Chocolate cake can be defined as a baked cake, flavored with chocolate, using powdered cocoa or melted chocolate.
History of Chocolate Cake
The chocolate cake has its roots in the 18th century. In 1764, a discovery was made by Dr. James Baker on making chocolate using ground cocoa beans. In 1828, Conrad Van Houten developed an inexpensive way of extracting cocoa butter and chocolate from ground cocoa. Soon, in 1879, Swiss Rodolphe introduced an easier and better chocolate making process called “conching,” and this made the chocolate easily available at a lesser price which began to be used generally in cake batters.
In the mid 1930s, Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake mixes were launched in the market by the Pittsburgh Duff Company. However, the World War II put a hold to this introduction, and three years later, 48 percent of the baking market was taken over by Duncan Hines. The 1980s saw a massive demand for the chocolate decadence cakes and in the 1900s, molten chocolate cakes filled with liquid chocolate in the center, became widely popular. In the modern times, flourless chocolate cakes are gaining a positive reception.
Ingredients and Preparation
Ingredients
While there are several recipes for making chocolate cake, there is one recipe which is widely regarded as the traditional version, although, minor variations may exist in it too, influenced by personal taste preferences, culinary heritage and local availability of ingredients. In any case, the basic ingredients that follow the recipe are plain flour, caster sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa, unsalted and softened butter, sour cream, eggs and vanilla extract. Honey, grapeseed oil and milk are also found in some traditional recipes. This recipe also calls for a frosting on the cake which is made using unsalted butter, melted dark chocolate, icing sugar, light corn syrup, sour cream and vanilla extract.
Method
Cake: A thick and smooth batter is made by blending all the ingredients in a food processor or by hand. This batter is then spread out in a cake tin and baked in a pre-heated oven until a thin skewer inserted into it, comes out clean.
Frosting: The frosting is made by melting butter and chocolate together, which is then cooled and mixed with the rest of the ingredients to a smooth mixture. The frosting can be made runny or thick, as desired.
Final preparation: The frosting is spooned and smoothened over the whole or pieces of chocolate cake. Alternately, the cake is cut horizontally into layers, which are cemented with the frosting and the entire cake is covered with more chocolate frosting and if desired, also sugar flowers can be added for decoration.
Chocolate Cake Recipe: Popular Variations
Ding Dongs: Introduced and sold commercially by the Hostess Brands, this chocolate cake, shaped in the form of a hockey puck, comes with a vanilla cream filling in the center and a chocolate glaze over the entire cake.
Flourless chocolate cake: This popular restaurant cake, an apt dessert for those allergic to gluten, is based on aerated chocolate flavored custard prepared using whole egg foam and low heat chocolate melting method.
Chocolate fudge cake: One of the most popular chocolate cakes, also known to many as the Death by Chocolate, is a version served with whipped cream and chocolate ice cream topping. Some variations of this chocolate cake recipe use chocolate chips and chocolate pudding. In South America, this very name is used for denoting a brownie-like version of chocolate cake that may or may not have icing and has a moist texture.
Garash cake: This is the Bulgarian chocolate cake that, among the other basic ingredients, also makes use of walnut kernels. This cake bears a full cover of chocolate icing.
Joffre cake: This is a chocolate buttermilk based layer cake, which centers upon a filling of chocolate ganache and chocolate buttercream frosting, a creation by the Casa Capşa restaurant of Bucharest.
German chocolate cake: This traditional chocolate cake is a layered cake which comes with a topping of coconut and pecan frosting and maraschino cherries. The cake, also often, encapsulates a caramel filling made of evaporated milk and egg yolks.
Molten chocolate lava cake: Also called the chocolate decadence cake, this chocolate cake is loosely based on the concepts of a flourless cake and soufflé. This cake is also familiar to many as the chocolate lave cake or chocolate fondant pudding.
Red velvet cake: This red colored layer cake is more commonly made using the chocolate flavor, though the vanilla flavored versions also exist, and one of its core ingredients is beetroot and cocoa.
Sachertorte: Invented by Franz Sacher in 1832 in Austria, this is one of the oldest chocolate cakes. It is densely chocolate with sponge layers, each sandwiching an apricot jam layer. The entire cake is covered with a dark chocolate icing and often served with unsweetened whipped cream.
Black Forest cake: This chocolate cake has several chocolate sponge cake layers that sandwich cherries and whipped cream. The cake is decorated with whipped cream, chocolate shavings and maraschino cherries. This is American name for the British cake which is called Black Forest gateau, both of which are, after all, regional versions of the German Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte.
Healthy Chocolate Cake Recipes
A low-fat and cholesterol-free chocolate cake can be baked in a springform pan, mixing ingredients like flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda, natural applesauce or apple puree, vinegar, vanilla and water. Chocolate Beetroot Cake is yet another healthy version, popularized by the celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, which ropes in healthier ingredients such as canola oil, castor sugar, vanilla and the rest of the regular ingredients except any further shortening.
Skimmed milk, low-fat butter or margarine and fat-free yoghurt are other such ingredients that can make a chocolate cake healthier to some extent. Gluten-free chocolate cakes are much in demand these days by people who are allergic to gluten. For such a recipe, flour of almond, millet and buckwheat are generally used and the nutrient quotient can thus, vary accordingly.
Health and Nutrition Facts
Chocolate cake with frosting
Serving size - 1 serving
Calories - 250 cal, Fat - 10 g, Saturated fat - 3 g, Sodium - 300 mg, Protein - 3 g, Carbohydrate - 38 g
Fat-free chocolate cake
Serving size - 1 piece
Calories - 100 cal, Fat - 0 g, Protein - 3 g, Sugars - 10 g, Total carbohydrate - 17 g
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