Cacao and Espresso Cake

Coffee and Chocolate, the classic duo. But how about taking it a notch and adding some Italian passione? My dreamy cacao and espresso cake is rich, bold in flavour and a really show stopper. This yummy treat is very easy to whip up and has a deeeelicious chocolate sauce drizzled over it but with the option of a naked version that’s still gorgeous, you’ll love it.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 350g of all-purpose flour
• 170g of brown sugar
• 2 tsps of bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 tsp of sea salt
• 80g of cacao powder, plus extra for dusting
• 100g of 70% minimum dark chocolate, melted and cooled
• 130ml of olive oil
• 120ml of buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 shots of espresso
• 1 tsp of coffee extract

For the chocolate sauce:

• 150g good-quality dark chocolate (use at least 70% cocoa solids)
• 50g of unsalted butter
• 250ml double cream
• A generous pinch of espresso powder
• Edible flowers, for decoration (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and prepare two 8″x8″ cake pans with baking spray, and line the bottoms with greaseproof paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, sea salt, and cacao powder. Whisk to combine.
3. Using an electric mixer on low or a hand whisk, add the oil, buttermilk, melted dark chocolate and then the eggs, one at a time. Leaving the mixer on low or slowing down with your hand whisk, drizzle the espresso in a slow stream down the side of the bowl and mix until your batter is smooth.
4. Divide into the pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let it cool in pans for at least 20 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
5. While the cake is cooling, make your chocolate sauce by melting the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water until completely smooth.
6. Heat all of the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan until evenly combined. Remove from the heat and stir through the melted chocolate. Allow to cool in the fridge for at least 10 minutes so it’s thicken up a bit.
7. You can serve the cake by either double tiering the cake (two slices being assembled on top of each other), simply sprinkling on some cacao powder OR drizzling over a generous amount of the chocolate sauce AND then dusting further with your cacao powder. I prefer the second option…Buon Appetito!