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Black Cocoa Cake

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Moist, dense black cocoa cake coated in a black cocoa cream cheese frosting and filled with an espresso ganache.
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Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 45 minutes
Servings10 slices
Calories794 kcal

Ingredients 

Black Cocoa Cake

  • 180 g all purpose flour (1 ½ c.)
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 60 g black cocoa powder (½ c. + 2 tbsp.)
  • 90 g Papanicholas Swiss Chocolate Espresso (3 ¼ oz.)
  • 150 g vegetable oil (¾ c.)
  • 200 g granulated sugar (1 c.)
  • 2 eggs room temperature
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 170 g sour cream room temperature (¾ c.)

Espresso Ganache

  • 45 g Papanicholas Swiss Chocolate Espresso Beans* (3 tbsp.)
  • 180 g heavy whipping cream (6 oz.)
  • 170 g semi-sweet chocolate (1 c.)

Black Cocoa Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 226 g cream cheese (1 c.)
  • 113 g unsalted butter (½ c.)
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 330 g powdered sugar (2 ¾ c.)
  • 30 g black cocoa powder (¼ c. + 1 tbsp.)

Instructions 

Black Cocoa Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.  Butter a 7" springform pan, then coat the inside with sugar.
  • In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  • Brew 90g of espresso. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and freshly brewed espresso.
  • To the cocoa-espresso mixture, whisk in the vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream until well combined.
  • Add in the flour mixture, and whisk together just until no flour streaks remain.
  • Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with only a few moist crumbs.

Espresso Ganache

  • Place the chocolate into a small mixing bowl and set aside. Lightly crush the espresso beans.
  • Add the crushed espresso beans and heavy whipping cream to a small saucepan. Set the mixture over medium heat and bring it to a simmer. Once the mixture starts to simmer, turn off the heat and let the mixture sit for 10 minutes.
  • Put the cream back on medium heat and bring it to a simmer again. Once it’s simmering, pour the cream through a fine mesh sieve over the chocolate.
  • Whisk the cream and chocolate together until the ganache is smooth. Set the ganache aside to cool to room temperature before frosting.

Black Cocoa Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, make the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese, butter, and salt for 1 minute.
  • Add in half of the powdered sugar and beat until combined, then beat in the rest of the powdered sugar. (Optional: remove ~100g of the frosting and set it aside to make little ghosts later on.)
  • Add the cocoa powder into the frosting and beat on low speed for 2 minutes, or until the mixture is well combined. (If making little ghosts later on, remove ~30g of frosting and set it aside.)

Assembling the Cake

  • Once the cake has completely cooled to room temperature, carefully slice the cake twice horizontally to get 3 even layers.
  • Line the springform pan with cake acetate (or plastic wrap.) Transfer the cream cheese frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip.
  • Place the bottom third of the cake back into the springform pan, then pipe a ring of frosting around the edge of the cake. Pour ½ of the ganache into the center, smoothing it out into an even layer.
  • Place the middle cake layer on top, pipe another ring of frosting around the edge, and fill the center with the remaining ganache.
  • If the top of your cake is quite round, slice it to flatten it out. Place the top cake layer on top, upside down, pushing it down slightly to secure it. Place the cake in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm up. If your frosting seems super soft, place it in the fridge to firm up a little while the cake firms up.
  • Once the cake has set, remove it from the pan and acetate. Place the cake on your serving tray of choice.
  • Spread a thin layer of the cream cheese frosting on the top and around the entire cake. Transfer the remaining frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large ribbon pastry tip and pipe a wavy design on to the cake.
  • For the little ghosts: transfer the vanilla cream cheese frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip and transfer the chocolate cream cheese frosting to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe two blobs on top of each other for the ghosts body, then pipe a little face on to them with the chocolate cream cheese frosting. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Notes

Affiliate links: 7-inch Springform Pan | Kitchen Scale (my favorite) | Kitchen scale (great starter option) | Oven Thermometer | Cordless Hand Mixer | Stand Mixer
*Alternatively you can just mix 1 tbsp. instant espresso powder into the hot cream before mixing it into the chocolate.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 794kcalCarbohydrates: 84gProtein: 8gFat: 51gSaturated Fat: 23gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 111mgSodium: 349mgPotassium: 349mgFiber: 5gSugar: 61gVitamin A: 1013IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 142mgIron: 4mg