A whole piece of soft and creamy dark chocolate on top of you favorite chocolate cake.
Can you believe that it only took me 30 minutes to make this masterpiece fancy chocolate cake?
It’s so adorable, easy, and super satisfying!
Midnight chocolate cake
When I am craving for a piece of chocolate cake, I can’t wait!
It was 1:52 AM in the morning (or evening?), Jimbo and Mr He were sleeping soundly, BUT I WAS HUNGRY!
Well, I was not literarily “hungry”, but extremely carving for a piece of warm and fluffy chocolate cake.
In other words, my stomach wasn’t empty, but my mouth needed to be fed.
After a few seconds of hesitation, I sneaked into the kitchen quietly.
Of course Jimbo woke up and followed me into the kitchen. I had to bribe her with some snacks so that she wouldn’t tell Mr He about my midnight chocolate cake.
From ordinary sponge chocolate cake to fancy melting chocolate cake
The base of this fancy melting chocolate cake is a super easy and basic cocoa sponge cake.
Because it was late at night, I didn’t have the patience to make something elegant. So I just used the easiest method to make a cocoa sponge cake as the base.
If you are in the mood of baking, feel free to substitute this entry-level sponge cake with your favorite chocolate chiffon cake, chocolate cotton cheesecake, or molten chocolate cake.
However, as a food blogger, I couldn’t make my cake too ordinary!
I recently learned an easy trick to make this cake level up 10 times within 2 minutes:
Simply place a whole block of chocolate on top of the sponge cake, send it back to oven to bake at 220°F (105°C) for 2 minutes.
This melting chocolate idea is from @chaka_chaka’s video on Chinese TikTok (抖音).
Time and temperature is important here!
We don’t want to leave the chocolate in the oven for too long so that it melts into chocolate sauce.
We want the chocolate block to turn silky soft and hold its beautiful shape at the same time.
With this easy trick and a block of tasty chocolate, you can surprise your family and friends with any kind of cake base!
Get ready to take a picture their surprised face at the moment their spoon touch the silky soft chocolate block.
How to make Chocolate Cake with a WHOLE block of chocolate on top:
Equipment
- loaf pan (Mine is 8*4*3 inch L*W*H)
- oven
- hand mixer (or stand mixer)
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tbsps of sugar (about 37.5g; You can add 4 tbsps of sugar if you like your cake to be sweeter.)
- ⅓ cup of cake flour (about 45g)
- 4 tbsp of cocoa powder (about 30g)
- 2 tbsps of melted butter (about 30g)
- 1 block of chocolate of your choice (I used 70% dark chocolate from Lindt)
Step by step Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. Line a loaf pan with parchment or foil paper. Here’s the Right Way to Put Aluminum Foil in a Baking Pan. (My loaf pan is 8*4*3 inch (L*W*H), which is slightly bigger than a whole block of chocolate.)
3. Place 30g butter in a microwave-safe bowl, microwave for 20 seconds, take out to stir until fully melted. Set aside. (Or melt the butter over hot water bath if you don’t have a microwave: 3 Ways to Soften Butter Quickly and Easily by Emma Christensen)
4. Add 3 eggs and 3 tbsps of sugar to a mixing bowl.
5. Use a hand mixer to beat the eggs with medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture turns fluffy, creamy, and pale. (*See Note 1 for the egg beating tip.)
6. Add ⅓ cup of cake flour and 4 tbsps of cocoa powder to egg mixture. Blend until fully combined.
7. Add melted butter to the mixture. Blend until fully combined.
8. Pour the mixture to the loaf pan.
9. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 20 minutes.
10. Take out the cake. Set oven temperature at 220°F (105°C).
11. Remove foil paper from the cake, put the cake on an oven-safe plate, place a whole block of chocolate on top of the cake.
12. Bake the cake at 220°F (105°C) for 2 minutes.
13. Take out the cake, serve hot.
NOTE 1:
A Tip from Natasha’s Kitchen‘s reader Hilda: “How do you know u get the right consistency? Lift up your beater (whisk) from the batter. Make a figure “8” using the batter that drip off the beater. Then count to 10 seconds. If the figure 8 still remains on top of the batter, then u have the right consistency. If the figure 8 sinks into the batter before 10 secs, then u need to beat it longer.”
You will also enjoy these dessert recipes:
Chocolate Cake – with a whole block of chocolate
Equipment
- loaf pan Mine is 8*4*3 inch (L*W*H)
- oven
- hand mixer (or stand mixer)
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tbsps sugar about 37.5g
- ⅓ cup cake flour about 45g
- 4 tbsp cocoa powder about 30g
- 2 tbsps melted butter about 30g
- 1 block chocolate of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Put foil paper in a loaf pan. My loaf pan is 8*4*3 inch (L*W*H). It's slightly bigger than a whole block of chocolate.
- Place 30g butter in a microwave-safe bowl, microwave for 20 seconds, take out to stir until fully melted. Set aside. (Or melt the butter over hot water bath if you don't have a microwave.)
- Add 3 eggs and 3 tbsps of sugar to a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a hand mixture. Use medium speed to beat for about 3 minutes, until the mixture turns fluffy, creamy, and pale. (*See Note 1 for the egg beating tip.)
- Add ⅓ cup of cake flour and 4 tbsp of cocoa powder to egg mixture. Blend until fully combined.
- Add melted butter to the mixture. Blend until fully combined.
- Pour the mixture to the loaf pan.
- Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 20 minutes.
- Take out the cake. Set oven temperature at 220°F (105°C).
- Remove foil paper from the cake, put the cake on an oven-safe plate, place a whole block of chocolate on top of the cake.
- Bake the cake at 220°F (105°C) for 2 minutes.
- Take out the cake, serve hot.
Video
Notes
- A Tip from Natasha’s Kitchen‘s reader Hilda: “How do you know u get the right consistency? Lift up your beater (whisk) from the batter. Make a figure “8” using the batter that drip off the beater. Then count to 10 seconds. If the figure 8 still remains on top of the batter, then u have the right consistency. If the figure 8 sinks into the batter before 10 secs, then u need to beat it longer.”
Yesss!! Cake and chocolate.. nothing can beat that combination!
just made it! i was a bit confused on what cake flour was as i’m australian and it’s not something we really have BUT it tasted amazing!
Cake flour is just self-raising haha!
Cake flour isn’t self rising, it’s soft wheat flour with less protein than most flours (7-8%).
This cake was awesome for a cake that didn’t have any milk and baking powder and soda. I did mine a little different, so I did a pinch of salt and I used regular white flour and I did 4 tbsp instead of 3. Also, I didn’t have any chocolate blocks, so I used canned chocolate frosting. It was still super good!
Aww thank you so much for trying and leaving a comment! So glad it went out great~
no problem! we enjoy all your recipes 🙂 and i have a request, could you make a vegetarian burger with homemade patties? that would make my day ꒰(･‿･)꒱
no problem! we enjoy all your recipes 🙂 and i have a request, could you make a vegetarian burger with homemade patties? that would make my day ꒰(･‿･)꒱
[…] is also a super satisfying and relevantly healthy option (comparing with instant ramen noodles or chocolate cake) of my midnight […]
It tasted delicious! But instead of cake flour, I used all purpose-flour. And since I didn’t have any chocolate, I just shared it with my family. It ended up in some bread like texture, but chocolate flavored. We loved it. It’s actually a lot healthier in my opinion, not so sweet. Thank you for this recipe!!!
hey ms shi, I love your recipes, especially this chocolate cake. it tasted delicious and mouthwatering. thank you so much for your effort in making these recipes and I cannot wait for your new recipes! thank you so much!
absolutely amazing! ms shi is so incredible that she can make a cake with only eggs, cake flour, and cocoa powder! love this recipe!
IT WAS SO GOOD AND EASY DEF DOING AGAIN
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This recipe is amazing. The cake is quick and super delicious.
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