chocolate cake containing Cocoa lacks depth of flavour

[bacon]

Ive tried numerous chocolate cake recipes now and finding that the cakes containing cocoa powder not melted chocolate just lacks flavour unless anyone else has a fab recipe. The amounts I have tried contained around 25g powder.

I want a recipe that is moist and light with depth of flavour but not too rich or heavy.

Many recipes contain buttermilk/milk/cream but still find them dry in texture.

Can you substitute 1/2 butter to sunflower oil?

Can someone tell me why a recipe that contains melted chocolate also has powdered cocoa and does it make any difference?

Is there a moist recipe with cocoa, some melted chocolate, oil, butter and some form of milk but is still spongy and light but overall has a depth of chocolate flavour.

I have tried the BBC good food ultimate chocolate cake a few times but its also failed to rise on numerous times too.

[BleughCowWonders]

It might depend on what cocoa you use. I find Waitrose own to be very chocolate-y and much better quality than other brands.

Normal sponge works well - weigh 2/ 3 eggs, and add the same of sugar, butter and SR flour, taking away about 25 g to compensate for the cocoa.

If your recipe comes out too dry, is your oven too hot/ can you switch off the fan?

[tb]

I use the same weight of plain choc as flour/sugar etc. I use plain flour, whisk the egg whites separately and increase the baking powder to 1tsp per egg rather than the 3/4 given on the tub. Sometimes need to add a little milk before folding the egg whites in before it goes in the oven.

Very chocolatey, gogeous with lemon curd in the middle.

[bilblio]

I agree about the type of cocoa. Mum always used to use Rowntrees but over the years the cakes have seemed less chocolatey. I bought her some Green & Blacks and they're back to the normal levels of deliciousness. :o It's cheaper than a lot of other brands too.

We use the recipe from the Be-ro book, very simple and very very delicious.

[TheSherbetTurbot]

Mine is fab. This makes a 10'' cake

235g SR flour
3tblspn cocoa powder

11/2 tsp baking powder
Sieve all these together

Add 200g caster

Then whisk together
3 eggs
7floz milk
7floz sunflower oil
3 tablespoons golden syrup

And add to dry ingredients and mix well

Pour into lined cake tin and bake at 180 for about 45 mins until springy.

Takes about 5 minutes to make and is chocolatey and moist.

I make a ganache type filling and coating from 300g sainsbos economy dark chocolate melted together with a tub of double elmlea cream.

[Kveta]

try adding a tsp of instant coffee (made up in a tbsp of boiling water) - I find this brings out the chocolate flavour really well. I make a standard vic sponge (weigh 3 eggs in their shells, then measure same amount of flour, sugar, and butter, cream butter and sugar together, add eggs (out of their shells, obv :o), then flour). I use 2 tbsp of cocoa to replace 2 tbsp of flour, and also add a good dollop of vanilla paste. sandwich it together with a choc buttercream, and apricot jam, it should taste very chocolatey.

[betabaker]

this is fantastic - www.food.com/recipe/dense-chocolate-loaf-cake-nigella-lawson-137303
it only uses 100g of chocolate (Lidl 70% is less than £1) but it's really moistdamp and nothing like a boring sponge cake.
I'm sorry, I can't use the word moist in any context!

[TapselteerieO]

I usually put a teaspoon of vanilla extract in to chocolate cake to boost the flavour, but I agree that cocoa sometimes lacks the depth you might need in a cake. I made chocolate fairy cakes with ds recently, using the same Mary Berry recipe we always do, I timed myself beating them with an electric whisk, ds had softened the flora for me so it was very light, I also reduced the baking time and they were the most fudgie and moist (sorry betabaker) cakes I have ever made.

I think adding a little milk to loosen a chocolate cake helps too. Sometimes adding another flavour helps, I saw a recipe on bbc good food for banana chocolate cake, sounds lovely.

[bacon]

Yeh, I wondered by coffee was added and I usually omit it but reading recently elsewhere that the coffee intensifies the chocolate.

The last recipe I did was a Dan Leopad one and it had lots of good ingredients including milk, syrup, cream but still I found it very average.

[ZephirineDrouhin]

Unless you are doing a grown-up cake for a posh dinner, I think cocoa is perfect in a chocolate sponge as long as you have a decent amount of really nice icing. This is delicious and foolproof: 8oz sugar, 8oz butter (or 4oz butter, 4oz margarine - cheaper and slightly lighter in texture), 6oz self raising flour, 2oz cocoa, 4 large eggs and a teaspoon of baking powder. Beat butter and sugar together, whisk in the eggs a little at a time, then fold in the flour/cocoa/baking powder with a metal spoon. Pour into two sandwich tins and bake at about 180 until springy (30 to 40 mins). Cool down on wire racks and sandwich together/ice on top with plenty of chocolate buttercream made with icing sugar, cocoa, butter, double cream and melted chocolate.

If you do want a proper grown-up puddingy cake there is a delicious Chantal Coady recipe using ground almonds instead of flour which you can probably find online somewhere.