I have been experimenting recently with a chocolate fudge cake recipe that my sister gave me years ago. I love the chocolate cake recipe that appears in many of my cake books but it does take a while to make and creates loads of washing up to do afterwards! The Chocolate mud cake recipe on this blog is also very popular with my family but it is a little on the heavy side and I’ve found isn’t ideal when I want to carve a cake! So I was looking for the ultimate, fast but tasty, not too heavy but very chocolatey cake and I’ve found this old recipe seems to fit the bill perfectly.
I have been trailing the cake out at our classes and it’s been a huge hit taste and texture-wise with my students, it also freezes well. It supports sugarpaste and can be carved, although I would say it’s not as easy to carve as a Madeira, but armed with a nice sharp knife you shouldn’t have too much of a problem.
Regards shelf life, I’ve not managed to keep this delicious cake for more than 5 days, it simply just gets eaten too quickly!! Jane, my class coordinator has also baked this recipe a few times and tells me she’s kept one for at least a week and it was still just as tasty as when it was first baked! This is easy to make and is perfect for covering in sugarpaste.
Delicious chocolate fudge cake recipe:
This makes a 20cm (8in) round cake 7.5cm (3in) deep – ideal for celebration cakes
Ingredients to melt
- 225g (8oz) unsalted butter
- 225g (8oz) good quality chocolate
- 1 (15ml) tablespoon instant coffee granules
- 450g (1lb) caster sugar or soft brown sugar
- 150ml (5 fl oz) water
Wet Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 35ml (1.1fl oz) vegetable oil
- 100ml (3.4 fl oz) sour cream or you can use natural yoghurt or Crème Fraiche
Dry Ingredients
- 125g (4 .5 oz) self-raising flour
- 125g (4 .5 oz) plain flour
- 50g (2oz) cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) bicarbonate of soda
- Preheat your oven to 160 degrees C (315 degrees F, gas mark 2-3).
- Line the 20cm (8in) deep cake tin with baking parchment.
- Slowly melt the butter, chocolate, coffee, sugar and water in a pan, once melted allow to cool.
- Add the wet ingredients: eggs, oil and sour cream to the chocolate mix and stir well.
- Sift all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into well and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Pour the batter into the lined tin. Bake for 1 hour 45mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool in the tin.
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Oven temperatures
Remember all ovens are different, so do check your cake towards the end of its cooking time.
A true classic cake recipe!
This cake is utterly delicious without being filled, but if you would like to be even more decadent add layers of white chocolate buttercream – sublime!
Need to bake a different size?
You’ll find a full chart of ingredients for different sized cakes in my ‘Creative Colour for Cake Decorating’ book. If you need to know NOW and you don’t have my book on hand, I have a very useful blog post that tells you how to do the maths, the blog post is called: ‘How do I change cake recipe quantities?’ Hope it helps.
The next step – Decorating you chocolate fudge cake
Now you know how to bake the most utterly delicious chocolate cake, it’s time to think about how you are going to present it. Will you simply pour chocolate ganache over the top, as on my birthday cake example or will you go to town with the decoration? This chocolate fudge cake recipe is perfect for covering with sugarpaste and decorating in any which way you choose. If you are not sure where to begin why not visit our ‘Learn with Lindy‘ pages to see how we can help.
Looking forward to hearing your feedback.
Happy Baking
Lindy x
‘Bringing world-class sugarcraft into your Kitchen’
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jane says
I’m wondering if I can use this in the 2 1/2 inch silverwood minis..I’m in canada…so can I use granulated sugar..and what is the difference between self-rising and plain flours? I have “cake and pastry” and “all purpose…neither have leavening added…so would I need to adjust?
Thank you!
Sabrina says
Hi Lindy & Team,
Does this work without the coffee or does it very much alter the taste? Should I replace the coffee with something? Cocoa?
I am very allergic to coffee but would love to be able to make a perfect chocolate fudge cake!
Thanks!
Sabrina
susan tittle says
I have been using this recipe for quite some time, its the recipe from the planet cake book. I can confirm this keeps for up to two weeks, if it can be resisted that long! I use this all the time for carved cakes and I have had no problems at all.
Lindy Smith says
Hi Susan
I’ve not seen the planet cake book, so can’t check to see if it’s the same. My sister cut the recipe out of a magazine at probably about 30 years ago and where it originally came from has been lost in the mists of time!!!
I’m carving one at tomorrows wonky cake class so I’m planning to keep some of the trimmings to see how the cake lasts – I like cakes that last for 2 weeks, so lets hope you are right!!
Lindy
Lindy Smith says
Hi Sabrina
I’ve made it with out the coffee, it’s still lovely. I think the coffee is there to just instensify the chocolate flavour, my chocolate mousse recipe also has coffee in it but is still fine without
Happy baking
Lindy
Lindy Smith says
Hi Jane
I think this recipe would work well in the multi mini tins. You can use granulated sugar, it will just take longer to melt. Regards flours, all purpose is the equivilent of plain flour. Self raising has a raising agent in it so you will need to use all purpose plus some baking powder
Hope this helps
Happy baking
Lindy
Lindy Smith says
Been doing a bit of research apparently “fudge cake” is a term from the American South used to refer to a dense, single layer chocolate cake served with or without icing, similar to a brownie, although moister with more chocolate.
Glynis says
I’m assuming we can use your brilliant chart to increase/decrease ingredients for different size tins. That chart is the best thing since sliced bread!
susan tittle says
I should also mention that i used this recipe to make brownies and they came out great too!! Lindy, im pretty sure the planet cake book is Australian, but the book also has a white chocolate mud cake recipe, now that is amazing!
Lindy Smith says
Yes definately Glynis
Rhona says
Hi Lindy, would this recipe be suitable for a cake that needs carving and will take a heavy topper? I usually use a madeira but my sister wants a chocolate cake this year. I’ve tried loads of madeira recipes but yours has always turned out the best – can I use this but add cocoa or chocolate? Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you
Angelina says
Hi,
I’m going to attempt this but am a bit nervous…..!!
What chocolate should I use? I was going to use Green & Blacks but should it be cooking chocolate, dark choc or milk? Also soft brown sugar should that be light or dark? Also can you recommend a buttercream to go with this or would that just be too much?!
Sorry for all the questions but I just want to get it right 🙂
Thank you
Angelina
Lindys Team says
Yes this cake is ideal for carving, freeze it first and use a very sharp knife, taking it slowly and surely.
I would practise making this cake before you need it to make sure it can carry the weight of your heavy topper.
I imagine it would, but don’t know what weight your topper is.
Good luck, and happy practising.
Marina
Lindys Team says
Excellent news that you make brownies out of this recipe.
Any left???!
Marina
Lindys Team says
Hi Angelina,
Any good quality chocolate with 50% or more cocoa can be used, a higher content is even better. It doesn’t have to be cooking chocolate.
We recommend using light soft brown sugar instead of dark.
Buttercream would be fine with this cake.
See the link below for more ideas about buttercream.
http://www.lindyscakes.co.uk/Blog/2010/05/13/buttercream-flavours/
Hope this helps.
Marina
Glynis says
Now this is what I call a seriously great chocolate cake! I’ve just made two 6″ cakes with the mixture and could hardly wait for them to cool before I tried a bit. I’ll be taking one into work tomorrow for my cake buddies to try but the other one is staying at home.
Just one question Lindy, when you pour the chocolate mix into the dry ingredients do you mix by machine or hand? I mixed mine in my Kenwood on a slow speed, it seemed ok but did dome a bit.
Thanks very much indeed this is now the only chocolate cake I’ll be using :o)
Glynis
Lindys Team says
Hi Glynis,
When you pour the chocolate mix into the dry ingredients we recommend mixing this by hand.
Glad to hear you enjoyed this cake.
Marina
Glynis says
Hi Marina,
Thanks very much indeed, my cake buddies at work loved it too. I’ll mix by hand next time 🙂
Glynis
Sara says
Hi Lindy
I made the cake last night for the 1st time in a 8inch round tin but it sunk! Not sure why any reason i followed it to the gram/oz?? Your one on the handbag course was great, bit upset whay did i do wrong, hope you can help, i know the temp is right i have a thermometer in it my cakes don’t norm sink.
Sara clemente-powellx
Jane says
Hello Sara,
A couple of reasons why it may have sunk – the measurements for the ingredients weren’t right somehow, or maybe you opened the oven too early (this happened to me the last time I made it).
Hope this helps.
Jane