One-bowl recipes are always a very welcome addition to any busy life, and if they are as delicious as this chocolate cake, even better. First time I ever encountered a Coca-Cola cake was about twenty-five years ago, in a seaside resort. If I remember correctly, that was one of the most requested desserts at the time, and it is fairly obvious why – easy to prepare, and delectably moist. Think of a cross between a really delicious chocolate cake, and a brownie.
As always, it is of the utmost importance to use real dark chocolate, with at least 70% of cacao, with my choice always being the Lindt Excellence 90%. The bitterness of the dark chocolate balances out the sweetness of the cake itself, and makes this dessert a real treat – dense and moist cake, with a lush dark chocolate frosting. It isn’t an overly rich cake, but it does have quite a deep chocolate flavour, so serve it in small pieces, along with some freshly whipped cream, and black coffee.
Ingredients
120 grams butter
200 grams brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoon dark rum
180 ml Coca-Cola
120 grams plain flour
20 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
200 grams good quality dark chocolate (at least 70%), divided
Preparation
Dice the butter into a heavy-bottomed saucepan, and place it over medium heat, so it can melt slowly. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add in the brown sugar. Whisk it vigorously until the sugar starts to dissolve and blend with the butter, then add in the eggs, and whisk really well. It is perfectly fine if it still looks a bit grainy at that point. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and the baking powder. Grate half of the dark chocolate, and mix it in with the dry ingredients. Pour the Coca-Cola into the mixed batter, and whisk it in.
Finally, add the dry ingredients to the wet, and gently whisk everything until only combined. Do not overmix. Line a square baking pan (20x20 cm) with baking parchment, pour in the batter and bake in a preheated oven, at 180˚C (350˚F), for about 20-25 minutes. Check it with a toothpick, just to make sure the cake does not overbake. While the cake is baking, melt the rest of the dark chocolate over low heat. As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, pour the melted chocolate over the top, and tilt the pan carefully to make sure the cake is glazed evenly. Keep the cake in the refrigerator until serving time. Yields 6 large servings.
