When it comes to delicious, soft, fragrant, easy, and quick cakes, I always think of the “black cake,” a very versatile cocoa dessert that can be made as a pantry cake or as a great substitute for sponge cake for special occasions. The black cake can also be personalized and enriched with chopped nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, and so on. Thanks to the softness and elasticity of its dough, it won’t need to be soaked too much, and we can use this recipe to create amazing birthday cakes or other occasions, even multi-tiered cakes.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 9.5 oz all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch or potato starch
- 10.5 oz granulated sugar
- 6 medium whole eggs
- 2.5 oz unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 packet baking powder
- 1/4 tsp vanilla paste
- 1 g fine salt
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/3 cup sunflower seed oil
- to taste grated zest of one lemon and one orange
Tools
- 1 Pan
Steps
To prepare our delicious black cake, ingredients such as milk and eggs should be at room temperature.
1- Begin by buttering and flouring (or simply line with parchment paper) a 28 cm round springform pan.
2- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
3- In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until a light and frothy mixture forms (5 minutes is more than enough).
4- Once the mixture is nicely frothy, gradually add the milk, oil, flour, cornstarch (or potato starch, to make the cake even softer), cocoa, and baking powder all sieved together, the flavors, the citrus zest, and the salt.
5- Mix everything very gently until the ingredients are completely incorporated. Stir just enough to blend them perfectly.
6- Pour the creamy mixture into the pan, gently tap on the table to ensure the batter spreads evenly, and bake in a preheated oven, at middle shelf, for about 25-30 minutes. Check the baking, as ovens don’t all register temperatures the same way.
To check if it’s done, insert a long skewer, which should come out perfectly dry. Once baked, remove it immediately to prevent the residual oven heat from drying it out too much, and let it cool well before enjoying with a good cup of coffee or before cutting, filling, and decorating it.
Here you will find the version without cocoa, the so-called “biondina.”
Bon appétit
