I wanted to post this cake recipe before this month ends. MM completes 8 years this month! Though I said the previous statement without any drama, trust me, lots of drama happens behind the scene, all the time. Be it in the kitchen, photo session, maintenance… As I've said before, though the site is in my name, it's very much a joint venture between Jose and myself. I manage the front office and he is in charge of the back office. So you can imagine, how it works out when husband and wife works together ;)
One of the things that we always have a conflict is, Jose wants me to be proud about the site, in a good way. Sometimes it happens that when I'm asked whether I'm working, I tend to say I'm unemployed or jobless, depending on my mood and as a result some people tend to look down upon me. Ok, now if I start talking about that topic, it will take ages, so let's come back to what we were saying, hhmm, yeah be proud about my work. He keeps asking me why am I downplaying the whole thing and so on. So, to stop his bickering, I told him, come this June, I'll not only be a proud owner, but may be flaunt it a lil bit ;)
You see, I was all set to start throwing around my weight, not so much, may be the size of a paper weight, as starters. I started practicing my make believe celebrity style at home too. I almost perfected it, then something happened. I got a mail! A mail from some agency saying that they will make me and my small blog a celebrity and they want me to do audition also for that! Here I'm all set to flaunt my celebrity status in Utopia and it took no time to bring me back to reality where I'm asked to audition to become one. Sigh! Should I say that my paper weights got crushed into fine dust by a road roller :(
Though I've given up the idea of “flaunting my blog”, I've started saying that I'm the “author” at MariasMenu :) An author without readers is like a Red Velvet Cupcake without the cream cheese icing, it just doesn't feel complete. It's only because of YOU, I can call myself an author. I know I test your patience and tolerance level at times, with the delay in posting new recipes or getting back to your mails and comments, but you put up with me ever so kindly.
Thank you for being there for MM :)
Now about this cake, this is one of the best Chocolate cakes, I've baked so far. I baked it twice in a month's time, once for one of our friend's anniversary and other for a friend's b'day. The cake was a hit with both of them, if I say so myself. I loved the texture of this cake, it's a bit dense but in a good way. The cake by itself isnt sweet, so it calls for a grand icing. The Nutella icing complemented the cake perfectly. It's very much a celebration cake, ideal for birthdays, anniversaries or any special occasion or you can just bake this cake and make an ordinary day an extra ordinary one ;) If you like chocolate cakes, this one is for you. I made praline only for one cake. The cake pic given above is the one I made for our friend's anniversary.
I want you to bake this cake so badly, so I shamelessly went and asked one of them to give me a slice to take home, so that I can take a pic to share with you ;) I wanted you to see the sliced cake, to get an idea about the texture.
Finally, the recipe…
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl…
In another bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes…
Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined…
Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with water and buttermilk, beating on low speed until just combined; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat on medium-high speed just until no traces of flour remain, about 30 seconds; do not overbeat…
Divide the batter evenly into 2, 8 or 9-inch round pans that have been greased and floured. Bake for about 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean…
Place a cake on the serving plate. Moisten the top and sides of the cake with coffee syrup. Place some icing on the top of the cake and spread it. Sprinkle the hazelnut praline, if using…
Place the next cake on top of this. Moisten the top and sides with the coffee syrup. Place some icing on top…
Start spreading it on the top and sides. Sprinkle the remaining hazelnut praline on top…
Cake recipe from here and Icing recipe from here
Please read the notes section before proceeding with the recipe
Ingredients
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 2 cups Plain Flour
- 1/2 cup Unsweetend Cocoa Powder
- 1.5 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 stick Butter (113 gms, @ room temp)
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 2 large Eggs (@ room temp)
- 2 tsp Vanilla Essence
- 1 cup Lukewarm Water
- 1/2 cup Buttermilk (refer notes for substitute)
For Nutella Buttercream
- 250 gms Unsalted butter (softened)
- 400 gms Nutella
- 1.5 – 2 cups Icing sugar
- 1-2 tbsp Milk
For Coffee Syrup
- 1/2 cup Hot water
- 1 tbsp Instant coffee powder
- 1 tbsp Sugar
For Hazelnut Praline (optional)
- 1/2 cup Blanched skinless hazelnuts
- 1/3 cup Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C, 10 mins before baking.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. In another bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with water and buttermilk, beating on low speed until just combined; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat on medium-high speed just until no traces of flour remain, about 30 seconds; do not overbeat.
- Divide the batter evenly into 2, 8 or 9-inch round pans that have been greased and floured. Bake in the pre heated oven for about 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- To make icing:
- Beat butter until smooth. Add Nutella and beat together until thoroughly combined. Slowly add icing sugar, mixing until combined. Add 1 tablespoon of milk. Add additional milk or icing sugar as needed to reach desired consistency.
- To make coffee syrup:
- Combine hot water, instant coffee powder and sugar. Let it cool completely.
- To make the praline:
- Melt the sugar with 1/2 tbsp water in a pan. Once it starts turning brown, add the whole hazelnuts. Swirl the pan to make sure the nuts are coated completely with caramalised sugar. Transfer it to an al.foil or parchment paper. Let it cool completely. Crush it using a rolling pin.
- Assembling the cake:
- Place a cake on the serving plate. If you are using a cake board, spread some buttercream on the board and place the cake. This is done to avoid the cake moving around while doing the icing. Place cut out baking/parchment paper under the cake around the edges and without covering the centre, so that the extra icing will not be falling on the board. You can pull out these in the end.
- Moisten the top and sides of the cake with coffee syrup. Place some icing on the top of the cake and spread it. Sprinkle the hazelnut praline, if using. Place the next cake on top of this. Moisten the top and sides with the coffee syrup. Place some icing on top and start spreading it on the top and sides. Sprinkle the remaining hazelnut praline on top.
Notes
You can also make cupcakes using the above batter, though I'm not sure about how many it will yield. If you are baking this cake for a kid's party, it's better to skip the praline. I used hazelnuts since it was nutella icing.
Hi..Can I use this recipe for a fondant cake..I mean do the fondant after the cake is completely frosted in Nutella buttercream? Planning to make a cake for my daughter’s birthday..
What is your measurement of one cup ?is it 250 ml or 240ml?
Hi Sona,
It’s 240 ml. Really sorry for the delayed reply. I was away for sometime. Just getting back to my mails.
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria, made this cake today. Came out very well. Very moist and spongy. Will be surprising my father in law tomorrow for his 83rd Birthday . thanks for this wonderful recipe :)
Hi Deepa,
Thank you so much :) I do hope the b’day boy enjoyed his cake. Belated b’day wishes to your father in law.
Wish you a Happy New Year!
Cheers
Maria
hi maria…i am a starter in baking…can you please tell one cup means how much in grams or litre…
Hi Linnet,
Please check out the below link;
http://allrecipes.com/howto/cup-to-gram-conversions/
Hope you get to bake this soon, happy baking and all the best :)
Cheers
Maria
Hai Maria, How can I modify this recipe to convert this into a ‘Ferrero Rocher Cake’.
Hi Mareena,
I guess you can do that.. You can decorate the cake with it.. I’d love to see your version :)
Hi Hiba,
I think you can use same qty of regular sugar instead.
Hi Honey,
Thanks a ton for letting me know about the cake :)
Your cakes look so pretty! I’m really happy that the cakes were a hit. Thank you so much for sharing the pics.. I’ll put it on MM FB page soon..
I assume the brown coloured one is ultra moist and the light coloured one is Nutella?
Cheers
Maria
Awesome cake :) I’ve tried loads of your recipes and they’ve never failed me!
I’m making this tonight for my son’s first b’day tomorrow. Could I ask, every time I bake a cake, the top rises like a volcano and cracks. What am i doing wrong? Is it the temperature of the oven or because of air trapped?
Also, before layering, do you cut of the rounded top of the cake so that the cake is stable?
Thanks a lot Honey :) Wish your son a very happy b’day, God Bless him!
The cake forms into a dome mainly because of uneven baking. The edges of the cake tends to get baked faster than the centre and that’s why it happens.
To ensure even baking of cake, wrap a wet towel (you can cut out thin strips of old towel) around the cake tin and keep in the oven. This helps the cake to rise evenly.
I didnt cut out the top of the cake, since it came out even and levelled.
Hope the cake comes out well for you, all the best! Have a great time tmrw :)
Cheers
Maria
What can be added instead of eggs?
Hi Sailee,
I’m not sure about how to substitute eggs in this particular recipe. However I’ve posted an eggless chocolate cake earlier. You can see the recipe here:
https://mariasmenu.wpcomstaging.com/desserts/eggless-chocolate-cake
Hi Maria,
the recipe looks interesting…how much does 1 stick butter mean…also if i add cocoa pwdr at the icing stage can i do away with nutella or is it just to reduce the taste of it
norma
Hi Norma,
1 stick butter is 113 gms approx. This is a nutella icing, a bit of cocoa can cut down the taste of nutella that’s it. If you are looking for a chocolate butter cream, please check out the below recipe:
https://mariasmenu.wpcomstaging.com/desserts/moist-chocolate-cake-with-chocolate-buttercream-ganache
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria
I’m a constant viewer of mm..tried many recipes..but never left any feedbacks..I like the way you introduce the recipe with the story happened before..and also the step by step guidelines for the recipes..my little one is turning 2 next week so i’m going to try this cake and let you know about the outcome..keep blogging..and all the very best wishes for mm…cheers…
Hi Sona,
Thank you so much for taking time to write to me, appreciate it very much :)
So good to know that you’re a regular visitor here. Advance b’day wishes to your lil one!
Hope the cake comes out well for you.. Happy baking :)
Cheers
Maria
In time for my sons 16th birthday! 250grms butter is how many cups?. In US everything is cup measurement. We love nutella, I am sure this cakes a killer!!
Hi Minnie,
250 gms butter will come to 1 cup and 1.5 tbsp, approx.
Advance b’day wishes to your son! Hope he likes the cake :)
Happy baking!
Cheers
Maria
I have never baked in my life. But when I see this pics I feel like attempting. Will let you know how it turns out to be Maria chechi..
Hi Sangeetha,
I do hope your first baking experiment becomes successful. All the best and happy baking :)
Cheers
Maria