Chocolate Cake Recipe

Prepare and preheat

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper; lightly dust with cocoa powder and tap out excess.

Whisk the dry ingredients: in a large bowl, sift or whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until uniform.

Combine wet ingredients: in a separate bowl, whisk eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla until blended.

Mix batter: add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until no large lumps remain. With mixer on low, slowly stream in the hot water and mix just until smooth; batter will be thin. Scrape bowl and divide batter evenly between prepared pans.

Bake: bake for 28–35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Rotate pans halfway through for even baking.

Cool: let cakes cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edges and invert onto racks to cool completely. Once cool, trim domes level if needed and wrap layers in plastic and chill briefly if assembling later.

Bloom gelatin: sprinkle the instant gelatin over the cold water and let sit 1–2 minutes until softened.

Melt chocolate: place chopped bittersweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat 1/2 cup of the heavy cream to just below simmer and pour over the chocolate. Let sit 1 minute, then stir until smooth. Stir in butter until melted and glossy.

Dissolve gelatin: stir the bloomed gelatin into the warm chocolate mixture until fully dissolved and incorporated. If mixture is too thick, add 1–2 tsp warm cream to loosen.

Whip cream: in a chilled bowl, whip remaining 1.5 cups heavy cream with the sugar to soft peaks. Be careful not to overbeat.

Fold: let the chocolate mixture cool to room temperature but still pourable (about 10–15 minutes). Fold one third of the whipped cream into the chocolate to lighten, then gently fold in remaining cream until homogeneous and airy. Chill mousse 20–30 minutes if it needs to firm slightly before assembly.

Level and place first layer: set one cake layer on a cake board or serving plate. If using a cake ring or 8-inch removable collar, place it around the layer to contain mousse.

Pipe or spread mousse: spread about one-third of the mousse over the first layer, smoothing to the edge. Place the second layer on top and press gently. Use remaining mousse to cover the top and sides if you want a mousse-coated cake, or leave sides bare if you plan to pour ganache for a drip finish.

Chill to set: refrigerate the assembled cake 1–2 hours (or 30–45 minutes in the freezer) until mousse is firm enough to receive ganache without mixing.

Heat cream: place chopped semisweet chocolate in a bowl. Heat 3/4 cup heavy cream to just simmering and pour over chocolate. Let rest 1 minute then stir until smooth and glossy. Stir in butter for extra shine, if using.

Cool slightly: allow ganache to cool to about 90–95°F (just warm) so it will pour and set without melting the mousse.

Pour ganache: remove cake from fridge. Place cake on a wire rack over a baking sheet to catch drips. Pour ganache over center of cake, using an offset spatula to encourage even coverage and gentle drips down the sides. Smooth top and edges as desired.

Chill to set: transfer cake to refrigerator and chill 20–30 minutes until ganache is set.

Make chocolate sauce: place chopped dark chocolate in a small bowl. Heat 1/4 cup heavy cream to simmer and pour over chocolate. Let sit 1 minute, then whisk until smooth. Transfer to a squeeze bottle or small pitcher; keep warm in a bowl of warm water if needed for serving.

Make white chocolate curls: temper or gently melt the white chocolate until smooth (use low heat or a double boiler). Spread a thin even layer of melted white chocolate onto the back of a baking sheet or on a marble slab using an offset spatula. Let it set until just firm but still pliable (not fully hard). Using a metal bench scraper or an angled spatula held at ~45°, scrape across the surface to create curls. If the chocolate cracks instead of curling, it was allowed to set too long; warm slightly and try again. Optionally stir in up to 1/2 tsp neutral oil before spreading for shinier curls.

Decorate: place selected white chocolate curls on top of the chilled ganache. Drizzle chocolate sauce around the plate or in a thin spiral on the top for additional decoration. Refrigerate briefly to set decorations.

Serve: remove cake from refrigerator 10–15 minutes before serving to come slightly closer to room temperature for optimal texture. Slice with a hot knife (dip in hot water and wipe dry between cuts) and serve with extra chocolate sauce on the side if desired.