Chocolate Overload Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 280g (2⅓ cups) flour (see note 1)
- 80g (¾ cup) cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 300g (1½ cups) white sugar
- 90g (½ cup) brown sugar
- 250ml (1 cup) milk (see note 2)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 180ml (¾ cup) vegetable oil
- 3 eggs (large)
- 250ml (1 cup) hot water
- 1 tbsp instant coffee
Frosting:
- 150g (½ cup + 3 tbsp) butter (softened)
- 200g (¾ cup + 2 tbsp) cream cheese
- 200g (½ cup + 3 tbsp) Nutella
- 250g (2 cups) icing / confectioners' / powdered sugar
Decoration:
- Any chocolate or candy you like (and as much as you want)
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line and/or grease two 8" / 20cm pans.
- In a large bowl, sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in the white and brown sugar.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, vanilla extract, oil and eggs until well combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold together.
- Add the coffee to the hot water.
- Slowly add the coffee/water and stir until everything comes together. Don't overmix, there will still be a few lumps left in the batter (also note that the batter is supposed to be runny, so don't panic!).
- Divide between the two prepared pans as equally as you can and then bake side by side for around 30-35 minutes. The cakes are ready when the tops spring back lightly when pressed, and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean
- Remove from the oven and leave the cakes in the pans for around 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting:
- In the meantime, prepare the frosting. Beat the butter and cream cheese together until light and smooth, then add the Nutella. Finally add as much icing sugar as is needed to achieve a thick frosting consistency.
Assembly:
- Carefully slice off the tops of both cakes (if they are uneven).
- On the flat side of one of the cakes, smooth over some of the frosting (enough to give a nice coverage).
- Place the other cake on top and gently push down.
- Smooth the remaining frosting all over the cake, making a pretty pattern (as mentioned above).
Decoration:
- Pile any chocolate or candy you like on top. Add this while the frosting is still soft and not set.
- Chill in the fridge for at least an hour to allow the frosting to firm up, or overnight if you prefer.
- Cut into slices and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
I have converted grams to cups/ounces/tablespoons using online converters. Although I have no reason to believe they are inaccurate, please be aware that I have not made this recipe using imperial measurements.
- You can use all-purpose (plain) flour in place of spelt flour. Just use the same measurements as specified.
- The original recipe called for buttermilk but I used 2% milk.
