Ultra Moist & Fudgy Chocolate Cake (Dangerously Good!)
A tall, glossy chocolate cake with a brownie-soft center, shiny ganache on top and that deep café aroma from hot coffee baked into the batter. Every slice is ultra moist, ultra fudgy and honestly a little dangerous to keep in the fridge… it just disappears.
Ingredients (paragraph style)
For the cake, you’ll need all-purpose flour (about 3¾ cups / 1 3×4 cup), unsweetened cocoa powder (¾ cup), granulated sugar (2 cups) and brown sugar (1 cup) for that dense fudgy crumb, plus baking powder, baking soda and a pinch of salt to lift everything. The wet mix is made with 3 large eggs, buttermilk (about 1½ cups – or a mix of yogurt and milk), neutral vegetable oil (1 cup) and vanilla extract. To finish the batter and make it ultra moist, you’ll pour in about 1½ cups of hot coffee, which melts the cocoa, boosts the chocolate flavor and keeps the crumb soft.
For the ultra fudgy chocolate ganache, you’ll melt good dark chocolate (around 300 g) with hot cream (about 200 ml), then enrich it with a little butter and a spoon of cocoa so it sets thick and shiny over the cooled cake.
Method (short & clear)
Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, sugars and salt in a large bowl. Add the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and mix until the batter is smooth. Slowly pour in the hot coffee and whisk; the batter will become thin and glossy. Pour into a greased 24 cm round pan and bake at 170°C (about 340°F) for 40–45 minutes, until the edges are set and the center is just slightly soft. Let the cake cool completely in the pan. Meanwhile, heat the cream until steaming, pour it over the chopped chocolate, let sit, then stir smooth; add the butter and cocoa and mix until thick and pourable. Turn the cooled cake out onto a plate, pour the warm ganache over the top letting it drip down the sides, then rest at room temperature briefly before chilling for about 30 minutes so it firms up but stays silky and fudgy in the middle.