Chocolate Torte Cake

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It happened this week, that craving for something chocolaty.  Have you had it too?  These craving just won’t go away until you do something about it.  Then the chocolate craving morphed into a chocolate cake craving, it was all I could think about.  The only thing to do was bake a cake, but  I didn’t want a huge layered cake sitting on my kitchen counter. If I had that much cake I would be eating a piece for breakfast, maybe some for lunch and probably another piece for a snack.

There is a solution to all this chocolate cake drama.  Bake a single layer cake and stack it to make a Chocolate Torte Cake that is full of rich chocolate cake and a creamy sweet over the top delicious chocolate frosting.

Are you counting how many times I’ve said chocolate?

I personally love the thin layers of cake and the presentation with the stacked layers adds a bit of indulgence.

Simple and Easy Chocolate Cake

Why I love making this cake

• This cake uses simple ingredients – no fancy anything
• You don’t need a mixer, a big bowl and a whisk works great for this cake
• Bake the cake in one pan
• It’s a smaller size cake – perfect for 6 servings

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This is what you need to make this simple chocolate cake recipe

1. Flour
2. Sugar
3. Eggs
4. Cocoa Powder
5. Chocolate – use some good quality
6. Vanilla
7. Salt
8. Baking Soda – this will make your cake rise

This cake is a dream to make since you don’t need all kinds of equipment. Two bowls and a sturdy whisk will do it.

After you mix the cake pour the batter into a 13 x 9″ cake pan.  Since we are not making a big layer cake there isn’t a lot of batter and the cake will be about an inch high.

When the cake has cooled it’s time to remove it from the pan and get creative.   Two simple cuts and voila, you now have three tiny cakes to stack.

How to make a simple chocolate frosting

So let’s talk frosting, better yet, let’s talk chocolate frosting.  This is a super easy frosting recipe and turns out to be very soft and creamy with deep chocolate flavor.  I promise you will love this frosting.

You need to chop some good semi-sweet or dark chocolate,  I am using Callebaut, and melt in a bowl over simmering water. Once the melted chocolate has cooled add butter, powdered sugar, and milk, then beat until nice and fluffy.

To frost the cake, start with the bottom layer, then start stacking.  Finish the cake by frosting the sides and if you like grate some chocolate on top.

Underneath all the creamy frosting is three layers of moist, rich, chocolate cake. Makes you want a slice.

Let’s talk about my favorite subject – chocolate

There are so many chocolate options today it’s hard to know which one to buy.  There is chocolate for eating and chocolate for cooking and baking.  Then there are all the varieties milk, semi-sweet, and dark.

Now I am going to give you more options.  Should you use chocolate chips, chocolate wafers or a chocolate bar.

Here are some chocolate suggestions to use for baking

• Chocolate Chips – these little morsels are perfect for making cookies, adding into a brownie batter, cakes or bread and of course snacking. Chocolate chips contain stabilizers so they won’t melt easily and somewhat hold their shape when baked.
• Chocolate Wafers – these come in disk form and melt easily since they do not contain stabilizers, so they are perfect for ganache, cakes, icings, mousse, and puddings.
• Chocolate Bars – these are a great source to use for baking since you can grate or chop the chocolate to various sizes depending on what you are baking.  Use this chocolate for melting, adding chunks into cookies and bread or grate for a topping.

The different types of chocolate

The percentage on the chocolate tells you how much actual cocoa bean is in the chocolate.  The higher the percentage the more bitter the chocolate is.  You have choices.

• Baking Chocolate/Unsweetened Chocolate – contains no sugar
• Dark Chocolate
  • Bittersweet – this has the strongest chocolate flavor
  • Semi-Sweet – this has added sugar
• Milk Chocolate – contains milk solids

Don’t forget to Pin to your Pinterest boards for when you want a simple and delicious cake.

Here are recipes for more chocolate goodness from One Hot Oven

Cacao Nibs and Sea Salt Shortbread Cookies pack a bit of chocolate punch with the crunchy cacao nibs

Chocolate and more chocolate make these Decadent Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies so good

Let jump right into this Chocolate Torte Cake recipe so you can see just how easy it is to make.

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2.67 from 3 votes

Chocolate Torte Cake

It is hard to resist a slice of this rich three-layer chocolate cake covered in a creamy chocolate buttercream frosting. A perfect dessert to cure your chocolate cravings.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Course Cake

Cuisine American

Keyword Chocolate Cake, cupcakes, Torte

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 6 servings

Calories 591kcal

Author Jere' @One Hot Oven

Equipment

13 x 9 cake pan

Mixing bowl

Balloon Whisk

13" Icing Spatula

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake Ingredients

• 1 cup AP flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/3 cup hot tap water

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• 5 oz. chocolate, semi-sweet or dark chopped
• ½ cup butter, room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 6 tbls milk

Instructions

Making the cake

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 13 x 9 x 2-inch sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl add the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt, whisk together.
• In a small bowl add the butter, eggs and vanilla and whisk to combine, then pour into the large bowl of dry ingredients. Stir to incorporate all the ingredients, then scrape down the sides.
• Add the hot water and mix into the batter with a whisk. Scrape the bowl and stir until the batter is smooth and combined.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread the batter to make a thin layer.
• Bake for 14 to 16 minutes.
• Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto a rack. Peel the parchment paper of the cake.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• Melt the chocolate in a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stirring constantly.
• Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
• With an electric mixer beat the butter into the melted chocolate until fluffy.
• Add the 3 cups of powdered sugar and the milk, continue beating until all ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
• You may have to adjust the frosting consistency with more milk if it is too thick or more powdered sugar if the mixture is too thin.

Frosting the Cake

• Cut the cake into three equal pieces
• Spread frosting on the first cake layer then top with the second layer and spread with frosting again.
• Add the third layer of cake and spread the frosting on the top and sides of the cake.
• Garnish with grated some chocolate over the top.

Notes

Since this cake is all about the chocolate,  make sure to use a good quality chocolate such as, Callebaut, Ghirardelli, Guittard for example.

Nutrition

Serving: 8slices | Calories: 591kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 5.4g | Fat: 30.1g | Cholesterol: 106mg

Layers of chocolate cake and layers of creamy frosting

This chocolate torte cake is so easy to slice and serve and it’s the perfect cake for coffee and tea.

Yes, it is really as good as it looks. So next time your craving some chocolate try baking this luscious torte.

So did you ever notice that there are no recipes for leftover chocolate…..I wonder why!!!

Let’s shop this recipe.  You can be guaranteed that this Callebaut Chocolate will add that perfect chocolate flavor to all your baked goods.  I love this heavy aluminum Winco Cake Pan with its straight sides.  Frosting with a 13″ in straight icing spatula is my favorite tool. Don’t forget a pretty platter for your cake.

Enjoy ~ Jere’