Matilda Chocolate Cake - Rich & Moist

Recipe: Matilda Chocolate Cake Recipe »

This Matilda Chocolate Cake is the ultimate, moist, rich and glossy chocolate cake! Inspired by the iconic scene from the film Matilda, it's made with some secret tips for a tender, melt in the mouth texture. Perfect for birthdays or any time you crave a classic, no-fail chocolate cake.

About This Matilda Chocolate Cake

Everyone needs a classic simple chocolate cake recipe and this Matilda chocolate cake is it. A chocolate cake needs to be moist and chocolatey but also easy to make with pantry ingredients. This is where this chocolate cake comes in.

This cake was made famous in the scene in Matilda where character Bruce was forced by Miss Trunchbull to eat a whole 18 inch chocolate cake in front of the school. It's a gigantic glistening chocolate cake with a rich, glossy frosting. And this chocolate cake was inspired by it! this cake is sweet and rich. If you don't like sweet and rich chocolate cakes then this won't be your thing!

The secret to this moist and rich chocolate cake is a couple of ingredients: buttermilk keeps the cake texture super tender while extra egg yolks keep the cake even more moist and soft! Also the secret to a full flavoured chocolate cake is to bloom the cocoa with hot water. This helps gives the cake a rich, chocolate flavour to it!

I've got so many chocolate cake recipes from a 12 layer chocolate cake to a vegan chocolate cake to my favourite chocolate zucchini cake but this one is a simple, no fuss chocolate cake. It's great for birthdays too and I love it because it is best made 1 day ahead.

I first tried making the famous Hershey's chocolate cake and honestly it was dry and overbeaten. They recommend beating it for whole 2 minutes with the flour which we all know, produces a tough cake and it did! But the revelation was the chocolate icing which I loved. So even if the cake was not one to be repeated, their chocolate icing was divine!

Video How To Make Matilda Chocolate Cake

Video: How to Make A Matilda Chocolate Cake

Ingredients For A Matilda Chocolate Cake

Butter - I always prefer salted butter over unsalted. however the most important part is that for the cake it is super soft (a butter knife can easily glide through it) and for the frosting it is melted.

Caster or superfine sugar - so that it blends well with the butter.

Vanilla essence or extract - I use extract or essence over vanilla bean paste as the butter and sugar needs a bit of liquid to help the consistency along when beating.

Chocolate - I use dark chocolate but you can also use milk chocolate.

Eggs and egg yolks - go for larger eggs at room temperature.

Cake flour - you can buy cake flour at the supermarket or make it yourself. Replace 2 tablespoons of plain all purpose flour with cornflour/fine cornstarch and whisk well per 1 cup of flour. I make a big batch of this and keep it in a container ready for baking cakes as it produces a softer cake texture.

Cocoa powder - Go for Dutch processed cocoa (most cocoas are Dutch processed). Dutching the cocoa uses an alkaline solution takes out the natural acidity from the cocoa making it smoother in flavour.

Bicarb - We use this as our rising agent (along with eggs). This is different from baking powder.

Salt - Use fine salt to balance the sweetness.

Oil - Use your favourite flavourless oil like grapeseed or canola.

Hot water or weak hot coffee - coffee intensifies the flavour of chocolate but you can omit this and just use water or use decaf if you don't want caffeine.

Buttermilk - This helps to keep the cake moist. Make it at home by replacing a tablespoon of milk with lemon juice, lime juice or vinegar. It will become a bit lumpy-that's fine!

Icing sugar or powdered sugar for the icing. See below about tip for sifting!

Milk - I use full cream milk for this.

Tips For Making A Matilda Chocolate Cake

1 - This cake is super easy to make if you have your ingredients measured beforehand.

2 - Do not use springform tins for this cake as the batter is thin and can leak through the joins of a springform tin.

3 - Some people like to use cold coffee instead of water to give the cake a more intense chocolate flavour. I would recommend using weak coffee if you use cold coffee.

4 - Make sure that the chocolate is completely melted before adding it into the butter mixture.

5 - Make sure to use hot water or hot cocoa as hot water/liquid helps to bloom the cocoa and give it a richer flavour.

6 - This cake and frosting recipe can easily be halved if you want a single layer cake. The cake rises quite high so it makes for a nice single layer cake.

7 - I like to sieve this chocolate cake batter just to ensure that there are no lumps in the batter. This final step produces a more even textured crumb. It also aerates the cake batter giving it a lighter texture.

8 - If you only have one cake tin and want to bake this cake, make sure that it has high enough sides, around 10cm/4inches (these are the cake tins I use). Bake it for longer, around 50 minutes or until the centre has risen and is no longer wobbly.

9 - I prefer to bake the cake the day before and then ice it on the day. This cake also freezes well, either iced or uniced.

10 - My biggest tip for sifting this much icing sugar and cocoa (I HATE sifting!) is to put it in a food processor or Thermomix for 30 seconds on high (just make sure that the food processor or Thermomix is completely dry and clean).

Alternative frostings are a chocolate ganache which I've used on this classic chocolate mud cake or a sour cream chocolate frosting as seen on this sheet cake. This cake was inspired by Cupcake Project's chocolate cupcake recipe.

Matilda Chocolate Cake Recipe

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Recipe Overview

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Cooking time: 35 minutes

Makes: 10 large slices

Ingredients Needed

For Chocolate Cake

• 90g/3ozs butter, softened
• 330g/11.6ozs caster or superfine sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla essence or extract
• 90g/3ozs dark or bittersweet chocolate, melted
• 3 eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 225g/8ozs cake flour
• 70g/2.5ozs cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon bicarb
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 185ml/6.3flozs oil
• 185ml/6.3flozs hot water or weak hot coffee
• 120ml/4flozs buttermilk

For Chocolate Frosting

• 720g/25ozs icing sugar
• 120g/4ozs cocoa powder
• 226/2 sticks butter, melted
• 170ml/5.7flozs milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Pinch salt

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 PREPARE - Grease and line 2x20cm/8inch tins (not springform) and preheat oven to 180C/350F conventional or 160C/320F fan forced.

Step 2 BEAT - Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla in a mixer for 4 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add in the melted chocolate and beat for 30 seconds or until combined (scrape down the butter from the sides and beater blade). Then add the eggs and egg yolks and beat until smooth and combined (scrape down the sides and blade once halfway).

Step 3 SIFT - Sift the flour, cocoa powder and bicarb into another bowl. Whisk in the salt. Then in a jug, whisk the oil, water/coffee and buttermilk together. Add the flour mixture in 4 lots alternating with the oil mixture into the butter mixture.

Step 4 SIEVE - Place half of the batter in a sieve and sieve it through in two batches. Divide the batter evenly among the two tins. Bake for 35 minutes or until the centre springs back when touched or is no longer wobbly. Cool 1 hour in the tin and then using a knife loosen the cake around the edges. Wrap in cling film until needed (I bake it the day before).

Step 5 PROCESS - Place the icing sugar and cocoa powder in a large food processor or Thermomix. Process for 30 seconds on high or until there are no lumps at all (Thermomix: 30 seconds, speed #8.5). Add this sugar mixture into a large mixer bowl fitted with a whisk. Add the melted butter, milk, vanilla and salt and whisk on low to incorporate slowly. Once the icing sugar and cocoa is mixed in, increase speed to high and whisk for 2 minutes until glossy and aerated.

Step 6 FROST - Make sure the cakes are completely cooled. Place one cake on a cake board securing it with a smear of the frosting. Spread a third of the frosting over this cake. Then place the other cake on top and spread remaining frosting on top and down the sides.

Substitution notes:

You can sub the milk with alternate milks like soy, almond or oat milk.

You can also use icing sugar mixture instead of pure icing sugar.

Personal Note

The first thing I made after I got back from holidays was this chocolate cake. I love going overseas but I forgot to bring my supply of chocolate. There is sometimes some interesting chocolates in countries like Japan but in Vietnam is was mostly M&M's and a few Cabdury bars. We arrived back home around mid morning to find the house was spotless. Manu is a great house sitter and he is the cleanest house sitter we've ever had. He also doesn't break things or move things around.

Manu can be very magnetic to certain women. There was one woman who declared that "I own him" and many of them have tried to get serious quickly. He used to have a little fan club of women when he worked as the train driver at The Big Banana in Coffs Harbour (YES, that was a real job ). They'd line up trying to get photos with him afterwards and ask him out.

Although he and his ex girlfriend Manuela broke up a few months ago he asked if she could stay over and on weekends we saw them coming and going from the house from our front door camera. When we got back I noticed something on the dining table and a note with one of my spatulas apologising for using it when cooking a curry and turning it yellow. Manuela had left a gift of some Latvian marshmallow chocolates and an orchid which was very sweet.

The next day as the cake was baking I sat down at the dining table and saw a handwritten piece of paper folded over. Manuela had drawn Manu a menu. "Come right away to see this," I messaged Mr NQN.

On one side there was items like a vegan curry for 25 kisses and other items like drinks for 7 kisses or beer for 10 kisses.

"I guess they haven't broken up?" I said to Mr NQN.

"I'll take this!" said Mr NQN laughing mischievously and he grabbed the menu and stashed it away for safe keeping. He has promised only to bring it out if they get married and he has to do a best man's speech!

So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever wanted to try the Matilda chocolate cake? Do you prefer single or double layer cakes?

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