Sea Salt Chocolate Cake

An easy chocolate sheet cake is topped with fluffy coffee-cocoa frosting and a sprinkling of sea salt. It’s about to take you to dessert paradise with one bite.

This Sea Salt Chocolate Cake is a great chocolate cake, my best, if you will. An everyday kind of cake, that combines minimal effort with maximum flavour reward. It’s my favourite party cake, and the one I usually make for a crowd. I haven’t been into celebrating much lately. Not for lack of reason. And even though I’m burying, I standby the notion that a slice of this cake, is celebration enough.

Chocolate Sheet Cake with Fleur de Sel Frosting is my ideal. It’s a no-brainer kind of cake, made with few, staple, ingredients. There’s been a lot of highlight upon the humble sheet cake recently. And for good reason. They’re delicious. Here, the chocolate cake is moist and rich with deep, dark chocolate. There’s a subtle hint of bitterness from the presence of coffee too, which only adds to the overall intensity. The cake is thickly smothered in a hybrid frosting that combines the aeration of mousse and richness from classic buttercream. I’ve always believed that the ratio of cake to frosting should be an equal 1:1, and this, only serves to prove the point. The cake itself, is just as good as the frosting, and, when combined together, it’s heaven. There’s a pinch of fleur de sel over the top too, which renders the most perfect mouthful.

You could decorate the cake with whatever you desire. Fresh raspberries, are always a hit, as are sprinkles. I can never go past a classic chocolate sheet cake with sprinkles. I decorated a cake like this in chocolate chips once too, but then again, things were getting sweetly desperate. Regardless of how it’s dressed up, it’s always delicious.

NOTES

– The brilliance of this recipe lies within the quality of ingredient. Cocoa powder should always be dutch processed, never natural or Bournville. The difference between the former and latter lies within the alkalization process. Dutch processed cocoa is treated with a solution that neutralises the presence of acidity, resulting in a dark, smooth and intense flavour like nothing else. Try to use the best dark chocolate block you can find for the frosting too. It’s a simple cake and there’s nowhere to hide.

– A variety of salts form the basis of my pantry, so I would recommend sourcing a few different types, to enhance your baked goods. Fleur de sel is an un-refined yet delicate salt that is primarily used for final seasoning. It’s readily becoming more available, though, depending on location, it can be difficult to source. A pinch of Maldon flaked salt does well for an equal alternative. Regular table salt should not be used as a substitution.

– Brewed coffee is added to the frosting, to enhance flavour and smoothness. As such, it’s important that the coffee is completely cool before it gets mixed in. If it’s too hot, it could potentially melt the butter and turn the frosting into a sloppy mess. So be wary of its temperature. It’s a rather forgiving recipe though. I’ve tested the addition of boiling hot coffee when added to the frosting. It did slightly melt the butter, but, the frosting when whipped for an extended period of time, was able to be brought back to how it originally should be.

Click here for the frosting recipe.

Sea Salt Chocolate Cake

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5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Thalia Ho
• Yield: 12–16 servings 1x

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Description

An easy chocolate sheet cake is topped with fluffy coffee-cocoa frosting and a sprinkling of sea salt. It’s about to take you to dessert paradise with one bite.

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Ingredients

Units MUS Scale 1x2x3x

For the chocolate cake:

• 1 tbsp instant coffee granules
• 100 ml (3.3 fl oz) boiling water
• 200 g (1 2/3 cups) all-purpose flour
• 65 g (3/4 cup, scant) dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 275 g (1 1/3 cups) granulated sugar
• 220 ml (7.4 fl oz) buttermilk
• 100 ml (3.3 fl oz) vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla bean extract

Coffee-Cocoa Mousse Buttercream Frosting:

• 200 g (1 3/4 sticks / 7 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 200 g (1 2/3 cups) powdered sugar, sifted
• 3 tablespoons dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
• 3 tablespoons brewed coffee (cooled completely to room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 100 ml (3.4 fl oz) heavy whipping cream, cold
• Fleur de sel (or flaked sea salt), to finish

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Instructions

For the chocolate cake:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease and line a 32×22 cm rectangular baking tin, letting the parchment overhang the sides slightly.
2. Dissolve the instant coffee granules in the boiling water in a measuring jug. Set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the sugar.
4. Pour in the buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla bean extract. Whisk until evenly combined and glossy. Pour in the cooled coffee and whisk until smooth — the batter will be thin and runny. Pour into the prepared tin.
5. Bake for 30–32 minutes until risen and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove from the oven and cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

1. Beat the softened butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3–4 minutes.
2. Add the sifted powdered sugar and cocoa powder in two additions, beating well between each. Add the vanilla and a pinch of salt.
3. With the mixer running on low, drizzle in the cooled brewed coffee. Increase speed and beat until light and creamy. The coffee must be completely cold — if it is warm it can melt the butter. If the frosting looks slightly loose, refrigerate for 10 minutes then beat again.
4. In a separate cold bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream through the buttercream in two additions until just combined — this is what gives the frosting its mousse-like lightness.
5. Spread the frosting thickly over the cooled cake. Finish with a generous pinch of fleur de sel or flaked sea salt over the top. Serve in generous slabs.

Notes

The brewed coffee must be completely cold before you add it to the frosting — even slightly warm coffee can soften the butter and make the frosting greasy. If it does, refrigerate the bowl for 10 minutes and beat again. Always use dutch-processed cocoa; natural cocoa gives a different flavor profile here.

• Category: Baking, Cake, Chocolate

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