Creator of the ‘world’s best chocolate cake’ shares her new, improved kid-friendly recipe

April 19, 2024

Helen Goh’s “Everyday chocolate cake” with whipped cocoa cream.William Meppem

easyTime:1-2 hoursServes:8

Here’s a confession. You know that ‘world’s best chocolate cake’ that I’m often credited with? My children don’t like it. It’s altogether too rich, too dark, too damp for them. So after years of making it at every opportunity (have I mentioned it’s also the world’s easiest cake to make?), I set myself the challenge of developing another version for their birthdays. And here it is. Deeply chocolatey with a tight but soft crumb and a gently sweetened cocoa cream (goodbye ganache!).

The “everyday” here refers to the unstarry pantry ingredients that enable this cake to be made on any given day. It’s also less rich than most chocolate cakes, allowing for the impulse to cut just one more slice each time you walk past the kitchen.

Don’t be tempted to forgo the cocoa cream: it’s very easy to make and just sweet enough to bring a little luxury to this otherwise simple cake. A light scattering of coloured sprinkles instantly transforms this into a party favourite.

Ingredients

60g cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-processed)
1 tsp instant coffee granules
1 tbsp sunflower or other flavourless oil
125ml hot water
300g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
120g unsalted butter, at room temperature
250g caster sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
130ml plain unsweetened pouring kefir or buttermilk

FOR THE COCOA CREAM icing

500ml thickened cream
60g icing sugar, sifted
30g cocoa powder, sifted if necessary
1 tsp vanilla extract
⅛ tsp fine sea salt

Method

Step 1
Preheat oven to 165C fan-forced (185C conventional) and line the base and sides of a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper.
Step 2
Combine cocoa powder, instant coffee granules, oil and hot water in a small, heatproof bowl. Stir to form a loose paste, then set aside to cool.
Step 3
Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Step 4
Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until light (about 2 minutes). Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition, then add the vanilla. Scrape down the base and sides of the bowl with a flexible spatula and beat for another few seconds.
Step 5
Then, on low speed, add the cooled cocoa paste, followed by the sifted dry ingredients, alternating with the kefir or buttermilk. Beat on low speed just until the ingredients are incorporated, then remove the bowl from the mixer and give the contents a final fold-though with the spatula.
Step 6
Scrape the batter into the prepared cake tin and place in the oven. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 7
When the cake has cooled, make the cocoa cream icing. Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a cake mixer and beat on medium-low speed with the whisk attachment until soft waves form. Be vigilant not to overbeat as the cream will turn granular.
Step 8
Remove the cooled cake from the tin and slice it in half horizontally. Use half the cocoa cream as a kind of sandwich filling for the two halves, then spread the remainder of the cream on top of the cake. Garnish with sprinkles, if desired.