If you're looking for the BEST Chocolate Cake recipe, look no further … THIS IS IT!

Rich in chocolate flavour with a tender-moist crumb and fluffy with the perfect amount of sweetness. This is what chocolate dreams are made of!

That's 4 times the chocolate.
Chocolate cake.
Chocolate buttercream.
Chocolate ganache.
Chocolate shards.

This chocolate chocolate cake is perfect for pairing with a glass of milk. Pairing it with a glass of chocolate milk might be too much. We draw the line there.

Ingredients :

Chocolate Cake:

• 70g cocoa powder


• 200g all-purpose flour


• 1 ½ tsp baking powder


• 1 tsp baking soda


• ½ tsp salt 60g butter (room temperature)


• 240g sugar


• 3 large eggs


• 1 ½ tsp vanilla


• 125g sour cream


• 3 tbsp melted chocolate (cooled)

Chocolate ganache:

• 120g heavy cream


• 120g chocolate chips

Chocolate buttercream:

• 340g butter


• 340g cooking fat


• 150g cocoa powder


• 300-400g powdered sugar

Chocolate shards:

• 120g chocolate chips


• ½ tbsp vegetable oil

Serves : 16

Cooks In : 50 min

Difficulty : Medium

Preparation Method :

Chocolate cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
2. Using butter, grease the bottom and sides of round cake tins and line the bases with a round piece of baking paper.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently mix using a spoon.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat using an electric mixer until fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla and lightly beat.
5. Add in the sour cream and melted chocolate and mix by hand using a spatula.
6. Add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients; do not dump it in; take spoonfuls of the flour mixture and gently shake it over the wet ingredients. Fold in the mixture until no flour remains. Repeat with the other half of the flour, folding it in and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl to incorporate everything.
7. Evenly divide the batter between the 3 tins.
8. Bake for 22 minutes. Then loosely cover the pans with foil. Continue to bake for 7-10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
9. Once the cake is done baking, allow it to cool in the tin on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, carefully remove the cake from the tin. Allow the cake to cool completely on a cooling rack.
10. Once cool, remove the baking paper round from the bottom of the cake. If you need to level the top of your cake, use a cake lever or knife.
11. If you'll be assembling the cake later, wrap the cake layers well in plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator. They will be suitable for up to 5 days.

Chocolate buttercream:
1. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter and Cookeen Cooking Fat and beat using an electric mixer until fluffy. Add in the cocoa powder and gently mix by hand with a spatula.
2. Begin to add the powdered sugar, handfuls at a time, mixing by hand first, then with the electric mixer. Continue adding powdered sugar until the frosting tastes good to you and is well mixed.

Chocolate shards: 
1. Melt the chocolate with the vegetable oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir with a spatula to melt smoothly.
2. Place a plastic cutting board or metal baking pan on the counter. Place a large piece of wax paper on top of the flat surface.
3. Pour the melted chocolate on top of the wax paper. Use a spatula to smooth the chocolate into an even layer all around the wax paper.
4. Place another piece of wax paper on top of the melted chocolate and gently smooth out any air bubbles.
5. Place the cutting board or baking pan with the wax paper in the freezer for 15 minutes.
6. After 15 minutes, remove it from the freezer and allow it to warm up for 2-3 minutes.
7. Remove the top layer of wax paper, break the chocolate into shards (any size or shape you want) and store them in the freezer on a plate, in a container or in a bag until you're ready to use them.

Chocolate ganache:
1. Place chocolate chips in a medium heat-proof bowl.
2. In a small pot over low heat, heat the heavy cream until boiling.
3. Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate chips. Allow the mixture to stand for 1-2 minutes.
4. Use a spatula to stir the mixture until smooth.
5. Allow the ganache to come to room temperature before adding it to the cake.

Assembly:
1. Spread a small amount of buttercream on a round cardboard cake circle.
2. Place your first layer of cake on top of the cardboard. Put buttercream on top of the first layer and spread it as evenly as possible with an offset spatula.
3. Decide how much or how little frosting you want in between each layer, you can measure the frosting.
4. Repeat this process for each layer of cake. Once all of the layers are stacked and frosted, spread some frosting (the same amount as you did between the layers) on the top of the cake.
5. Next, it's time to do a crumb coat. The crumb coat will help seal the crumbs in. Using your offset spatula, spread a thin layer of buttercream around the sides and the top of the cake. It's easiest to start off with more frosting on the cake and remove some as needed.
6. Place the entire cake in the freezer or fridge for 20 minutes to harden the crumb coat.
7. Begin to add the second layer of frosting. Spread an even layer of frosting on the top of the cake. Next either pipe on the frosting or spread on the frosting around the sides of the cake. Use a spatula or icing smoother to smooth out the frosting, scraping off excess as you go.
8. Transfer the cake to your desired serving plate.
9. Use a piping bag and a piping tip to pipe a border of buttercream around the bottom of a cake.
10. Once the ganache is at room temperature, use a spoon to drizzle the ganache around the sides of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Fill in the middle of the cake with ganache and spread evenly with the back of the spoon. Allow the ganache to set for 10 minutes.
11. Top the cake with various chocolate shards.
12. Slice and serve!