I turned to one of my favourite books to address all of the above – A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman. I managed to use up the cocoa powder, inaugurate the new doughnut pan which I am in love with now, and get some super fudgy, sticky, not-so-sweet, delicious chocolate doughnut cakes.
Win!
The original recipe was for Dark Fudge Bundt Cake but that shouldn’t deter us. Make it into anything you like – a cake, bundt cake, cupcakes, or these lovely doughnut shaped ones if you have the right pan.
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Dark Chocolate Fudge Doughnut Cakes
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Makes 18 – 20 doughnut cakes
Source: A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman
Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups of white sugar
1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup of unsalted butter, melted
3 eggs
2 tsp of vanilla extract
3 ¼ cups of all-purpose flour
¾ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp of baking powder
1 ½ tsp of baking soda
½ tsp of salt
1 ½ cups of warm coffee (I used warm water mixed with 2 tsp instant coffee powder)
How to Make Chocolate Doughnut Cakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350F / 180C. Generously grease a cupcake tray, (grease the liners if using), doughnut pan, ramekins, or bundt pan, whatever you prefer to use. This cake tends to be quite sticky after baking so make sure you grease your pans well. You can make out the stickiness from the first picture, actually!
2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together until well blended.
3. In a separate bowl, combine both the sugars with the melted butter. Mix well.
4. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for a minute until smooth. I did this in my Kitchenaid to make things easier (and also so I would I get some use out of it!)
5. Then add the flour mixture and stir to moisten the batter.
6. Slowly drizzle in the coffee, stirring at the same time carefully to make a smooth batter. I mixed it gently just enough for all the ingredients to blend well. Don’t overbeat.
7. Spoon batter halfway into the prepared moulds or pans and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 mins until the top glistens and springs back on touch.
After 2 days, store in the refrigerator for up to a week and serve warmed in the microwave for 30 seconds or after leaving it out for about 2 hours.
These carry really well for a party or pot luck. I love them as-is with no frosting or even dusting of sugar, with a glass of cold milk. Yum!
Notes:
– This recipe makes a lot of cake so halve it if you’d like. Some of the measurements are not easy to halve so do what I do. If you need to halve 1/3 cup for instance, just take a 1/3 cup measurement cup and fill it half way. For eggs, just use 2 instead of trying to use 1.5 eggs.
– I’ve mentioned it in the recipe but I’ll say it again. The cake comes out quite moist and sticky so grease your pans well
– If you’d like a sweeter cake, increase sugar amounts. I know it looks like a lot but we are also adding a fair bit of chocolate and coffee. Adjust accordingly. You can also frost it if you’d like, keeping the amount of sugar the same as in above recipe
– To make this cake eggless, follow usual substitution ingredients (eg: flax seed meal, Ener-G, yogurt, etc)
This looks so appetizing! And the colour of the cake makes it more appealing.
this cake looks perfect, love ur mould too…
The cake is awesome …… Hv made it as cup cakes nd a regular cake toooo…. Also added dried cranberries the response was spectacular, it's the best Choc cake ever…thanks Nags ..keep it up !!!
@elizabeth, you can leave out the coffee without compromising the flavour too much
What would you recommend using as a substitute for the coffee? I understand it brings out the chocolate flavor, but I'm just not a fan of it in baking. Would I need to replace it in the recipe with another liquid or can I just omit it? Thank you!
I always eyeball those doughnut pans in the store, but haven't been able to figure out a use for them quite yet – if only I had more breakfast/brunch parties!
It's a great buy, even if you only use it only about 2-3 times a year. It't not that expensive and takes up very little space. And when you do use it, it has that wow factor 🙂
I would love to try this recipe but, could I get away from using coffee? What substitute, if any, would you suggest?
Thanks,
Linda
The purpose of adding coffee to chocolate cakes is to bring out the depth of the chocolate flavour. You can definitely omit it if you don't prefer it.
Hi Nags,
This is the first ever time I am ever leaving a comment in a blog! I usually check the web for recipes but today when I came across your site and read your profile, I cannot stop wondering how superb you are! I also live in Singapore and the full-time job I go to, and the household chores leaves very little time for me to spend time for myself. But I am extremely passionate about cooking and love the time I spend in the kitchen. Having said that, you have really inspired me sooooo much today and given me a new direction in life. I thought I should also open a site like yours (not to compete ofcourse!) but to orient my passion towards cooking in the right way, and to let my mom and grandmom's recipe stay alive.
Thanks for being such an inspiration! I promise I am going to be an avid follower of your site 🙂
that's very sweet and kind of you. wish you all the very best with your blogging efforts 🙂