Chocolate Ganache Cake
This chocolate cake recipe goes very far back in my family recipe book. It is, without a doubt, the most trustworthy and reliable moist chocolate cake I know, one that has been baked for birthdays, weddings, celebrations, and desserts in our family for generations, and is still used today.
For over 15 years, I’ve also shared this recipe with our students at La Petite Pâtisserie Academy, where it has become a firm favourite. It’s the kind of recipe that never lets you down, forgiving, versatile, and consistently delicious.
What makes this cake so special is its exceptional moisture and keeping quality. The use of sour milk (milk and lemon juice) combined with the oil in the recipe helps the cake stay beautifully moist for more than four days when stored correctly. It also freezes extremely well, making it perfect for advance preparation (especially for celebration and wedding cakes).
This cake is wonderfully adaptable. It can be baked as a 20 cm round cake, layered, or turned into cupcakes without any changes to the recipe. A classic pairing is a rich chocolate ganache, which complements the deep cocoa flavour perfectly. Decorate it as simply or as extravagantly as you like, but I highly recommend adding berries between the layers.
So here it is! A much-loved, well-tested recipe that has stood the test of time. I hope it becomes a favourite in your kitchen too.
Thanks to my photography friend Yolande Marx for these beautiful photos that you took.
Chocolate Ganache Cake
Chocolate Sponge Cake
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Baking Time: 40–45 minutes
Yield: 1 × 20 cm round cake or 24 cupcakes
Serving: 12
Ingredients
200 ml milk
15 ml lemon juice
4 tbsp cocoa powder
60 ml hot water (not boiling)
1¾ cups (437.5 ml) sugar
180 ml sunflower oil
3 large eggs
2¼ cups (562.5 ml) cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease or spray a 20 cm round cake tin or cupcake pans with non-stick spray.
In a small bowl, mix the milk and lemon juice. Set aside for 20 minutes to curdle (this makes buttermilk).
In a separate cup, mix the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, mix the oil and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the cooled cocoa mixture.
Sift together the cake flour, salt, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda. Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the batter.
Add the curdled milk and vanilla essence. Beat until the batter is smooth and well combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan(s), filling each about ¾ full.
Bake at 180°C for 40–45 minutes, or until the cake is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely before icing it.
Milk Chocolate Ganache
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Resting time: 1 Hour in the fridge, 2 Hours on the counter
Yield: 500ml
Ingredients:
250 ml Fresh Cream
500 g Chopped Milk Chocolate
Method:
Add the cream to a stainless steel bowl, to be placed onto a saucepan with water. This will create a double boiler, which makes it safer for chocolate to melt.
Heat the cream to very warm, but not boiling.
Add the chocolate pieces to the cream at once and while stirring slowly, allowing the chocolate to melt, then forming a smooth chocolate sauce.
Set aside on the counter to cool down for two hours or in the fridge for one hour.
It is very important that the ganache should be completely cold or even better, chilled before it being whipped.
With an electrical beater, whip up the ganache until a chocolate mousse consistency.
Assemble:
Half the cake first and add some ganache to the center. (You may want to add some berries or other fruit as well).
Next, with a pallet knife, cover the outside of the cake first to bind all the crumbs together (crumbcoating) and place in the fridge for 15 minutes to get the chocolate to set.
Lastly, add a thicker layer of ganache to the outside of the cake.
Store in a airtight container for up to 4 days.
