A Little More on Chocolate Cake

Chocolate cake comes in all sorts of delicious forms, from light, soft sponges to dense, fudgy layers. Cocoa powder, melted chocolate or a combination of both can give the cake its flavour. Some are finished with a simple dusting of icing sugar, while others are filled with buttercream or covered in chocolate ganache.

Chocolate cake has changed quite a bit over time. In early nineteenth-century American recipes, the name sometimes described a plain cake served with chocolate or finished with chocolate icing. As cocoa powder and baking chocolate became easier to buy, bakers began adding chocolate directly to their cake batters. By the early twentieth century, recognisably modern chocolate cake recipes were becoming common.

Whether you prefer a towering layer cake, a gooey slice or a flourless version, there's something wonderfully indulgent about chocolate cake.