Thanks for visiting Just Chocolate Cakes. I’m Barbara, the owner of this site. I’m also a mother, wife, baker, and a teacher. I would like to accompany you in your search for the tastiest, moist, and just delicious recipes, share some of my family stories, and reveal some baking secrets. Join me in my baking adventures!... more
I love chocolate, chocolate cakes, chocolate ice cream, everything chocolate. After eating lunch or dinner, a dessert is a must in my family. A chocolate dessert is what my kids want unanimously and depending on my baking run, they get it. My motto is: Bake a chocolate cake (or two or three) per week and stay happy.
Baking a chocolate cake from scratch could be very rewarding. When you get the right recipe, your family or guests will be pleased, because, let’s face it, who doesn’t like chocolate? It’s like Will said in the “Clockwork Angel” by Cassandra Clare - “What kind of monster could possibly hate chocolate?” I had to laugh out loud when I read that.
But I’m rambling. If you are here, you obviously like chocolate. Anyway, I hope that with my instructions and tips these homemade chocolate cake recipes will end in a wonderful and delicious cake.
Check out these chocolate cake recipes:
Finding cake recipes on the internet is easy, but sometimes the cakes you make don’t come out quite as promised. I have collected some “secrets” that might help you with translating a cake recipe to the ingredients that you have readily available.
Below is some interesting reading that I compiled just for you. It could be worth your time to quickly scan through it and pick a topic that might interest you. Take a look!
Click for more topics on:I find baking not as forgiving as cooking. You need to measure correctly, and the best
way of doing that is with a scale, a metric scale. A cup of flour has different weights when the
flour is sifted, lightly spooned or dipped and swept. In fact, here are the cold raw facts as
described in the Cake Bible:
Cake flour Sifted 3.5 oz - 100 g
Lightly spooned 4 oz – 114 g
Dip and sweep 4.5 oz – 130 g
All-purpose flour Sifted 4 oz – 114 g
Lightly spooned 4.25 oz – 121 g
Dip and sweep 5 oz – 145 g
So, next time you bake a chocolate cake and the result is not what you have expected, then maybe your method of measuring was off. I strongly suggest investing into a scale. They are not expensive and they will save you from mishaps in the kitchen.
How to make a chocolate cake without problems:You will find that most cook books tell you to melt chocolate in a bowl suspended over simmering water. If you use that method you will need to watch out for couple of things:
1. You will have to be extra careful not to get any steam into your melting chocolate, otherwise it will become lumpy.
2. You will also need an adequate bowl or pot. Ideally it should be copper, but who really has those? You can use aluminum bowl lined with a non-stick surface or a heat-proof glass bowl. I use a stainless steel bowl.
3. When you place the right container on top of your simmering water, make sure that the water is not touching the upper container. Also, the water should not exceed 140°F.
4. Chocolate temperature should not exceed 120°F otherwise it will lose some of its flavor. That is why you need to cut the chocolate into small pieces and stir constantly.
Here is the method that I use, recommended by the Cake Bible (amazon), a must read for every baker.
1. If you have a microwave, then all you need to do is break the chocolate into pieces and place them in a bowl (not metal) and set your microwave on high and melt the chocolate for 15 seconds.
2. You will have to take the chocolate out and stir, melt again for 15 seconds, stir, repeat the process until the chocolate has melted.
I have a small microwave and my highest setting is 800Watts. I am able to melt around 300g of chocolate for a full minute, take it out and use the residual heat of the chocolate to melt the rest. Of course, if I have less chocolate I use less time.
You might have to figure out your best way to melt chocolate on your own, but I hope that these basic guidelines will help you.
Melting white chocolate could be tricky. I would use a double boiler method here since you really should be stirring white chocolate continuously. It can lump very quickly and I have destroyed a batch or two in the microwave. So, when melting white chocolate, you have to be patient and really watch your melting pot.
Make your own cake flourIf you don’t have access to cake flour (like me) you can make something similar to it. It will not be exactly the same, but it will do. For every quantity of cake flour needed take one eight away and add one eight of corn starch or potato flour. So if a cake recipe requires 2 cups of cake flour or 200 grams then take 1/4 of a cup (25g) away of your all-purpose flour and add 1/4 of a cup (25g) corn starch.
The right flour for the right cakeThere are a lot of different baking flours found in the world, and depending where you live you might have access to one or the other type. Here is a chart of corresponding flours that you could use when baking:
United Kindgdom |
USA |
France |
Italy |
Germany |
100% whole meal |
Whole Wheat |
Type 150 |
Integrale |
Type 1700 |
Brown |
First Clear Flour |
Type 110 |
2 |
Type 1050 |
Light Brown |
High Gluten Flour |
Type 80 |
1 |
Type 812 |
White |
All-purpose Flour |
Type 55 |
0 |
Type 550 |
Patent White |
Pastry Flour |
Type 45 |
00 |
Type 405 |
Notice that cake flour is not on the chart as it is not readily available in all countries. Also, cake flour has different protein content (gluten) in different countries, hence it is difficult to compare.
I live in Germany and I use Type 405 but take away 1/8 of the weight needed and replace it with corn starch to get best results. If you have more questions on this topic then please feel free to contact me. I’ll try to add more information if it will be needed.
Understanding Chocolate Cakes
Conclusion: Bake a chocolate cake per week and stay happy and healthy!
NEW Chocolate Cakes
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Amazing cassis chocolate cake roll with mouthwatering cassis berry filling and light chocolate icing
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This death by chocolate cake is almost a baked mousse, delicious, and makes the most perfect dessert after a good meal. Try it for yourself.