Chocolate Cake Types: Find Yours!
Different chocolate cake types are saved for special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries and more… Nothing beats a good one. Thankfully, with so many variations that fall under the choc cake banner, we can rest assured we’re not ignoring any dietary restrictions. Before we consider these options, let’s spare a moment for Bruce Bogtrotter.
Yes, we’re taking you back to Roald Dahl’s 1988 classic, Matilda. If you haven’t had the pleasure in reading this gem we hope you’ve at least seen the 1993 film. In the movie, there’s a scene that really brings to life the chocolatey chapter “Bruce Bogtrotter and the Cake”.
If you’re unfamiliar, picture a really mean and scary headmistress by the name of Miss Trunchbull. At one point, she accuses an overweight boy (Bruce) of eating a slice of her private ultra-fudgy chocolate cake. In front of the entire school and by himself, his punishment is to eat a whole 18-inch cake. A chocolate fiend’s dream, the other kids’ supportive chants make it even better. We warn you, though, to read the book or watch the clip might make you want to eat a rich slice of chocolate cake.
Various Chocolate Cake Types
Thankfully though, chocolate lovers can save time out of the house by narrowing down the cake options here. Popular versions of the classic chocolate cake include the Black Forest cake with fresh cream and a sweet cherry filling. There’s even something that has a chocolate ganache covering called a “ding dong”. But let’s not also forget the flourless chocolate cake.
Another popular choice is a cake with moist, rich layers and smooth chocolate frosting. This is the devil’s food cake. It’s darker than a regular chocolate cake and sometimes has coffee added, which brings the chocolate flavour out even more. Consider this cake to be the yin to angel food cake’s yang.
How About Red Velvet and Lava Cakes?
Here’s a layered cake we’re all familiar with: the luxurious red velvet cake. Making it complete with yummy cream cheese frosting, this chocolate cake type has a reddish colour. Today, red food colouring is common, but traditionally bakers relied upon the anthocyanin-rich (non-dutched) cocoa which worked with more acidic ingredients like buttermilk and vinegar to produce the crimson colour. It is believed that WWII rationing saw the adding of beetroot and beetroot juice for extra bulk, moisture, and colour. We think this fact adds to the red velvet cake’s mystique.
On the topic of special ingredients, did you know molten chocolate cakes, or lava cakes, used to be infused with ingredients like tea, red pepper, and passionfruit? Surprisingly, people once even used to incorporate curry and champagne in the famously gooey chocolate cake types.
Don’t feel limited to just these chocolate cake types, though. Remember we have Austria’s apricot-friendly sachertorte, plus the chocolate swiss roll that you can fill with cream or jam and dress up at Christmas time. There’s also America’s southern fudge cake, which is incredibly dense and chocolatey and not too dissimilar to a brownie – quite worthy of Bruce Bogtrotter, if you ask us.
