Helen Goh’s Chocolate Cake comes from the cookbook she co-wrote with Yotam Ottolenghi, Sweet. It’s been given the title ‘World’s Best Chocolate Cake’ by the New York Times and it’s also been proven to be the world’s most easiest cake to bake. Aside from its credentials, the taste alone speaks for itself….rich and velvety delicious. With this famous chocolate cake recipe Helen Goh shows us how a simple list of ingredients, such as dark chocolate, butter and coffee, can be created into something really special…and sweet.
Helen Goh's Chocolate Cake
January 27, 2021
: 12
: 30 min
: 60 min
: EASY
Helen Goh's famous chocolate cake from her cookbook 'Sweet', co-written by Yotam Ottolenghi.
Ingredients
- FOR THE CAKE BATTER
- 250g unsalted butter
- 200g dark chocolate, 70% cacao, chopped
- 350ml freshly brewed coffee
- 250g granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 240g all-purpose flour
- 30g cocoa powder Dutch processed
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- FOR THE GANACHE:
- 200g dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate
- 200ml heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 170°C (338°F).
- Step 2 Grease a 22cm/23cm cake pan and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Step 3 Measure out the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Gently mix. Set aside.
- Step 4 Place chocolate, butter and freshly brewed coffee over a double boiler and mix until everything is melted, combined and smooth. Remove from heat.
- Step 5 Add sugar with a hand whisk until dissolved.
- Step 6 Add eggs and vanilla extract and whisk again until thoroughly combined.
- Step 7 Sift the measured dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt) with a sieve into the melted chocolate mixture. Fold everything together with a rubber spatula. Don’t overmix. The texture of the batter should be liquid.
- Step 8 Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 60 minutes (or until a skewer inserted comes out clean or with just a few dried crumbs attached). The top of cake will crack (this is expected).
- Step 9 Let cake cool for about 20 minutes before removing it from the pan.
- Step 10 FOR THE GANACHE: Chop chocolate in a food processor until fine. Place heavy cream in a small pot over medium heat. Just before it starts to boil turn the heat off and add in the chocolate and butter. With a small whisk stir vigorously until well combined. Set aside until it is the consistency you want to spread over your cake. I left mine to set for 40 minutes. The longer you leave it the thicker it will become.
- Step 11 Spread the ganache on top of the cake, preferably in the center and let some drip along the sides. You can also skip the ganache and just dust some confectioners’ sugar on top. Serving with some whipped sweet cream and fresh berries is also a delicious option.
- Step 12 NOTE: In Helen Goh’s recipe she uses self-rising flour. I have adjusted the ingredients slightly to accommodate the use of all-purpose flour.