Chocolate Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What does brown sugar do in chocolate cake? ›

Brown Sugar Lends Caramel Undertones And Helps Lock In Moisture. Incorporating brown sugar into your chocolate cake recipes can elevate them from good to unforgettable. Tasting Table's recipe developer, Molly Allen, demonstrates this beautifully in her elegant yet simple death by chocolate cake recipe.

These basic ingredients for baking a cake are; flour, eggs, fat (usually butter), sugar, salt, a form of liquid (usually milk), and leavening agents (such as baking soda).

You may have noticed that some chocolate cake recipes utilize hot water or even hot coffee. When hot liquid is combined with the cocoa powder, it helps to dissolve and 'bloom' the cocoa to bring out as much flavor with as few cocoa lumps as possible.

In a pinch, dark brown sugar can be substituted for light brown; however, when baking recipes sensitive to moisture and density (such as cakes) the difference in moisture content between can affect how well the cake rises. Swapping the two will also affect the recipe's taste and color.

Brown sugar has a deep, caramel or toffee-like flavor due to the added molasses. For this reason, it works well in chocolate cakes and cookies, as well as rich fruit cakes.

The Sachertorte is a traditional chocolate cake. While staying true to the basic, good old-fashioned recipe, passion fruit is added to apricot jam to produce a lovely aroma and tartness for a pleasant, modern flavor.

Coffee is made for baking. Its rich, bittersweet flavour adds depth to cakes, cheesecakes, pies, cookies, muffins, loaves, and soufflés. It boosts the chocolatey appeal of Fudge Layer Cake with Chocolate Avocado Icing, Coffee Brownies and soft, fudgy Coffee Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.

The "Sachertorte" is a famous Viennese cake and probably the most famous chocolate cake in the world since 1832. The delicious treat consists of 3 layers of chocolate sponge cake with thickly spread apricot jam in between and on the top.

Mayonnaise: The Hidden Gem in Cake Recipes

Made up of eggs and oil, mayonnaise acts as an emulsifier, adding creaminess and moisture to your cake.

Eggs: 3 whole eggs provide structure, moisture, and richness. 2 extra egg whites keep the cake light and airy. I don't recommend using 4 whole eggs; stick to the 3 egg & 2 egg white combination.

How much flour is used for 1 cup of sugar? ›

In many baking recipes, a common guideline is to use a sugar-to-flour ratio of about 1:1 or slightly less. So, for 1 cup of flour, you might use 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar.

Milk's fat and protein add tenderness, structure, and flavor to a cake — all great attributes you want in your baking!

Texture:Cakes made with oil tend to be moister and have a more tender crumb. Oil coats the flour proteins better than butter, resulting in a softer texture. Cakes made with butter can have a richer flavor and a slightly firmer texture. Butter contributes to a more traditional and dense cake structure.

Baking tip #2: adding milk to your box cake mix in place of water adds a dense texture to your dessert leaving it moist and flavorful like a homemade cake. Or, if you prefer, you can add buttermilk, giving your cake a tangy flavor to balance out the sweetness.

Yes, it will affect the bake because light brown sugar contains molasses, so the cake may be darker. Please note that you won't trap as much air in the sugar when creaming the butter and sugar, which means your cake won't be as fluffy. It may also alter the taste slightly as brown sugar is slightly more acidic.

Brown sugar holds moisture. Goods baked without it may dry out faster and not stay fresh as long. Some substitutes may have more or less sweetness than brown sugar. You may have to adjust their quantity for the desired sweetness in your recipe.

Brown sugar, meanwhile, is dense and compacts easily, creating fewer air pockets during creaming—that means that there's less opportunity to entrap gas, creating cookies that rise less and spread more. With less moisture escaping via steam, they also stay moist and chewy.