Tutorial Preview
1. Chocolate Sauce
2. Egg Mix
3. Dry Ingredients
4. Mixing All the Ingredients
5. Filling the Cake Tins
6. Putting the Cakes in the Oven
7. Taking the Cake out of the Oven
Baking is obviously a very important part of cake decorating and you can’t just set about decorating any type of cake. Some cakes are much better for stacking and carving than others, especially when it comes to some of the novelty cakes. Luckily, we have taken the guesswork out of this, by providing you with a guide to making Paul’s famous firm and moist chocolate cake recipe! It’s perfect for carving and it tastes amazing.
Downloadable tools and ingredients list
other US to metric and Metric to US
This recipe is designed for a 10″ square or 10″ and 6″ round cakes.
Need to bake a different size? Use our Cake Recipe Re-Calculator, find Paul’s Moist Chocolate cake recipe then select your new bake size.
- 330g Unsalted Butter
- 330g Dark Chocolate (55%-60% cocoa if possible)
- 9 Teaspoons Instant Coffee
- 240ml Water
- 75g Cocoa Powder
- 190g Plain Flour
- 190g Self Raising Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Bicarbonate Soda
- 720g Golden Caster Sugar
- 6 Large Eggs
- 10.5 Teaspoons Vegetable Oil (rapeseed preferred but not essential)
- 165ml Buttermilk
******Heat your oven to 150C or 302F or Gas Mark 2 *******
Download our printable tools and ingredients list.
NOTE – these ingredients are set for 10″ and 6″ round cakes OR a 10″ square cake.
- 2 Small Mixing Bowls
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 10″ Round Cake Tin (3″ deep)
- 6″ Round Cake Tin (3″ deep)
- Cooling Rack
- Balloon Whisk
- Wooden Spoon
- Measuring Jug
- Weighing Scales
- Greaseproof Paper
- Teaspoon
Comments
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Can you tell us the amounts of each ingredient please as the dry are not mentioned. Thanks, Sally xx
Hi Sally,
I’ve added them to the page now. Thanks for waiting
Kind regards
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Hi, I want to know about baking course?
Please see the link below for all our baking courses…
http://www.designer-cakes.com/course-category/baking
After baking do I need to put The Cakes In The freezer? I did not understand clearly.
Renata.
If you don´t plan to use your cakes straight away then, once cooled, you can freeze them. Paul prefers to freeze his cakes, but there are some who believes that it detracts from the taste. It´s all down to practicalities and personal choice.
Is it really 720g of castor sugar, that seems like a lot
know it seems a lot, but that´s what he used he assures me 🙂
Thats only 3.5 cups of sugar. Not alot, just enough.
Holy mother of God, it is a lot though!!! What a pity, I am looking for a good, moisture choc cake recipe for long…
Liiin, that’s for a 10″ and 6″ round or a 10″ square – that’s around 50 standard 1″x2″servings or about 14gms/1 tsp per person. Sugar helps keep cakes moist, it’s one if its jobs, and that’s really not a lot when you break it down.
No need to panic at the whole amount unless you’re planning on eating the whole thing yourself! 🙂
how much time does it need to be in the fridge or freezer?
Freezing times will vary depending on your freezer, how much stock you have in there and the temperature of the cake when it’s put in.
Usually overnight will allow the cake to freeze throughout, but always best to test so it’s solid to touch.
Hi paul
Can you use cocoa powder instead of coffee? As I am allergic to coffee.
Kind regards
Lorna warren
Hi Lorna
The coffee powder can be omitted but you must still use the allocated amount of water the recipe asks for. The coffee helps to give extra depth to the taste of the cake. However, as you are allergic to it, perhaps use any other flavour which compliments chocolate.
Hope this helps.
How do I work out the baking time adjustments for a cake that is 10” x 4” deep please?
The deeper the cake the longer you would let it bake for, don’t increase the temperature. It’s always worth testing in advance (and you can freeze the cake) but add about 10 mins to the bake, test by poking the cake with a skewer and if it comes out dry then the cake will be baked through.
Traceysmedley dud you make the 10×4”?
Is this recipe ok with gluten free flour . Thank you Hazel
We haven’t tried it with gluten free flour, but would expect it to work in exactly the same way. If you do try it, we would be very grateful to hear how things went.
Made the chocolate cake with gluten free flour and it work perfectly.
That’s brilliant news, thanks for sharing 🙂
How much flour, sugar for the dry ingredients
Hi LisaKalil, We will get the list of tools and ingredients up as soon as possible.
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Hi there, I downloaded the recipe although it is for a different cake.
Sorry about that, that’s the course been updated with the correct link, but for speed please follow the link below…
https://www.cakeflix.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Paul%E2%80%99s-Firm-and-Moist-Chocolate.pdf
How much buttermilk did you add? Thanks! 🙂
Hi Bobbieriddles,
It’s 165ml of buttermilk
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Can we now the size of the rings? Cheers
Yes, it’s very important to know quantities. Cheers
Hi Bmartins,
They have been added now thanks for waiting.
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
just joined in am asking do we get certificates after learning
Unfortunately at the moment because all the work is done remotely we can not verify that the work shown relates to the member so can not offer a certificate. It’s something that we are looking into though.
Did i get it right? 330g of chocolate chips and 90 (ninety) spoons of coffee?
Hi Bmartins
I’ve added the tools and ingredients to the page now so that should clear things up for you a little!
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Hi: any specific reason not to use a mixer to mix this batter?
Hi Khurram,
Paul mentions at around 3 mins 30 that he does it by hand to keep the cake a little denser and not to get too much air in the cake.
Hope that helps
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Can i use KA mixer.what is the different using KA and hand mixing.thanks
Hi
Paul mentions at around 3 mins 30 that he does it by hand to keep the cake a little denser and not to get too much air in the cake. You could always give it a go with you mixer though!
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Thank you for your work!
Would you please provide the list of ingredients?
Hi Nour,
I’ve added them to the page now.
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Thank you for this recipe, Please change Chocolate SOURCE to Chocolate SAUCE
Very Good Toturial, Thanks
I did not see the quantities of the dry ingredients
Hi Sarah,
They are in a drop down tab under the video. Hope that helps.
Cheers
Paul
Customer Support
Any substitute of the self raising flour?
Self-rising flour is all-purpose flour with baking powder and salt added. To make your own, combine 1 cup of all-purpose flour with 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
How much degrees?
Hi Clausoliva,
It’s 150 degrees.
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Hi Paul, Is that 150 degrees Celsius?. Here in Canada we use Fahrenheit so just wanted to double check with you. Thanks.
Hi
Sorry yeah thats Celsius 303 fahrenheit
Cheers
if its in fahrenheit at 303, may i know the time to bake
Paul mentions on the video (Lesson 6) to put the cake in the oven at 150C for 2hrs…
https://www.cakeflix.com/online-cake-decorating-courses/firm-and-moist-chocolate-recipe-a-free-course-by-paul-bradford#putting-the-cakes-in-the-oven
sorry i dont see the ingredients
Hi Susan,
Sorry I think you just need to be logged in to see them. It’s still free but you would need to get an account here: http://www.designer-cakes.com/get-started-for-free
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Hi can you please provide a written recipe aswell, the video is not working at my end, I can only hear Paul’s voice but no video. Secondly is this quantity enough to make a teddy bear cake ?
Thanks!
The recipe will bake a 10″ cake, which is exactly what’s used for the Teddy Bear.
Please get in touch with our technical support at [email protected] so we can work out why the video isn’t working at your end and hopefully we can get that resolved.
Thanks a lot
Hi i have made this cake before for my wedding beautiful flavour,
hi,
can I substitute the buttermilk w something else, unfortunately in mexico it´s not easy to find.
thankyou
you can use normal milk; add a tablespoon of vinegar and thats your buttermilk!
Thanks for helping out here 🙂
Cheers
Cake ring/tin sizes please!
you can really use any size you want and it doesn’t even have to be a round cake pan but could be any size you would like! the time the cake takes to bake varies depending on how much you fill the pan and how big it is. so if u are unsure about the time the cake takes to bake in the pan u are using, just try researching on google and u will be fine. happy baking!
very nice can i use anything else insted of buttermilk?
I’m not sure what else you can use but you can make buttercream http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-a-quick-easy-buttermilk-substitute-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-185757 Hope that helps.
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Please can you tell me the quantity of self rising flour, sugar and cocoa used ?
330g unsalted butter
330g dark chocolate (55%-60% cocoa if possible)
9 teaspoon instant coffee
240ml water
75g Cocoa powder
190g plain flour
190g self raising flour
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
720g golden caster sugar
6 large eggs
10.5 teaspoon vegetable oil (rapeseed preferred but not essential)
165ml buttermilk
NOTE – These ingredients are set for a 10″ and 6″ Round cakes OR 10″ Square cake
Use this RECKONER to work out other portion quantities using 10″ Square as your starting tin
Very nice
how can i substitute self raising flour to regular flour?
I’m not sure you can but you might want to ask in our Q&A http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/
Cheers
Can I use fondont on this cake?
Yeah sure once its been ganached.
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Hi can we not use the whisk attachment of the KA in mixing the batter thanks
Hi,
I’m not sure but Paul mentions at around 3 mins 30 that he does it by hand to keep the cake a little denser and not to get too much air in the cake.
You could always try it and see how much difference it makes. You could also ask in our Q&A http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions
Cheers
Ae the 10″ & 6″ were baked together at once for 2 hours? Thanks
Hi! Yes biggest tin on top shelf and the smallest on the bottom shelf
Thanks for you help on this!
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Little disappointed measurements are not complete.
Buttermilk amount??? Also all the dry ingredients ( other than the baking soda )
🙁
Hi glad you found it! Let me know if there is anything else I can help with!
http://www.designer-cakes.com/contact
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer support
Excuse me, just realised there is an ingredient list. Sorry. Happier now!! 🙂
HI! Why don’t you use your mixer KitchenAid?
Hi,
I think Paul likes to be as delicate as possible with the mix. You might want to ask in our Q&A if you can get away with using a mixer for this. I’m not sure myself
http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Can the self rising flour be replaced with cake flour? Is bicarb soda the same as baking soda and what is golden caster sugar?
Hi I’m not too sure about this you might want to ask in our Q&A http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions
Cheers
Great Tutorial, will def. try this out. Thanks 🙂
In USA should the degrees be 350, for 2 hours or for 1 hour
Hi,
It should be 303F for 2 hours.
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
I was just wondering how strong the coffee is once the cake is made? Is this more of a chocolate coffee cake or can you not really taste it?
do I have to substitute or can I just leave the coffee out?
you can just leave it out http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/coffee-in-chocolate-cake
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
You can hardly taste the coffee at all.
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Hi,
Can you specify how much flour, caster sugar and coco powder is used?
Many thanks,
Aatifa
Hi,
If you log in the look under the video at the ingredients tab you should be able to see them all.
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Thank you so much for the tutorial Paul.
I’ve just finished making my chocolate cakes, they’re in the oven now & smell amazing.
I’m working my way through the basic stages & then I’ll definitely be signing up for the full course.
Just 1 question…
I have a fan oven. Should I still be baking the cakes at 150`C?
Hi Lesley,
There is a question about it here: http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/fan-assisted-ovens That might help out. People tend to find slightly different things.
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Can you leave out the coffee? and if you do should there be something to substitute it or will cake still be ok? I hate coffee in a cake, thanks.
Yeah you can just leave it out. You can hardly taste it though but yeah if you really don’t want it just leave it out 🙂
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Can we freeze the cake? if yes for how long.
Thank you
Hi,
yeah sure you can freeze this cake. there is a question in our Q&A about this http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/cake-in-freezer looks like about 3 months.
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Hello,is the free video section free? i cant watch. secondly,i have seen the ingredients and that’s a big problem because in my country Nigeria we dont have buttermilk,sweet chocolate, in fact there are lots of ingredients we dont have in my country . i really need help.
To stand out in this business.
And i believe i am in the right place . THANKYOU
Hi
sorry about the late reply. Yeah its free but you either need to join as a free members or just enter your email address in any of the videos to keep watching. You do need to be logged in though to see the tool and ingredients I think that might be the problem.
If you ask in our Q&A about finding replacements to ingredients I’m sure someone will help. http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Hello would like to know where to find the complete recipe’m from Brazil thanks
Hi,
The recipe is given in the “ingredients” tab under each video. You might want to ask in our Q&A about replacements for were you are if you can not get everything.
http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
what temperature for the oven?
Hi,
Its 150 degrees.
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
I can not open the tab of the ingredients … Is it possible to know otherwise? Thank you very much!
Hope this helps! –
330g unsalted butter
330g dark chocolate (55%-60% cocoa if possible)
9 teaspoon instant coffee
240ml water
75g Cocoa powder
190g plain flour
190g self raising flour
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
720g golden caster sugar
6 large eggs
10.5 teaspoon vegetable oil (rapeseed preferred but not essential)
165ml buttermilk
NOTE – These ingredients are set for a 10″ and 6″ Round cakes OR 10″ Square cake
Just want to ask – is it not the amout of golden sugar- well – 720 g – tooooo much for this amount of another ingredients?
Thank you for answering, I just wonder… 🙂
Hi!
Thank you for getting in touch, every cake has different amount of caster sugar but this cake in particular requires this amount! Helps it taste yummy!
Hope this helps 🙂
D x
i want to learn chocolate cake.
Ditto Jcampbell comment – I really don’t like coffee so wonder is this essential to the mix?
Hi I don’t think its essential but you might want to ask in our Q&A form people who know better then me! You can hardly taste it though I will say that 🙂
http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
I found this in the Q&A already http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/coffee-in-chocolate-cake you can just leave it out
Cheers
Hi is there any way I can print this method off, I am finding it difficult following through computer Thanks
Hi
You could try printing of the subtitles from the subtitles tab. That might help.
cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Hi, I can’t find where you added the quantities of the dry ingredients.
can you just post it as a response?
Thank You.
I am going too make this for a wedding cake hope it will stay moist.
It is a very moist cake, but the best thing to do is to bake it well ahead of the wedding then freeze it. You can then test the cake before using it on the big day.
Make sure once its out the freezer that its stored in a cool, dry place.
Love this cake, I’ve used this recipe again and again now and everyone thats had a slice has LOVED IT. Thanks so much Paul its brilliant!
Glad you like it 🙂
Thanx so much.Great tutorial.its given me confidence
How long do I need to leave it in refrigerator??
I think this is optional just if you are not going to decorating that day you might freeze it or keep it in the fridge until you are ready.
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Really enjoying this basic course. Very clear instructions
I am sure I will be e rolling on one of your courses soon. Mant thanks
Really enjoying this basic course. Very clear instructions
I am sure I will be e rolling on one of your courses soon. Many thanks
Hi Paul
Can you give the weights of the dry ingredients please. Also is that 150c fan or normal? Lastly what is buttermilk? Many thanks 🙂
Hi,
Im pretty sure its a fan over but you might find a better answer from people in the Q&A. The ingredients are given below the video when logged in. Here a recipe for butter milk if you cannot buy it http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-a-quick-easy-buttermilk-substitute-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-185757
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
hi paul i live in the uk what is butter milk as we dont have that so what can i use instead thankz
Hi Jenni, you can find this question answered here on our Q&A
Hope this helps!
jenni123 You can buy buttermilk from most supermarkets in the UK or at least I can in the West Country
Hi Paul
Please can you provide quantities for the dry ingredients for this cake?
Thanks
Rach.
Hi Rachs69,
Sorry I think you just need to be logged in to see them. It’s still free but you would need to get an account here: http://www.designer-cakes.com/get-started-for-free
Cheers
Andy
Customer Support
thank you!
I have made this cake for the fourth time now and every time it sinks in from the middle. What is causing this?
Hi,
If you take a look at this post in the Q&A http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/sunken-chocolate-cake it might help.
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Well done,
Are these free videos available on YouTube, because am finding it hard to watch here.
Please, reply asap.
Not yet, but we’ll look into this for the near future.
Hi Paul
I live in Mexico so I’m not able to find the self rising flour. What can I use instead of it?
Hi,
I’m not too sure myself buy you could try out Q&A http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
I’ve made this cake twice and they tasted amazing but they are rising and crusting on the sides but are sinking in the middle. I do not open the oven door before 2 hrs and even bought an oven thermometer. I use parchment paper, I follow the instructions to the letter. I used my gas oven the first time and my friend gas oven the second and have the same results. I can not leave it in any longer as the cake will burn. I used a microwave to melt the ingredients. I used an electric mixer for the egg mixture. After I have mixed all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon I give it another quick whizz with the mixer. I was thinking about buying more heavy cake tins, but I am hesitant to do so not knowing whether it will change my end result and to its importance. Do you have any clues to what I might be doing wrong?
Hi can you please give me the measurements of the dry ingredients I would love to have a go at this cake Paul gives all the other measurements but not the dry measurements thank you very much
Hi Chrissy,
Are you logged in when looking? They should be in the ingratiates tab below the video. Let me know if you need any more help at all. http://www.designer-cakes.com/contact
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Hi, Why the fondant get dry in the borders (ridge) of the cakes.
Have both turned out beautifully, these are for my sons wedding, so will freeze them now until time to decorate.
Glad it worked out for you!
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer support
I’m just loving the tutorials! Thank you so much. I want to make the choc cake but
Can’t find golden castor sugar in South Africa? Can I use normal castor sugar?
Also could milk chocolate be used in the recipe ?
Thanks
Lillian
Hi
I would think you would be OK using normal caster sugar but you might want to ask in the Q&A
http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
la mezcla se puede hacer con la batidora,? quedará igual ? es que tengo el brazo que no puedo hacer mucha fuerza.
——-
Google Translate:
The mixture can be made in a blender,? Stay the same? my arm is that I can not do a lot of strength.
Yeah I think it would be ok if you wanted to do it with the mixer. Might be good to ask in our Q&A
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
——
Sí, creo que no estaría mal si quería hacerlo con la batidora. Puede ser bueno para preguntar en nuestro Q & A
¡Salud
Paul Doffman
Atención al cliente
Great tutorial, easy to follow. Look forward to trying the recipe at the weekend-I will then attempt the spotted handbag for my daughter’s 40th !
Many thanks
Hi Paul! The dry ingredients is plain and SR flour, brown sugar, cocoa. I was wondering if you could tell me how much of each please as would love to try this cake.
Regards Brenda
Hi this should be in a tab under the video in “ingredients” you have to be logged in to see it.
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Nice tutorial,will have a go at it.
what is golden caster sugar? I know white castor sugar. is golden raw or brown sugar. please let me know.
Hi,
I’m not too sure if this is essential or not to use the golden caster sugar I think its just the flavor but you might want to ask in our Q&A http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Its light brown sugar,you will find it in the sugar aisle of any good supermarket. Hope this helps.
No , it’s not . It is called golden castor sugar . if not available , white is fine .
I can’t find anything about oven temperature either??
Hi
It’s 150 degrees.
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
If i don’t have butter milk what can I use instead?
for a cup of buttermilk you can use a cup of milk with 1 table spoon of lemon juice, let it rest for 10 minutes and you a your substitue for buttermilk!
Thanks for helping out!
Cheers
2 hours for both cakes together in the oven? Will the small one not be burnt?
Very detailed. Thank you for sharing with us.
Omg I’m so nervous, cakes are now in the oven. Can’t believe they need to be in for 2 hours …. Frightened they are going to burn. It’s like the great British bake off!!
its 302 degrees Fahrenheit which is 150 degrees celcius
Hi i am not able to view one complete video,
i am running my Video on SD my video runs only a minute and then i get this add to apply for 1000 videos and become a paid member ,and when that add comes i am not able to continue my video ,please help !
Hi Mashk, just sign up here for a free membership and then login to watch the videos in full!
So I am in California, so the reason they are in for 2 hours is because the temperature is low at 150??? Correct?? Help!
Hi,
yeah thats 150 degrees Celsius so 303 fahrenheit
Hope that helps
Cheers
Paul Doffman
Customer Support
Is this cake appropriate for sculpture (maybe car or something?) I’m gonna try it it tonight!
Hi Manassis-Ouziunis, Yes it should be perfect for sculpting – let us know how you get on!
can i freeze the cake or will it dry out
Hi Christina, You can freeze the cake although you will need to pop it in a large food bag first – or see this Q&A answer for more on http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/freezing-pauls-chocolate-cake
What is caster sugar? I’m excited to try this recipe.
Hi gmajan48, Caster (or castor) sugar is a very fine sugar that is also known as ‘Superfine sugar’ in the USA – If you can’t find it you can always grind down granulated sugar to a finer consistency 🙂
My oven is a fan oven… It does not heat from the bottom. Is it alright to use and at what temperature should i set it
Hi Girlsobold, There’s a similar question on our Q&A here from a member that states they cook the cake at 130 degrees for exactly 2 hours – it may be a case of experimenting as all ovens can differ but try that as a starting point!
Muchas gracias. Quisiera saber qué cantidad de harina?
No hay problema! 190 g de harina de trigo
Harina con el aumento 190g x
Hi Paul.
This is my first free toturial, It is excellent , I have not baked anything yet but you are doing a great job explaining the steps, easy to follow. I am planning on starting a baking business next year and this is why I am involved in this I am hoping to follow all the toturals including the Pro ones.
Thank you for making this possible for me.
linniebee.
Hi Linniebee, Glad you’re enjoying the tutorial (and hopefully the others we offer on the site!) and that’s great to hear that you’re planning on starting a business. Our Pro membership should help you out hugely with this step, keep us updated with how you get on!
Kind Regards,
Andy
Customer Support
I’m logged in, however, the videos are not working.
Hi Turn2gray,
Try accessing the site using the Google Chrome browser (it’s free!) alternatively send me an email to [email protected] and I’ll do my best to help you out.
What are the sizes of the tins? How can you scale the recipe for smaller tins?
Hi Jennie, the tins Paul uses are – 10? Round cake tin (3? deep) and a 6? Round cake tin (3? deep) as mentioned in the tools section (underneath the video). To scale the recipe for different tins have a look at this page – http://www.designer-cakes.com/blog/how-to-work-out-what-size-cake-tin-to-use Hope this helps x
Hi Paul been looking at this recipe would love to try it but not sure on the amount of caster suger used it seem a lot am wondering if it would be very sweet ? Thanks
Hi LadyDiana,
Thank you for the comment! We use 720g of caster sugar in this cake! It is sweet but it is very tasty 🙂
Hope this helps! D xx
What temperature would I use fan assisted?
Hi Sophied, check this Q&A post for a discussion on fan assisted temps – http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/fan-assisted-ovens hope this helps! x
wao! thanks alot. your video is quite educating
How much plain flour and self raising flour do i use thanks Lisa
Hi Lisa, You should be able to see the ingredients used by clicking on the ingredients heading underneath the video – if you don’t see this make sure to login first.
I love to try out this recipe, but can I alter the sugar level. Thank you
The amount of sugar listed is correct however you could reduce it reasonably by 10% and probably even 20% without compromising the quality of the cake.
There are many hints and tips for successfully baking this cake here:
http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/pauls-moist-chocolate-cake-my-feed-back I hope this helps! xx
I baked this cake using a 12″ ish rectangular cake pan. was a bit worried because of the pan size but i needed it to get the size to curve a number 6 for my nephew’s birthday. It came out perfect to my surprise and it was really good for curving, less crumbs and the taste was fantastic. i got great raves from all ages who ate the cake, even some of my picky eaters.
Thanks Paul for this recipe, I’m going to try your handbag cake for my teacher’s birthday on my language class. 🙂
Hi, can I use this recipe to make 2 8″ cakes? if so would I need to cook them separately and I was wondering if Paul has a white chocolate cake recipe?
Hi Qeoct,
Thank you for getting in touch. Here is a link to help you understand how to measure different quantities and sizes of cakes.
http://www.designer-cakes.com/blog/how-to-ganache-cakes-without-gnashing-your-teeth
Here is also a link to some advice about making a white chocolate cake recipe, thanks to our fantastic super member madeitwithlove!
http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/pauls-chocolate-cake-9
Hope this helps:)
Thanks,
D xx
Hi Paul,
I’m very much a beginner and have just made the chocolate cake for my daughter’s birthday. They were perfect when I took them out of the oven. When I took the10″ out of the tin the crust cake away on one side. I thought I hadn’t left it to cool enough so made sure the 6″ was completely cool before I removed it and it has done the same.
I use the sprung type cake tins which release on the side. Could this be why?
I am attempting to ganache later for the first time…. Loving the tutorials by the way!
Thanks
Hi Kate,
Thanks for getting in touch and for your lovely feedback. I am so glad that you are enjoying the online tutorials.
I have found a link on our Q&a site which maybe able to help you – another member had the same problem!
Hope this helps. x
http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/cake-crumbling
is there any option to download recipe as well….???
Hi Faizasherjeel, Although there isn’t an option to download the recipe individually – try the tools and ingredients boxes shown under the video lessons when logged in. Hope this helps! x
gud tutorial……seems yummy
It is! Thank you 🙂
If you get the chance , try it out for yourself…although I may warn you, if you are on a diet it is not a good idea haha! (Talking from experience)
Thanks D xx
Why alternating the egg mix and chocolate mix ?
Hi, thank you for getting in touch! This is a technique that Paul uses to mix the ingredients together to create a great Chocolate Cake! x
Hello i am in Greece and here the ovens have two options
1″bake with hot air
or
2”bake with heaters resistors
what must to use
Hi Euabutter,
Thanks for your comment! Please follow the link, I done a quick look through google and found this, this may give you some information – http://www.thebiscuitdoctor.com/manufacturing-processes/81-resources/processes-baking/180-principles-of-baking
Hope it helps:)! D x
Hello Euabutter
All this means is your oven gives you a choice, you can bake with the fan option or you can bake without the fan option.
If you bake with fan option the heat circulates all around the oven and the baking is quicker. The given recipe temperature should be reduced by between 10 or 20 degrees.
For eg if the recipe temperature says 150c reduce it down to 130c if you are baking in the fan option.
If you choose not to bake in the fan option do not reduce the given temperature. Paul’s recipe is baked at 150c this is the non fan option. This type of cake contains a higher ratio of sugar to flour and appreciates a low steady temperature. This reduces the risk of burning the sugary batter and the top of the cake. I bake in a fan oven. I don’t have an option in my appliance so I reduce my oven temperature to 130c fan. Most recipes will indicate the temperature for non fan, fan and gas eg ‘bake at 150c/130f or fan/gas mark 3 The choice is yours. If you experiment with both options you will begin to learn which option is best for the different types of cake, bread, pies and pizzas. If you have an instruction manual for your oven it will give you more information about your particular appliance and which option to use when baking different things.
Some recipes will also give in farenheit which is not used now in countries which use metric measures. You will find a wider site community in the Q & A section who will be delighted to help you with further queries. Find it here http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions
Hope to see you there!
hi whats the temperature for a fan oven or is it just 20 c less and how long do you cook the little cake please
Hi Emma! Thank you, for your enquiry! Here is a link on our Q&A site which may be of help to you! http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/fan-assisted-ovens
Hope this helps.. D x
Hi,
Please I would like to find out if soft whole wheat flour can be used in place of the plain flour and self raising flour and the quantity to use. Any suggestions please am new in the baking field. Can full cream be used in place of buttermilk too. Would appreciate your response. Thanks.
Hi Nadia,
I have found an answer for you in our Q&A site that may be able to help you.
http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/self-rising-flour
Also using buttermilk is fine instead of full cream. Hope this helps!
Best D xx
Hi,
Can I use brown sugar instead of the caster sugar in this recipe and how much Please. Thanks.
Hi Nadia,
Thank you for getting in touch – here is a link in our Q&A site that may answer your question about sugar!
Hope this helps:) Dxx
http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/milk-chocolate-ganache-quantities
im really enjoyin da course…lovin it
Thank you for the feedback! We are really happy that you are enjoying the course.
If we can help with anything at all please do not hesitate to get in contact! D xx
salivating!! Merci for the tips on buttermilk as this is also tough to find in France. Can you use fermented milk or is this different? Also, can you use regular caster sugar instead of golden or is golden better? Thanks 🙂
Hi Georgeaton,
Thank you for your questions! Fermented milk is slightly different so better to stick to regular milk. Normal caster sugar is just fine to use as is turbinado or brown sugar. Turbinado and brown have larger grains and might take a few minutes longer to dissolve but can be used as substitute for ordinary sugar.
Hope this helps!
Thanks D xx
Hi great tutorial:)…do u have any tips on how to achieve even tops for the cakes; for aome reason I can’t get my cakes to look even when they are out of the oven. Please suggest. Thanks
Hi Aleya,
Thank you for getting in touch ! I came across a link in our Q&A section that maybe able to help you!
http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/cutting-and-layering
Best of Luck! D xx
I would like to bake chocolate cake but we don’t have cooking chocolate here is it OK if i use the normal chocolate bar? or cocoa?
Hi!
Yes this is absolutely fine! We recommend that if you are using chocolate then make sure to use chocolate that has 50-60% coco content!
Best of Luck, D xx
can you print off the method? Ive watched all the videos (with my exceptionally sloooow internet connection, but would like to see the method written down now Ive seen how it is done.
Hi Sammie,
Thanks for getting in touch. Unfortunately at the minute we do not have a printable version however this is something that we would like to put together in the future! In the meantime, we hope your internet speed picks up! :)x
you did not give the measurements for the the dry ingredients for this cake. I am really enjoying the classes but really wanted to learn to make this cake. Love watching you and you are a great teacher.
Hi there, the ingredients for the chocolate cake can be found here – http://www.designer-cakes.com/online-cake-decorating-courses/moist-chocolate-recipe#ingredients
I hope this helps. If you have any other questions at all, please do not hesitate to get in contact D xx
Quite interesting .. 🙂
So i dont have a fan-assisted oven, ill be using a normal one, what degrees i should stick to ?
Thnx in advance 🙂
Hi Sarael, Thank you for getting in touch. We normally suggested that if you are using a fan assisted oven you should reduce the temperature by 20%. Therefore if you are using a normal over I would suggest increasing the temperature by 20%. You can read more about this here from this Q&A section of our website. http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/oven-temperature
I hope this helps! D xx
Hi Just joined Pauls site fantastic learning so much.Just little confused I have always reduced my oven temp by 20% as I have a fan assisted oven however if I had a electric oven with no fan would you not just follow the temp given not increase by 20% as suggested ?.on your advice page
Hope that makes sense .
Hi Coxom2, thank you for getting in touch and I am so glad to hear you are enjoying the site! Yes I would recommend if you had an electric oven, and not a fan assisted oven to maintain the temperature at the temperature that is suggested and not reduce by 20%. I hope this helps! D xx
I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thank you so much Paul for the step by step instructions.
Hi Sweetestthing61 thank you for getting in touch and I am glad to hear that you enjoyed the tutorial, best of luck with this recipe! D xx
I made it 2 hours ago. Its in the oven and looks and smells heavenly. THANK YOU !!!! I think I will subscribe….
Hi Mona,
Thank you so much for getting in touch! Yay congratulations, keep us a piece please!! x
I’m makiBy a cake for my niece so would prefer noT to use coffee is that ok x
Hi ShereenQ,
This is no problem at all. You can use a different filling other than coffee.
Many thanks for getting in touch, if we can help you with anything else please do not hesitate to get in contact. Kind Regards, Danielle x
Do you have a recipe for normal sponge cake not chocolate on this website…loving these tutorials : )
Hi Shelley,
Thank you for getting in touch. We have numerous different sponge cakes available on the website. You can find them here – http://www.designer-cakes.com/?s=MRS+JONES
I hope these are helpful! xxx
I would have liked to sign up. However, I cannot understand Paul when speaking as it sounds like a deep accent to me. Also, the measurements are in grams and I am used to volume like cups and ounces. Do you have a place that shows the completer recipe for the chocolate cake? A translation for the amounts?
Hi Jeanette,
Thank you for getting in touch and I am sorry to hear that you are unable to understand his accent. He is in fact Scottish and sometimes his accent can be strong. I have came across a conversion chart that may be able to help you when making the chocolate cake. I hope this helps! http://cloudberrydreams.wordpress.com/conversion-charts/ ? D xx
cookbooks also have a conversion tables .
Hi Fairietales87,
Yes most good cook books have conversion tables! Thank you:) D xx
150 degrees farenheit or celsius?
Hi Sarraya, It is 150 degrees Celcius:)
Thanks D xx
can you make the cake with out coffee?
Hi Kate,
Yes you can make this cake without coffee! It is only added to give it an extra taste! x
I don’t like coffee, can I use anything else?
Hi Seandavidthomas, you do not have to use coffee, this is only added to give it an extra flavour! x
can you substitute the melted chocolate with cocoa powder?
Hi Maria, thank you for getting in touch. If you do this, it may cause the cake to become slightly dry. If you read this Q&A here, it may be able to guide you further. I hope this helps! the http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/chocolate-in-the-chocolate-cake/ x
Hi, I love these videos, very clear and consise instructions, a three year old could follow them. I joined the website to see if I would like the challenge of cake decorating and cake making. I’m so impressed with these videos and the instruction given by Paul, thatthat once i have given some of these a try, i will seriously consider signing up for the full subscription. Thumbs up from me
Hi Allyfree,
Thank you for your wonderful feedback. I am so glad that you found these tutorials helpful and easy to follow! Feel free to post your photographs of any cakes that you try on our facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/PaulBradfordSugarcraftSchool?ref=hl
Look forward to seeing some of your cake pics! 🙂 Danielle x
Hi Paul,
What sort of cocoa powder is used in this recipe. Meaning is it Dutch process or Natural cacao powder?
Hi
What make of chocolate do you use please,
Thank you
Hi Janice107, for the chocolate sauce, Paul is using Cadbury’s Milk Chocolate Buttons. It is completely up to you which chocolate you would prefer to use.
I hope you enjoy trying the chocolate sauce! x
I need the us ingredient amounts for Paul’s chocolate cake recipie<. Could someone help me out with that?
Hi Rosetta,
Thank you for getting in touch. Here is a conversion table – http://www.deliaonline.com/home/conversion-tables.html
I hope this helps:)
D xx
Hi love the videos – just one quick question can u substitute dark chocolate with milk chocolate, your help is appreciated thank you
Hi Sarah,
Yes it is absolutely a preference of tastes, the only difference is the consistency, and the coco content. When making the ganache, a higher coco content chocolate such as dark chocolate is needed to create the consistency required.
I hope this helps. D xxx
Do you cook all sizes of cakes for the 2 hrs please
Hi Dawnie151,
Thanks for getting in touch. You can find a chart here that will show you how long to cook a cake, depending on the cake size. I hope this helps.
D xx
Paul’s 330g of chocolate on the demonstration looks a lot less than when I weigh out 330 g and I am using the same chocolate brand as Paul recommends. I have the same blue bowel but 330g fills it about twice. This makes the mixture thicker than Paul’s chocolate sauce in the demonstration.
Hi Bainesj,
Thanks for getting in touch. Yes it is this amount that he uses. It may just appear less in the video for some reason.
I hope you enjoy making it! D xx
Hi there, I noticed the same yesterday evening when I baked this cake for the first time. My chocolate sauce was thick and not at all runny like Paul’s! I’m going to bake this cake again tomorrow and this time use the choc buttons and melt in microwave instead of on the stove and see if this makes a difference!
Hi Cookiesandcream,
Yes using milk chocolate buttons and melting in the microwave does tend to work. Let us know how you got on:)
D xx
Hi there, making this cake next week for a communion party. Was going to make them into cupcake today to try them out, how long would you recommending baking them for?
Hi Lilil1979, this recipe works really well for cupcakes too, alot of our members have tried it. If you bake them for approximately 20minutes but keep an eye on them they should be absolutely fine. You can find more information on our Q&A section of our site – http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/making-cupcake-from-the-moist-chocolate-cake-recipe
I hope this helps:)
x
thanks Danielle, thermostat went on my oven and was replaced today, yay! Looking forward to trying the cupcakes tomorrow, in advance of communion cakes next week, fingers crossed
Hi Lisa, Yay! Glad you got to the bottom of it 🙂 Let us know how you get on! Send us pics of your communion cakes on our facebook – would love to see them!!
https://www.facebook.com/PaulBradfordSugarcraftSchool?ref=hl
Best of luck xx
pls I haven’t see the chocolate cake video
Hi Meeah, to watch this tutorial, make sure you are registered with our site for the free tutorials and you will be able to watch it:-) http://www.designer-cakes.com/membership-options/
I hope this helps. If you have any problems just let us know by emailing us at [email protected] x
Can you please please please give me an egg free recipe for chocolate cake if you have it….I have tried many and not very happy with the results! Many thanks
Hi Bhakti0210,
Thanks for getting in touch. I found a link on our Q&A section of our site which may be able to help you.
http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/eggless-cakes
Hi, can u please tell me what exactly is Golden Caster Sugar? And, the dark chocolate is sweetened not unsweetened right?
Hi Busy Bees, thank you for getting in touch, in the US, and the rest of the world, the best substitute for Golden Caster Sugar is regular white caster/superfine sugar. Yes the chocolate is sweetened 🙂 I hope this helps! x
Are the dry ingredients need to be sifted? Paul doesn’t especify it in the video.
Hi Busy Bees, yes we would recommend sifting your dry ingredients before using them. Cheers, Danielle x
Hello I.couldn’t play this video chocolate source
Please help
Hello I.couldn’t play this video chocolate source
Please help .can u please update the method how to mix ..
Hi there,
Can you please contact us at [email protected] and we will look into your membership to see what the problem is, as this tutorial is most definitely working.
I look forward to hearing from you. Danielle x
Hi,
The list of ‘dry ingredients’, is this the entire ingredient list for the whole cake, which includes the chocolate sauce and egg mixture.
Many thanks 🙂
hi Shellage, the ingredient list will give you everything you need for this cake 🙂
I know other people have queried the quantity of sugar (720g!) but my concern is the health of those I’m cooking for. Assuming that a 10″ square cake serves 12 people, that’s 790 calories per slice before you add ganache and icing. And anything else they’re eating for tea. I know that cake is a treat but I wouldn’t be prepared to cook this for my family.
We would serve 2″x1″ portions of the cake per person so the 10″ sqaure cake would provide 50 portions. Of course, its always up to you or your customer the size of cake slice served.
Hi.
I tried the recipe and i used yogurt & water instead of buttermilk, because i did not have buttermilk . After baking the cake sunk . Where did i go wrong?
hi Karam,
Sounds like the cake’s not been in the oven long enough. Paul always uses an independent thermometer as he doesn’t trust oven thermometers so you can be sure that its baking at the right temperature. Regarding replacing yogurt and water for buttermilk, this would be best put out to our cake community via the Q&A page link below. We have many home bakers with much more experience than Paul on this type of thing…
http://www.designer-cakes.com/questions
Hope this helps. Kind regards, David
Hi,
I was wondering if you could tell me what Dark Chocolate that Paul is using in this video? thank you x
Paul tends to use Becolade chocolate but any dark chocolate 55%-60% cocoa content will do the trick 🙂
Can this recipe be amended to make a white chocolate cake? If so what would be the adjustment?
hi Victoria,
I´m afraid it would need to be a different recipe as white chocolate is cocoa butter so behaves differently to milk or dark chocolate, which behave according to their cocoa content.
With any recipe its about trial and error 🙂
Kind regards
David
Thanks Paul, have now made this chocolate cake & it is lovely. I’m really enjoying your tutorials. Keep up the good work Best wishes Patricia.x
Thanks Patricia 🙂 Px
So I finally got around to trying this recipe….OMG It is delicious! I made a 2 tier birthday cake for a friend & everyone asked where they got the cake…. ( Erm that’d me ?) Mmmm is this a one off? So I tried it again, just in case. Nope it really is a moist cake I even did ganache (go me). One question…..can this recipe be halfed ? Half the amount of each ingredient? It’s a lotta cake if you just want a 8″ but there’s always cupcakes which I did make with leftovers & were so yummy.
Hi jackie72
The recipe also fits into one ten inch square tin. Use this size to covert it for smaller quantities here:
http://www.designer-cakes.com/how-to-work-out-what-size-cake-tin-to-use
This information is also found by clicking on the ingredients tab below the video. Hope this helps. Happy baking! 🙂
Would you ganache a red velvet cake, before decorating, as I find the red velvet cake really very unstable for carving.
It would really be down to the recipe. Soft cakes can be more challenging, but best to give it a trial before committing to a real cake. Let us know how you get on. Kind regards David
So sorry, if this has been asked before but what are the u.s. measurements for the recipe. I have a very hard time trying to translate from your country to mine 🙂 thank you so much in advance
We’ve prepared a sheet giving the US measurement equivalents….
http://www.designer-cakes.com/us-measures-for-pauls-chocolate-cake-recipe
Hello, is this chocolate cake the same Paul uses in his cake decoration classes? Thank you
This is the very one. Occasionally he’ll have to buy cake in from the local bakery, but most often this is the one you see.
Hi,
I was just wondering for a 10 or 12 inch cake would it be alright to use cake pans instead of using the rings and if so would you still need to put the baking paper in the pan around the edges?
Thanks,
Angela
hi Angela,
It’s absolutely fine to use tins, in fact Paul usually usually uses tins. He normally uses baking paper on the base and wipes the sides with a release spray (Lakeland) or grease the sides with butter.
Thanks very much David, I appreciate the quick response.
Have a great weekend.
Angela
Hi
I want to try this recipe however, could you please provide to temperature to set the oven at and how long to bake.
Thanks,
Angela
Hi Paul,
Help!!!!!! Please!!!!!! I made Paul’s chocolate cake recipe and to my horror the cake sunk in the middle and pulled away from the sides. I followed the tutorial while I made it. This happened to both the 6 inch and 10 inch cakes. The only thing that I did differently was I had to put both cake tins on the upper rack because the smaller one would not fit underneath. Any idea why this happened??? Soooooooooooooo disappointed, I was making this cake for my Niece’s 14th Birthday tomorrow.
Angela
Hi Paul,
Why do you insist the oven should not be opened for the two hours baking time.
Thanks
Didn’t really look appealing on the videos but I made it and I made many chocolate cakes so far … this one is by far the best! Such an amazing flavour and great texture, my boyfriend doesn’t eat chocolate cakes ever…and he was stuffing his face 😉
Better than Peggy Porschen’s? Never thought I’d say that 😉
Brilliant. Thank you for such lovely feedback 🙂
can i omit the coffee without disturbing the rest of the combination or do i replace with something else. Am making this for my 4 yrs old birthday and would like him to have coffee. Pls reply asap.
cheers
I don´t like coffee at all, but in this cake you don´t taste it, but its there to bring out the flavour of the chocolate. However, if you would rather not use it then there´s no need to replace it with anything as the recipe will work just fine without it.
Kind regards, David
Thanks David for ur reply , just thought about dacaffeinated coffee, I hope it’s ok? Also am hoping to use a silicone train mould which means it’s impossible to use a paper to line as this will destroy the final outcome. Pls what do u think with regards to this?
Hi Paul Hi David
Living in Canada, ingredients are way different and flours have different wheat content to what I’m used to when i lived in the UK, i also cant seem to find a decent self raising flour either, but i have 2 questions.
What height cake does your recipe make? I always bake in layers (2 tins) rather than in one tin as i find it doesn’t collapse or dries out due to the flour we get here, so when i split the 2 layers into 4 and fill with 3 layers of filling my cakes usually end up 4-4.5″ in height for my wedding cakes. I just wanted to know what height yours are once filled.
If i can only use plain flour only how much baking powder do you suggest i use?
Best Regards Michelle
Paul´s chocolate cake rises to 2.5″-3″. If you´re using plain flour and baking powder Paul suggests 1 tsp baking powder to 1 cup of flour. Hope this helps.
Would you recommend hiring someone to do the link exchanges, or do you
recommend doing it personally?
Shared this to my Facebook, very interesting!
Always do them yourself and ensure that you choose the right sites to partner with. Watch out for our Pro lesson coming out 15th June 2016 which explains how to run an effective link building campaign.
You might have answered previously, I have to make this cake for egg allergic people. Can you please tell me, what can i replace egg with.
While there are options to replace eggs in recipes Paul suggests that its better to find an egg free recipe. Try the one on the BBC site….
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/13485/eggless-chocolate-cake
Good morning.
Could I use milk chocolate 35% cocoa solids, instead of plain chocolate?
Just spoken to Paul and he says it will be fine to replace the plain (dark) chocolate with 35% cocoa solids. He suggests starting with a small batch just to make sure that you are happy with the texture and taste.
Hi. The temperature on the oven is set for 150 deg C – is that for a fan oven, or should I lower the temperature further?
This was not on fan assisted, just the standard oven setting.
Hi if i use all the mixture for a square 10″ tin will it need more than 2 hours to cook? and should i still bake it near the top of the oven (as suggested for the larger of the two cakes in the tutorial) or middle of the oven? Thank you.
Hi
I’ve bought the Peppa Pig cake course but would like to do vanilla sponge rather than chocolate. I was just wondering is there a recipe for it that you can tell me?
Thanks
Vicki
hi Vicki,
Here’s a link to Mrs Jones’ vanilla sponge recipe which is delicious and perfect for carving…..
http://www.designer-cakes.com/online-cake-decorating-courses/mrs-joness-recipe-for-10-round-deep-sponge-cake
hi what temp should i use for fan assisted ovens thanks
You should go for approx 130C with fan assisted. Please see the following link for more details on conventional to fan assisted conversions…. https://www.cookipedia.co.uk/recipes_wiki/Conversions
thanks alot.
please chef. can I use this cake recipe in sculpture cake? and what is the best cake recipe to use in the sculpture cake?
This recipe has been chosen because its perfect for sculpting cakes. Its very moist and lasts longer allowing you more decoration time.
I have read all the comments from 2013 up until 2016. I have only read 1 comment on how loverly the cake is . So here’s my verdict. Brilliant.and thank you for all your talent . People are missing out if they don’t join your classes. I absolutely love them. Kind regards Gilda Garbutt.
Thank you so much 🙂
Hi Paul/David,
Please can you tell me if this is the recipe you use when having to carve cakes? I’m planning to make a football (the actual spherical ball). Will it hold its shape? I will use Roselle as support inside the cake and a cake board in the middle (between the 2 semispheres)
(
Thank you
Tina
Thanks alot
Thanks a lot
It’s helped a lot
I have previously made cakes with vegetable oil and they have a horrible flavour and texture to them. What could I be doing wrong?
A lot depends on the other ingredient quantities, oil used and the bake. Not the healthiest option, but definitely provide a more moist cake.
Hi. Could you please tell me the depth of the chocolate cake used for Paul’s Volkswagen cake as I can’t seem to find it?
The VW cake is carved from a cake 2.5″ in depth.
how to make the chocolate sauce in the video 4?
Loved these videos. Learning a lot. Thanks for a great tutorial
Hi, is it 150C for a normal,oven or for fan? Thanks
The 150C was for a standard oven (without the fan).
Hello, can I use this receipe for a 8 inch cake pan or is it only for 10 inch cake pans?
We have a recipe re-calculator which will help.
Follow the link below to our calculator page (which sits on the main menu)…. https://www.designer-cakes.com/cake-size-calculator
From the first drop-down menu select Paul’s Moist Chocolate Cake recipe then from the selector below enter the sized tin you want and the recipe will re-calculate the portions.
Hello David,
Thank you for the link.
hi, for the butter sauce. can i use trex instead of butter pls. thanks
i meant chocolate sause
Hi, the video doesn’t include adding the water, is this supposed to be added to the wet ingredients.
Hi Makia
The water is included when making the sauce with the chocolate, butter and coffee. It’s in lesson 1 of the video:
https://www.designer-cakes.com/online-cake-decorating-courses/firm-and-moist-chocolate-recipe-a-free-course-by-paul-bradford#chocolate-sauce
Hope this helps.
HI
I’ve made 4 wedding cakes with this included in the tiers , including my daughters wedding cake, and non have been anything but georgous.
I had never made a wedding cake before my daughters but now feel quite confident in this recipe so will continue when asked.
I just follow Paul with his tutoral and all is well. Thankyou Paul for all your help.
Janice
Hello, can anyone advise on how I can adapt this to bake in a 8 inch hemisphere pan?
Looks yummy!
Many thanks,
Kerry
Hi Kerry
Please see my answer in the Q & A section here: https://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/using-a-hemisphere-pan-for-pauls-chocolate-cake-rfecipe
To make a complete sphere you will need to bake two hemispheres and stick them together. Scale the recipe down for an 8″ cake using the site’s calculator here:https://www.designer-cakes.com/cake-size-calculator
Paul’s recipe is pre loaded, use the down arrow and select from the drop down menu. All ovens are different so, please keep an eye and nose during baking for doneness.
Thank you so much
You’re welcome Cake.Karma 🙂
I have not read all previous messages so this may have already been suggested!
For the chocolate sauce why not heat the water and add butter and chocolate etc?
The hot water would melt everything so mixing will be easy!
It would cool as each other section was prepared – egg mix and dry mix.
Hi, I’d love to download this recipe and watch it later but I’m not sure how to do that. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Hi Fabhelen50
This is a totally free tutorial available to view 24/7 by all members including non paying members. Just sign in to the site with your username and password to watch it. Go to the video, scroll down to ingredients and download the recipe. The video can not be downloaded or saved.
All the tutorials in the free/beginners section are available for streaming free of charge: https://www.designer-cakes.com/free-online-cake-decorating-courses
When I buy the membership can I use the videos any time I need them like in the Craftsy platform or they are only available for 6 months or a year, depending on the membership that you buy and after that you no longer can view them? Can you please tell me, I am new to cake decorating and do not have any experience I would love to have the videos to learn any time I want. Thank you very much. Paul is a fantastic teacher, an amazing artist!
Hi norarapalo
When you make an individual purchase that is your’s to watch for ever as on the craftsy platform. However, if you choose to enrol on the monthly or annual plan, your membership will need to be renewed when the plan period ends. As long as you keep paying your subscription the classes are available for viewing 24/7. If you have further queries on membership, please contact [email protected] and a member of customer service will address your question.
Hello,
I made your Chocolate cake recipe today. This is the BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE recipe, I have ever had. This cake is both moist and delicious. I made both cupcakes and a cake to be carved. This will be my chocolate cake recipe from now on. I’m from North Carolina, USA and had to convert the US measurement.
Thank you so much!!!!
Denise Hicks
I’m rubbish with math, can I use a 12 inch cake tin ( 2inch deep) for the whole ingredients or shall I add more?
I need to make 4inch deep on 12 inch cake. Not sure how to work out the ingredients and time for baking.
Please help?
Hi Maria
Please could you see my answer to you in your post in the following thread in Q & A:
https://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/pauls-moist-chocolate-cake-my-feed-back/page/12
Good luck with your bake! To help other members, your feed back on how you get on with the timing would be much appreciated x 🙂
Hello
Is it possible please to have written instructions for Paul’s Firm and Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe? I find it difficult stopping and starting the video while trying to follow the recipe. I have the list of tools and ingredients, I just need the written instructions for the method please. Thank you
I’m afraid we don’t have written instructions to accompany the videos. We are a small team and it takes us all our time to put out the videos each week so unfortunately we haven’t been able to transcribe the content.
Hi Mandy64
Place the butter, chocolate, sugar, water and coffee in a saucepan and set aside.
Next, place oil, eggs, buttermilk in a jug, whisk until combined, set aside.
Next in a bowl, sieve together self raising flour, plain flour and bicarb, set aside.
Now all the ingredients are in the right order ready to be combined.
Place the saucepan on a low heat and melt the chocolate, butter ingredients. Stir the ingredients to prevent burning and melt until combined. Set aside to cool for approx 10 minutes.
Pour in the egg/buttermilk/oil mixture little at a time into the chocolate sauce mixture until combined.
Finally, combine the flour mixture in three stages with the sauce mixture. Watch Paul carefully in the video on the mixing method.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tins and bake!!
Hope this helps, enjoy. 🙂
Thank you so much for the instructions for making this cake, greatly appreciated.
I just have a couple of questions, when it says ‘Heat your oven to 150C’ is this the temperature for a fan assisted oven? Also, it says ‘these ingredients are set for 10″ and 6″ round cakes’ my question is, when I split the mixture between these two tins what will be the depth of the finished cakes? Thank you 🙂
You’re welcome Mandy64. The temperature is for non fan oven. If your oven is fan assisted, reduce the temperature by 20 degrees. Better still, if you have the manufacturers oven instructions, have a look and see what they recommend. I bake this recipe quite often and it finsihes to a depth of 2.5″. There will be a crust, don’t worry, that’s how it’s supposed to be. I cut the crust off, crumbly it up and scatter it in with the filling. You’ll find many helpful hints and tips from the site community if you take a peek in this thread over in Q & A https://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/pauls-moist-chocolate-cake-my-feed-back
Don’t be put off by any of the negative comments, if you read on you’ll find they turn into positives. So that you know, the site has a recipe calculator if you need to scale the recipe up or down. There are also other calculators to make life a little easier. Take a peek here for all them: https://www.designer-cakes.com/cake-calculators Hope this helps.
Thank you madeitwithlove for all your help. Asking all these questions as I have to make a wedding cake next weekend and the couple want chocolate cake for the bottom tier. So I need a recipe that will be firm but still moist. Thank you again 🙂
Make a trial cake first Mandy64, that is best because you will have a good handle on how the cake turns out and whether it will be deep enough for what you want. I’ve seen so many people try a new recipe at a crucial time without first trying it out. Hop over to Q & A for more support if you need it https://www.designer-cakes.com/questions
Good luck with wedding 🙂
Thank you madeitwithlove. I will defiantly do a trail run first on a smaller scale. I’m trying to cut down on eating too much cake 🙂 Thank you
Hi,
I’ve done this recipe several times and was very happy with the results every time! Now I’m about to do it again but have 2 questions:
The first concerns the baking time; instead of 1 or 2 pans I need to split the cake mixture this time between several much smaller pans to create different shapes such as spheres, cones, etc. Will it affect the cooking time? Some pans are only about 150ml in volume and I am afraid that they will burn if left 2 hours.
The second question is about the sugar type. I live in Hong Kong and have never found golden caster sugar here (despite seeing countless of other types on the shelves). Can it be substituted by regular caster sugar or light brown sugar with the same quantity by weight?
Thank a lot!
Tom.
Hi Tom, If baking smaller items i.e. cupcakes then your baking time will be much shorter. The best way to judge it is to keep an eye on the bake and once you see the dome baked, test by poking the cake with a metal skewer or large cocktail stick and check to ensure that no cake mix is left on the skewer when it comes out. That way you’ll know its ready.
If you can’t get hold of golden castor sugar you can easily swap, using the same quantities, with light brown sugar.
Hope this helps 🙂
Can we use this cake for iced cakes(not for fondant) ? is this soft and moist enough for iced cakes? or is it a bit dense and is for fondants only?
someone requested me to make a chocolate coffee cake for her with dark chocolate ganache on it so i was thinking to try this.
Need reply ASAP
Thank You
Hi sundas masood
Paul’s chocolate cake recipe is discussed in many threads on the site’s Q & A section. You may find the following thread useful: https://www.designer-cakes.com/questions/chocolate-moist-cupcake
You will find more answers in Q & A if you type in the search box ‘cupcakes’ and then click on answers most relevant to your query. Hope this helps.
don’t you guys have written description for the recipe?? i will have to watch the video again and again to make this cake?
Here is an answer another member who asked a similar question:
madeitwithlove
April 25th, 2017
“Place the butter, chocolate, sugar, water and coffee in a saucepan and set aside.
Next, place oil, eggs, buttermilk in a jug, whisk until combined, set aside.
Next in a bowl, sieve together self raising flour, plain flour and bicarb, set aside.
Now all the ingredients are in the right order ready to be combined.
Place the saucepan on a low heat and melt the chocolate, butter ingredients. Stir the ingredients to prevent burning and melt until combined. Set aside to cool for approx 10 minutes.
Pour in the egg/buttermilk/oil mixture little at a time into the chocolate sauce mixture until combined.
Finally, combine the flour mixture in three stages with the sauce mixture. Watch Paul carefully in the video on the mixing method.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tins and bake!!
Hope this helps”
If you’d like see David’s answer about timing, please scroll down the comments page to read his reply to another member. G’luck with your bakes.
Hi Roshan,
Paul mixes the sugar with the flours and cocoa powder. Did you make a mistake when typing the description method or does it not matter the order you add the sugar?
Thank you.
Can I also ask if baking only one 6 inch cake, how long does it have to bake for
Thank you
Cristina
Hello,
Please can you tell me how high these cakes will be when cooked. I’m intended to bake a 2 tier communion cake. Ideally I would like them to be 4 inch high each.
Thank you
Cristina
Hi Paul. I would like to use a 6 in round tin for your recipe. Can you tell me the quantities or where can I look at it.
Hi Elvi521
To scale recipes use the site’s recipe calcultor here: https://www.designer-cakes.com/cake-size-calculator
Select Paul’s recipe from the drop down menu and scale to the size you wish. 🙂
Thank you .
hi Paul,
my cake sank from the middle idk why 🙁 it was someones’s order now idk how to fix it.
i used your cake calculator to cut the recipe for an 8″ cake and used the exact measurements. what do you think might have caused the problem??
hope i get the answer today.
Thank You
Sundas
Good to read in Q & A pages that you have had a happy result despite the cake falling slightly. x 🙂
hi
I have made square cakes with the ingredients but the cake has not risen in the middle although it is cooked through – please can you tell me what am I doing wrong?
Sounds like the oven temperature may need to be checked. The temperature shown by the cooker can often be different to the ‘real’ temperature.
Best way to check is to buy a portable oven thermometer and that should let you know whether or not you need to make any changes.
Given that the cake has baked throughout, bt not risen I would suspect the temperature needs to go up a little.
The oven temp of 150 is that for a fan oven?
It’s 150C in a conventional oven.
Hi Paul
Using the cake calculator I made a 6inch chocolate cake. I must say it is delicious. It is a dense chocolate cake but very moist. We ate it without decorating it
It did sink in the middle slightly.
The temperature you use is 150C conventional. I cooked it at 130C Fan oven. Is that all right?
The timing is 2 hours for any size cake?
What flavours of filling you would recommend for this cake?
Hi Paul
I commented about the chocolate cake July 23rd. Please can you answer my questions?
Thank you
Hi, I love the class. It is Whao. Please is there any platform on Facebook or anyother social media l can join or be added to Chef?
Great to hear from you.
Our Business Page on Facebook is: https://www.facebook.com/PaulBradfordSugarcraftSchool/
We have very engaging private Groups for our Premium and Pro members. If you are a Premium or Pro member please complete the short form below to join….
https://www.designer-cakes.com/facebook-groups
I did not see written instructions that I can print off, only an ingredient and tool list. Am I missing it somewhere? Thank you for your time!
HI Dee03
There are no written instructions for the recipe. Paul gives comprehensive step by step verbal instructions. However, if you return to the tutorial and scroll down from the video in the comments section, you will see that I have posted written instructions for another member which you may find useful. I have also answered your question in the Q & A section of the site re US measures. Hope this helps and happy baking 🙂
after baking the cake, shall I have to stand the cake in tin for cool down in 5 mins then move out the cake?
Hi joannel
For best results, leave the cake in the tin until completely cold before unmoulding.
what were the flours? I could not understand
There’s an Ingredients tab below the Gallery section under the tutorial. For speed the flours used are:
190g Plain Flour
190g Self Raising Flour
Where do you get your dark chocolate 55-60% cocoa from? I can’t seem to find it? Thanks.
Hi Damomac
You’ll find it here: https://www.hbingredients.co.uk/Category/Belcolade/124
🙂
I watched the videos several times, still don’t know how did paul make the chocolate sauce, it’s not there.
Can u please tell me what ingredients did he mix in this sauce ?
Thanks.
Hi Rasha Ezz
The chocolate sauce tutorial is in lesson 1 of the videos which can be seen here https://www.designer-cakes.com/online-cake-decorating-courses/firm-and-moist-chocolate-recipe-a-free-course-by-paul-bradford
Paul verbates all the ingredients and shows how to melt the chocolate to which he adds the butter and water and then melts all of it in the microwave to bring the sauce together. If you scroll down from the video and picture gallery, click on the ingredients tab to see all the ingredients used. Hope this helps.
Hi,
Please can you tell me how long should I bake this cake in an 8 inch tin x 4 inch deep? Still at 150 C?
Thank you
Cristina
By the way, I made this cake before (as 10 inch + 6 inch) and it came out beautiful. Everyone loved it! Soo good! Thank you!
Hello! Ive just baked the chocolate cake in preperation for our daughters 2nd birthday! (We Purchased the Pepper Pig tutorial) the cake has come out great. We just wondered the best way to freeze them as we wont ganache until 2 weeks time. Can they just go in freezer bags or do they need a box too?
Also can i make the pepper pig fondant figures a week in advance? If so how is it best to store them to put on the cake a week later?
Thank you
Dean
Hi Dean
Wrap the cake in several layers of cling film and foil. Store in a card board cake box then place in the freezer until required. The box will protect cake from being bumped around or damaged. Defrost the cake the day or two before it is required either in the fridge or on the kitchen counter. Keep it wrapped up to retains moisture. The models can be made up as soon as you like. Once completely dry store in a well ventilated card board cake box and keep in a cool room away from heat sources like radiators and direct sunlight. Hope this helps. 🙂
Thats brilliant thank you very much!! Big thumbs up to everyone involved in this website!! ?its brilliant!
Just thankful for the wonderful new insights in the baking n confectionery world
Hi!
I converted using your recipe calculator but it doesn’t give the timings coz if im baking a 6″ cake it shouldn’t take 2 hours like it does for bigger cakes right? or is it same?
Hi
Can i use white castor sugar instead of golden castor sugar?
will it make any difference? what should be the quantity?
Yes – that would work just fine.
Paul call for 10.5 teaspoon of vegetable oil …what does that means tq
Hi rohanaarahman
Working on 1 teaspoon = 5ml and 1 /2 teaspoon is 2.5 ml
10.5 teaspoon = 10.5 x 5 = 52.5ml
Hope that helps 🙂
Tq for the fast reply
Hi i made this cake… is this cake meant to be moist.
Kindly advise tq
Yes, this cake is very moist and can be fragile if unmoulded too soon from the pan. Leave it to completely cool/chill in the pan before unmoulding. It’s best slightly frozen or chilled if you are using it for carving. The cake firms up yet has a light melt in the mouth feel. 🙂
Thank you for yr quick response…i appreciate.
Merry christmas to u n team
Hi! Paul,
Love your online tutorials!
For the chocolate sauce, are you using baking chocolate or eating chocolate block ? Thanks!
S
hi! Paul,
can i use this recipe for making cupcakes?
thanks!
Jo
Hi
I have few questions,please
1- Quantity is enough for how many cake size 8 inch?
2- why you add butter and oil?
3- why you add two types of flour,can I add cake flour and baking powder only ?
4- I can add milk only instead of Ptermelk ?
Thank you
Hi zozosweets
1- The batter will yield 2 x 8″ round cakes or 1 1/4 x 8″ square cakes
2- Butter for flavour, oil for moisture and better keeping quanity
3- Self raising flour for a tender crumb and plain to give the cake a stronger structure. Cake flour is not strong enough for this recipe. You can use all purpose flour and baking powder to make self raising but it is still necessary to add the all purpose flour without the leavening to strengthen the structure.
4- Buttermilk is an acidic ingredient which reacts with the baking soda in the recipe. The reaction releases carbon dioxide bubbles during baking which make the batter rise. Using milk will not activate this process and the cake will have less volume.
5- Make your own buttermilk by adding 1 table spoon of lemon juice to 240mls of slightly warmed milk. Leave for 15 mins or until curdled and use it as a subsitute.
Hope this helps. However, if you’d like more information on baking issues, hop over to the site’s Q & A section here: https://www.designer-cakes.com/questions
🙂
I love this chocolate cake? It is really the best.
I have a question. Can I use sugar syrup to moisten the cake?
Thank you
Is this cake strong enoygh to be carved and coveted in sugarpaste and to be made as 3 layer
hello
is there any chance you can add the recipe to the website as i cant access vimeo so i cant get the recipe
thanx
Here’s the link to Paul’s chocolate cake (you need to sign in to your account to view, but it’s available to free, premium and pro members)….
https://www.designer-cakes.com/online-cake-decorating-courses/firm-and-moist-chocolate-recipe-a-free-course-by-paul-bradford
why is the madeira cake recipe on the chocolate cake page
i cant find the recipe anywhere
Here’s the link to Mrs Jones’ Maderia cake recipe….https://www.designer-cakes.com/online-cake-decorating-courses/baking-madeira-cake
pls can i have the recipe
it is not on the bottom of the tutorial page
mrs jones madeira cake is there instead of the choc cake recipe
At the end of part 6 of the video paul says he normally leaves the cakes in their tins. Does he freeze them like this or do you have to take them out of the tins before freezing. Thanks xx
I want to make chocolate cakes 10” round x 4” high and 7” round x 4” high what temperature Celsius and baking times. My oven has a low and high fan setting .
Thanks
Hi is there any easy way that we could measure the ingredients for different kinds of cake tins?
Our Cake re-sizing calculator is available via the link below, which re-sizes ingredients for different sized tins…
https://www.cakeflix.com/cake-calculators
I can’t wait to try this but I only have shallow sandwich tins. Can I bake in thinner layers?
Thank you for sharing your recipe Paul, great tutorial
You can bake shallower amounts just reduce your bake time. It’s a delicious cake, good luck 🙂
Hello David,
That’s an amazing cake tutorial. where can i find a written recipe for this cake please?…..:)
Thank you !
Thanks Amenah. You’ll find the tools and ingredients by clicking on the course title link below the video window. But for speed, here’s the link below…
https://www.cakeflix.com/online-cake-decorating-courses/firm-and-moist-chocolate-recipe-a-free-course-by-paul-bradford
hi can you tell me if I only bake a 6′ cake would it still be 2 hours
or if I only bake an 8’cake would it still be 2 hours
thank you kindly
Paul suggests checking a 6″ cake after 1hr 45mins. Try not to open the oven, if possible check through the window. If you do need to open the oven door check as quickly as you can to avoid the cake sinking.
Paul always bakes the 8″ for 2 hours, but always worth checking how your own oven behaves and mark your temperatures and timings for future bakes.