Equipment
- 1 large bowl
- 1 Whisk
- 1 stand mixer or hand mixer
- 2 8x2 inch OR one 8x3 in pan OR 9 inch cake pan
Ingredients
Black Cocoa Cake
- 240 grams cake flour, spooned and leveled
- 80 grams black cocoa powder, spooned and leveled
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 350 grams granulated sugar
- 160 mL canola oil, or any neutral oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 150 grams sour cream
- 240 mL hot coffee, I use Americano
- 60 mL espresso (cooled) , double shot *optional as a soak
Mascarpone Cream
- 113 grams mascarpone, cold
- 60 grams powdered sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp vanilla bean paste, or vanilla beans from 1 pod or extract
- 180 mL heavy whipping cream, cold
- 60 mL espresso (cooled), 1 double shots *optional as a flavor
- dusting of cocoa powder
Method
Black Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F (I use convection cuz my oven runs really hot at the bottom - conventional is also fine) and grease and line two 8x2 inch pans (or one tall 8x3 inch pan or one 9 inch pan) with baking spray and parchment paper (see blog post for other cake pan sizes).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until they’re evenly distributed.240 grams cake flour spooned and leveled, 80 grams black cocoa powder spooned and leveled, 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, 1 tbsp baking powder
- In a separate large bowl, whisk the sugar, oil, eggs and sour cream until they’re well combined and smooth.350 grams granulated sugar, 160 mL canola oil or any neutral oil, 2 large eggs room temperature, 150 grams sour cream
- Sift the dry ingredients over the wet and whisk them together, just a little - about halfway or so.
- Pour in the hot coffee and whisk until the batter is completely smooth and all the dry ingredients are combined.240 mL hot coffee I use Americano
- Scrape the edge of the bowl and give it a good mix. Pour into prepared cake tin(s).
- Bake for 25ish (or 40ish if using one tall pan) minutes, until the tallest part of the cake, in the center, springs back when you press on it. If you’re hesitant, give it another minute or so.
- Let the cake rest for 10 minutes in the pan, then flip over onto a tea towel and let the cake cool upside down for 30 minutes or so before flipping back over.
- If it’s domed or if you want to add a soak (I did a double shot of espresso), trim the top off after it’s completely cooled and then drizzle the coffee on top.60 mL espresso (cooled) double shot *optional as a soak
Mascarpone Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat together the cold mascarpone with the powdered sugar until it’s completely smooth.113 grams mascarpone cold, 60 grams powdered sugar
- Add the vanilla bean paste and turn the mixer to medium speed.1/2 Tbsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla beans from 1 pod or extract
- Stream in the cold heavy whipping cream in 3-4 increments, stopping to scrape the edge of the bowl each time.180 mL heavy whipping cream cold
- Once all the heavy whipping cream is added, it may seem soft so turn the mixer up to full speed and it should thicken and hold peaks within a couple of minutes. Don’t over-beat once you’ve reached this stage.
- If you’re adding the espresso, make sure it’s completely cooled before adding it. Stream it in slowly with the mixer at medium speed and mix just until it’s combined.60 mL espresso (cooled) 1 double shots *optional as a flavor
- Spread the cream on top of the cake and dust with a generous dusting of cocoa powder (I used dutch process here cuz I thought black cocoa might look funny lol. Natural also works fine).dusting of cocoa powder
Notes
This makes one tall 8 inch or 9 inch cake layer - See blog post for other size options.
Nutrition
Calories: 347kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 5gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.04gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 185mgPotassium: 122mgFiber: 2gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 354IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 90mgIron: 1mg