This Chocolate Fudge cake recipe is very easy to make. Made with cocoa powder and chocolate. Filled and covered with chocolate Ganache and decorated with your favourite Easter chocolate decorations.
This recipe was first published in March 2018 and has since been updated in January 2020 with additional images and text.
The recipe is also adapted from the Smartie Pants cake recipe in the Clandestine Cake Club Cook Book 'A Year of Cake'. These step by step instructions will also show you How to Make a Chocolate Smarties Cake.
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Ways to adapt this recipe
There are so many ways you can adapt and decorate this cake. The original recipe was topped with dozens of smarties and edged with chocolate fingers.
Even though Ganache is a great fudge cake filling. You can choose to decorate it in any way that you like. Get the kids involved. It'll be so much fun.
To give you more ideas on what to bake for Easter try these this Easter Creme Egg Bundt Cake Also topped with chocolate ganache. But his time it's decorated with Cadbury Cream Eggs.
Or this Chocolate Cake filled with Hazelnut spread Topped with sugar coated chocolate eggs.
The kids will love helping you to make these Bran flake chocolate easter nests. They may get a little messy with the chocolate. What fun it'll be.
If you love a touch of marzipan in your cakes, but don't want anything as rich as a chocolate fudge cake. Try this Simnel Cake topped with Marzipan and Hollow Chocolate Eggs. Omit the chocolate egg decorations if you wish and just have a slice on its own.
For simplicity itself. This Chocolate Traybake has an easy to slice hard chocolate topping.
If you want to add a savoury snack to your Easter Party. These Puff Pastry Cheese and Bacon Wraps are perfect.
List of ingredients
- flour - self raising
- baking powder - gives a little extra rise. But don't overdo it.
- cocoa powder - use 100% cocoa powder rather than drinking chocolate which often contains additional sugar
- golden caster sugar - white caster sugar is fine
- soft dark brown sugar - gives a slight nutty/ caramel taste to the cake
- milk - whole full fat milk
- sunflower oil or vegetable oil - or any neutral tasting oil will be fine
- eggs - I used large sized for this recipe
- golden syrup - I use Tate and Lyle Golden Syrup
- vanilla extract - Try making your own Vanilla Extract
- chocolate flakes - You will need 16 flakes cut in half. Making 32 halves in total
Ganache
- dark chocolate - Milk chocolate will be fine
- cream - double cream is best
- Chambord black raspberry liqueur - Or your favourite liqueur optional. This is optional
Decorations and Toppings
I used an abundance of chocolate decorations for the toppings, such as hollow chocolate eggs, Malteser chocolate bunnies and mini sugar coated chocolate eggs. You can use whatever toppings you wish. Make it your own unique design.
Depending on how much ganache you coat around the sides of the cake. You will need 16 chocolate flakes cut in half to cover the sides completely. Perhaps only add enough Ganache to allow the chocolate flakes to stick.
You will also need about 1 ½ - 2 meters of yellow ribbon, depending on how large you want the bow to tie. This will help keep the chocolate flakes upright around the cake
How to Make a Chocolate Fudge Cake
First, you need to make the chocolate ganache
- Place the chopped chocolate into a heat proof bowl. Heat the cream on medium heat, until you see bubbles around the side of the pan. Do not boil.
- Pour the cream over the chocolate and leave to infuse for a couple of mins to allow the chocolate to soften.
- Add the liqueur (optional) then gently start to mix the cream and chocolate together, until you have a rich smooth glossy consistency. Do not over mix as this may cause the ganache to go grainy.
- Leave to set to a spreadable consistency at room temperature. This could take a couple of hours, depending on how hot your kitchen is. Avoid placing in the fridge at this point as it may set too hard and lose the shine. If this happens. Give it a good mix to loosen the ganache again.
Make the Cake
- Something to be aware of. This is a slightly runny batter. Grease and line the base and sides of two x 18cm/7" cake tins with baking parchment, especially if using loose bottomed tins. Or a cake liner. To avoid any of the runny cake batter from oozing from the tin during baking.
- Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir until combined, squashing any lumps of brown sugar. Make a well in the centre.
- Place all the wet ingredients (including the vanilla) in a measuring jug, give it a quick mix until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients. Using an electric whisk or balloon whisk, beat all the ingredients together until combined, but don’t overbeat. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as you go along.
- Divide the mixture equally between the two tins and place in the oven for 25 minutes or until baked, testing the centre of the cakes with a skewer until it comes out clean.
- Leave in the tins to cool for 10 minutes, before turning out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
- When the cakes are completely cooled, sandwich the two layers together with a third of the ganache. Spread another third evenly around the top and sides of the cake.
- Decorate the sides of the cake with chocolate flakes. Tie a yellow ribbon around the cake, to hold the flakes in place.
- Put the remaining ganache into a piping bag fitted with a rosette nozzle and pipe nest like swirls around the top edge of your cake.
- Decorate with chocolate eggs, Malteser rabbits and sugar coated mini chocolate eggs.
Notes
- Do not over mix the ganache as it may go grainy.
- Make sure you have enough ribbon to go around the cake. It helps keep the chocolate flakes in place
- Do not place the ganache in the fridge to set as it may become too firm. If this happens, give it a good mix and it will soften up again. Do not try to reheat or it may split.
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Chocolate Fudge Cake
Equipment
- 2 x 7" cake tin
- Baking Parchment
INGREDIENTS
For the cake
- 175 g self raising flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tbs cocoa powder
- 75 g golden caster sugar or soft light brown sugar
- 75 g soft dark brown sugar
- 150 ml whole milk
- 150 ml sunflower oil or vegetable oil
- 2 eggs large size
- 2 tbs golden syrup
- ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 16 chocolate flakes cut in half making 32 halves in total
Ganache
- 350 g dark chocolate roughly chopped
- 300 ml double cream
- 1 tbs Chambord black raspberry liqueur or your favourite liqueur optional (optional)
Decorations. Please see my note above.
Instructions
Make the ganache
- Place the chopped chocolate into a heat proof bowl. Heat the cream on a medium heat, until you see bubbles around the side of the pan. Do not boil.
- Pour the cream over the chocolate and leave to infuse for a couple of mins to allow the chocolate to soften.
- Add the liqueur (optional) then gently start to mix the cream and chocolate together, until you have a rich smooth glossy consistency. Do not over mix as this may cause the ganache to go grainy.
- Leave to set to a spreadable consistency at room temperature. This could take a couple of hours, depending on how hot your kitchen is. Avoid placing in the fridge at this point as it may set too hard and lose the shine.
Make the cake
- Preheat the oven to 180C/fan
- This is a slightly runny batter. Grease and line the base and sides of two 18cm/7" cake tins with baking parchment, especially if using loose bottomed tins.
- Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir until combined, squashing any lumps of brown sugar. Make a well in the centre.
- Place all the wet ingredients (including the vanilla) in a measuring jug, give it a quick mix until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients. Using an electric whisk or balloon whisk, beat all the ingredients together until combined, but don’t overbeat. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as you go along.
- Divide the mixture equally between the two tins and place in the oven for 25 minutes or until baked, testing the centre of the cakes with a skewer until it comes out clean.
- Leave in the tins to cool for 10 minutes, before turning out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
- When the cakes are completely cooled, sandwich the two layers together with a third of the ganache. Spread another third evenly around the top and sides of the cake.
- Decorate the sides of the cake with chocolate flakes. Tie a yellow ribbon around the cake, to hold the flakes in place.
- Put the remaining ganache into a piping bag fitted with a rosette nozzle and pipe nest like swirls around the top edge of your cake.
- Decorate with chocolate eggs, Malteser rabbits and sugar coated mini chocolate eggs.
Notes
- Do not over mix the ganache as it may go grainy.
- Make sure you have enough ribbon to go around the cake. It helps keep the chocolate flakes in place
- Do not place the ganache in the fridge to set as it may become too firm. If this happens, give it a good mix and it will soften up again. Do not try to reheat or it may split.
You may also like to try these recipes for Easter
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