
D R V
I appreciate, result in I discovered exactly what I used to be taking a look for. You have ended my 4 day lengthy hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye
brandy gallegos
I want to make this desert because ut sounds amazing. I mean ive always liked chocolate and i want to become a chef and im so inspired because of all these amazing, tasty, delicious foods.
Noemi Smith
For the Chocolate Fudge cake should I cook it at 325 or 425?
RG
After talking with a couple of bakers who looked at this recipe, we decided to change the cooking temperature from 425 degrees F to 325 degrees F and extend the cooking time from 15 minutes to 25 minutes. Anyone who tries this recipe with the new time and temp, please let me know your results. Thanks, RG
nalli
I tried this recipe at the posted time and temperature and it was overcooked. Dry. I will try it again and reduce the time and post the result.
Elaine Myers
Could you possibly convert this recipe from cups into grams or ounzes? Also does this make a large deep cake and if not can it just be doubled to make more? Thanks Elaine