This chocolate ganache cake is such a winner – it uses coconut milk or cream, and oil as the delicious ingredients that give it it’s creaminess and moistness, which also makes it dairy-free!
If not using at once, you can freeze the cake before it is iced, but the ganache is best made fresh.
This is a great recipe to make with kids – not too tricky but rich and decadent, and full of chocolatey goodness!
This recipe is great with fresh berries or a berry compote to cut the rich chocolate flavour. See below for a recipe for berry compote.
Ingredients
Chocolate cake
- sugar 1 cup
- brown sugar ¾ cups
- self-raising flour 1 ¾ cups (245g)
- good quality cocoa powder ¾ cup (I used Dutch cocoa powder)
- baking soda 1 ½ teaspoons (make sure there are no lumps - if there are, sift it)
- free-range eggs 3 large, whisked
- coconut milk or cream 1 cup (reserve remaining tin of milk for ganache)
- oil ¾ cup (e.g. grapeseed)
- good pinch of salt
- hot coffee ¾ cup
Chocolate ganache
- good quality dark eating chocolate 200g (go for something around 60-75% cocoa)
- coconut milk or cream remaining from cake, about 2/3 cup
- pure maple syrup or sugar (optional) 2 tablespoons
Garnish
- desiccated coconut 2 tablespoons (optional)
- fresh raspberries (or other berries) or berry compote*
Method
Preheat oven to 170degC. Lightly grease and line a 20-23cm spring-form cake tin with baking paper.
- Place all chocolate cake ingredients except coffee into a large mixing bowl and mix together well with a fork, then pour in coffee and continue mixing until a smooth batter. Pour into prepared cake tin and bake for about 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the tin for at least 20 minutes before releasing spring and removing from tin, then invert cake out onto a plate (so that the flat bottom is now facing up). Leave to cool completely before icing with ganache.
- To make the coconut chocolate ganache, break chocolate up into a mixing bowl. Heat the coconut milk/cream with the maple syrup or sugar (if using) in a small pot or in the microwave, then pour over chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted and well combined with the cream – you should have a nice smooth, shiny, silky ganache. Leave to cool on the bench.
- When cake has completely cooled, use a spatula to spread ganache all over the top and sides of the cake. Garnish with berries or berry compote and coconut, and it’s ready to serve!
Tip: If fresh berries aren’t in season, make a berry compote by boiling down 2 cups frozen raspberries or boysenberries with 2-3 tablespoons water and 2-3 tablespoons sugar in a pot for about 5 minutes until raspberries have broken down and you have a thick raspberry sauce. Stir in 1 cup of frozen berries. Allow to cool completely before drizzling over the cake.
Comments ▶