Moist and wealthy Chocolate Gateau recipe is a basic dessert present in cafes and pastry outlets throughout Japan. Topped with strawberries and recent whipped cream, this decadent cake is a good looking and chic candy deal with to make at residence for any festive event.
It has at all times been my objective to develop our recipes for Japanese sweets and pastries on Simply One Cookbook. Nonetheless, baking just isn’t my robust go well with, so I introduced in a Japanese pastry assistant, Haruka, to the group in order that we might share genuine treats with our readers.
Right this moment’s recipe, Chocolate Gateau or gâteau au chocolat (ガトーショコラ), is likely one of the first recipes we labored on collectively. With the vacations quick approaching, we needed to share one thing you may deliver to household gatherings or make forward for a celebration that you just’re internet hosting. And this chocolate cake recipe is THE ONE you want!
Firstly, the cake itself is impossibly wealthy and moist, with a well-rounded, truffle-like taste. Subsequent, it strikes the right stability of sweetness—candy however not overly so. Lastly, the topping! The whipped cream and strawberries actually take this cake to the subsequent degree, providing a recent distinction to the general enjoyment. ‘Kanpeki 完璧,’ as we might describe it in Japanese!
What’s Chocolate Gateau?
A chocolate gâteau, often known as gâteau au chocolat (ガトーショコラ), is a basic French cake made with eggs, butter, sugar, chocolate, cocoa powder, and flour. This luscious dessert is wealthy, moist, dense, and intensely flavorful. It may be discovered in all places, from cafes and pastry outlets in Japan.
Western sweets in Japan are closely influenced by European (usually French) sweets slightly than American sweets, and they don’t seem to be as candy as American desserts.
The recipe requires easy however high-quality substances, together with chocolate chips (for baking functions) and cocoa powder, to make a gateau wherein the chocolate flavors shine. The total taste is indulgent sufficient that you just don’t even want any chocolate frosting on prime.
Methods to Make Chocolate Gateau
The Components You’ll Want
- Cake flour – You need to use all-purpose flour, however cake flour (much less gluten) is most well-liked.
- Dutch-process cocoa powder
- Salt
- Eggs
- Unsalted butter
- Chocolate chips – Use good-quality baking chips! I like utilizing 2 components semi-sweet chocolate (46% cacao) and 1 half further darkish chocolate (63% cacao) for our desire.
- Granulated sugar
- Milk – You can also use heavy cream for a richer style.
- Cake ornament – Strawberries or raspberries, confectioners’ sugar, heavy whipping cream, and sugar.
The Cooking Steps
- Put together the chocolate combination. Soften the chocolate chips and butter in a double boiler.
- Put together the yolk combination. Whisk egg yolks and sugar till it turns into a thick texture and pale in shade.
- Mix the chocolate and yolk combination.
- Beat the egg whites. Fold the egg whites and dry substances into the chocolate combination.
- Pour the batter and bake. Let cool fully and refrigerate in a single day.
- Invert the cake and adorn the cake earlier than serving.
Ideas for Making ready the Components
- Measure the substances with a kitchen scale. I extremely suggest utilizing a kitchen scale to measure the substances, as we did for this recipe. Nonetheless, I needed to make sure that this recipe is simple to measure by quantity for individuals who favor utilizing cups. When you select to make use of cups, measure your flour and cocoa powder by “fluffing and sprinkling.” In any other case, you’ll scoop and compact an excessive amount of flour or cocoa powder into the measuring cup and find yourself with a dry, dense cake. When you get used to utilizing a kitchen scale, you’ll admire its comfort. No extra washing a number of measuring cups!
- Maintain your eggs at room temperature. It is a small but necessary step. Set a reminder to take out the eggs from the fridge 30–60 minutes earlier than you begin prepping so they arrive to room temperature naturally.
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder. Don’t take shortcuts. Sifting dry substances forward of time helps incorporate them into the moist substances and keep away from lumps within the batter.
- Line the 8-inch (20-cm) spherical cake pan with parchment paper. I’ll present you my trick later within the publish. Additionally, use a light-colored cake pan for the perfect final result. Keep away from utilizing a dark-colored pan as a result of it should take up warmth sooner and extra intensely and your cake will bake extra rapidly, presumably overbake, and will even burn. When you should use a darkish pan, cut back the oven temperature by 25°F (15°C) and test for doneness 10 minutes earlier than the directions point out.
Ideas for Melting the Chocolate in a Double Boiler
A double boiler is a heat-proof bowl set over a bigger saucepan stuffed with 2 inches (5 cm) of barely simmering water. It permits for oblique, mild warmth when warming up temperature-sensitive substances, like chocolate, that require a fragile contact.
- By no means expose melted chocolate to water! Any water will trigger the chocolate to grab. Make certain the bowl matches tightly on prime of the saucepan as a result of escaping steam might trigger your melted chocolate to grab up.
- For bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, take away from the warmth when the chocolate combination reaches 122°F (50°C) and hold it at 104ºF–122ºF (40–50ºC) to forestall the chocolate from hardening. DO NOT let your chocolate combination cool as a result of it should develop into extraordinarily troublesome to mix with different substances.
Ideas for Making the Batter
- Make certain to make use of room-temperature egg yolks in order that they don’t harden the chocolate combination when mixed. Whisk the yolks and sugar till the combination turns into thick and pale in shade.
- Steadily incorporate all the nice and cozy chocolate combination into the egg yolk combination.
- Beat the egg whites till they kind very mushy peaks. When lifting the overwhelmed egg whites with the whisk, they need to be mushy sufficient to drop a number of instances after which cease; they shouldn’t be runny. This course of is a bit completely different from making Chiffon Cake and Japanese Cheesecake, so watch out to not overbeat the egg whites.
- Use a scooping movement together with your whisk when including the egg whites and dry substances to the batter.
- Add all of the dry substances if you see “a pleasant marble impact.” Cease mixing if you discover somewhat little bit of dry substances are nonetheless left.
- When utilizing a silicone spatula, fold within the combination from the underside of the bowl.
Baking Ideas
- Verify your oven’s precise temperature. I do know my oven doesn’t attain the specified temperature despite the fact that it beeps and says it’s completed preheating. Know your oven’s traits! Some ovens warmth up too rapidly, whereas others battle to succeed in the optimum temperature. I put a thermometer contained in the oven to find out the precise temperature.
- Pour the batter into the pan and in a single spot to each decrease air pockets and clean the highest of the batter.
- Drop the cake pan a number of instances on the countertop earlier than placing it into the oven. This releases the air bubbles trapped within the cake batter.
- Use a skewer to test the cake’s doneness. Don’t assume that your cake is finished simply because the timer is up. When you change the scale of your cake pan, it‘s particularly necessary to test with a skewer.
- After baking, drop the cake pan as soon as on the countertop to launch scorching air trapped contained in the cake. This prevents the cake from shrinking.
- Let the cake cool within the pan fully. We extremely suggest leaving it within the cake pan in a single day within the fridge for higher texture and taste.
Serving Ideas
- Invert the cake onto the palm of your hand to launch it from the pan, then rapidly flip it again over onto a plate or cake stand.
- I like to recommend holding the cake at room temperature for 10–quarter-hour earlier than serving. The cake won’t be as dense after leaving it out for a while. It’s also possible to heat it up if that’s what you favor.
Cake Ornament Ideas
As a result of the Chocolate Gateau is wealthy and focuses on high quality chocolate taste, I favor to not add an excessive amount of ornament to the cake. Right here, I give two easy ornament choices.
- Whipped Cream + Strawberries – This has a wow issue, but it’s easy to embellish. Make whipped cream with heavy whipping cream and sugar till it’s a spreadable consistency. Then, adorn with sliced strawberries within the form of a flower. My fast tip is to create irregular patterns for a pure look.
- Confectioners’ Sugar + Raspberries – Merely mud the confectioners’ sugar on prime of the cake and adorn it with raspberries.
Methods to Line the Spherical Baking Pan
I used to search out lining the baking pan with parchment paper a frightening course of. Plus, I didn’t wish to purchase precut sheets of parchment circles for a cake pan that I don’t continuously use.
Then, I realized this lining method from my good friend, which I assumed was tremendous sensible. It does take a while, however I admire the truth that I can use your entire sheet of precut parchment paper with out losing any components of it. Pondering that you just is perhaps like me, I needed to share this system right here.
- To measure the pan’s backside, place an 8-inch (20-cm) spherical cake pan on a sheet of parchment paper and hint across the exterior with a pen.
- For the pan’s sides, use the additional paper subsequent to the circle you traced. Fold it in half lengthwise and make a pointy crease to mark the middle line.
- With a pair of scissors, minimize out the circle alongside the traced line. I like to chop simply inside the road so the circle is the fitting dimension. Set it apart.
- Subsequent, minimize off the oblong sheet from the paper if it’s nonetheless hooked up, as I did right here.
- With the oblong sheet folded in half lengthwise, fold up the lengthy edges collectively to kind a flap about ½ inch (1.3 cm) large. Make a pointy crease to mark the flap, then unfold it.
- Whereas holding the sides collectively, minimize straight notches as much as the crease mark each ½ inch (1.3 cm) throughout your entire size of the flaps.
- Unfold the oblong sheet and minimize it in half alongside the middle line crease. Now, you have got two strips, every with a notched flap alongside one lengthy edge.
- Line the aspect of the pan with the strips, putting the flap sides down with the notches mendacity flat on the pan’s backside. The folded half ought to match neatly the place the pan’s aspect meets the underside. Overlap the quick edges of the strips.
- Line the underside of the pan with the parchment paper circle, putting it on prime of the notched flaps.
- There’s no have to grease the pan or parchment paper.
Methods to Alter to Totally different Pan Sizes
I take advantage of an 8-inch (20-cm) spherical cake pan in my recipe. Nonetheless, you may adapt my recipe if you wish to use a bigger or smaller cake pan.
For a 9-inch (23-cm) spherical cake pan:
- use 6 massive eggs;
- use 120% (6/5) of the opposite substances; and
- bake for an extended time (test with a skewer).
For a 6-inch (15-cm) spherical cake pan:
- use 3 massive eggs;
- use 60% (3/5) of the opposite substances; and
- bake for a shorter time (test with a skewer).
FAQs
What sort of chocolate is finest?
We are able to’t make the perfect chocolate cake with out utilizing the very best high quality chocolate you may. I like to recommend getting confectionery chocolate, combining semi-sweet (46% cacao) and further darkish (63% cacao) on this recipe. For a chocolate gateau, it’s finest to make use of chocolate with 55–70% cacao.
Can I substitute Dutch-process cocoa powder with pure cocoa powder?
Your cake will probably be lighter in shade since pure cocoa is inherently lighter than Dutch-process. Because of the acidity of pure cocoa, you could discover a refined tanginess or a barely bitter style.
You’ll find Dutch-process cocoa powder at many connoisseur meals shops, like Complete Meals and Williams-Sonoma. It’s also possible to purchase the identical one I take advantage of on Amazon.
How can I add espresso powder to this recipe?
Espresso powder could be added to the recipe for an intensified, complicated, and deep chocolate taste. Because it’s very concentrated, you solely want half to 1 teaspoon (in any other case, an excessive amount of espresso taste) whereas the chocolate is melting.
Attempt Different Scrumptious Muffins
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Chocolate Gateau (Chocolate Cake)
Moist and wealthy Chocolate Gateau recipe is a basic dessert present in cafes and pastry outlets throughout Japan. Topped with strawberries and recent whipped cream, this decadent cake is a good looking and chic candy deal with to make at residence for any festive event.
Servings: 1 (8-inch, 20-cm) cake
Components
For the Strawberry and Whipped Cream Ornament (choice 1)
For the Fast Raspberry Ornament (choice 2)
Forestall your display from going darkish
Directions
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Earlier than You Begin: I extremely encourage you to weigh your substances utilizing a kitchen scale for this recipe. Click on on the “Metric“ button on the prime of the recipe to transform the ingredient measurements to metric. When you‘re utilizing a cup measurement, please observe the “fluff and sprinkle“ technique: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup, and degree it off. In any other case, you could scoop extra flour than you want.
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Collect all of the substances. This recipe makes use of an 8-inch (20-cm) spherical cake pan. For a bigger or smaller pan, see find out how to regulate the ingredient measurements within the weblog publish. Use a light-colored pan for the perfect final result; see the baking ideas part of my weblog publish for extra particulars.
To Line the Baking Pan
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Line the underside and sides of an 8-inch (20-cm) spherical cake pan with parchment paper. Right here, I take advantage of a pre-cut parchment paper sheet. To measure the pan’s backside, place it on a sheet of parchment paper and hint across the exterior with a pen. For the pan’s sides, use the additional paper subsequent to the circle you traced. This paper needs to be a rectangle that‘s roughly 8 x 12½ inches (20 x 32 cm). Fold it in half lengthwise and make a pointy crease to mark the middle line.
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With a pair of scissors, minimize out the circle you traced. I like to chop simply inside the road so the circle is the fitting dimension. Set it apart. Subsequent, minimize off the oblong sheet from the paper if it’s nonetheless hooked up, as I did right here.
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With the oblong sheet folded in half lengthwise, fold up the lengthy edges collectively to kind a flap about ½ inch (1.3 cm) large. Make a pointy crease to mark the flap, then unfold it. Holding the sides collectively, minimize straight notches as much as the crease mark each ½ inch (1.3 cm) throughout your entire size of the flaps.
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Then, unfold the oblong sheet and minimize it in half alongside the middle line crease. Now, you have got two strips every with a notched flap alongside one lengthy edge. Line the perimeters of the pan with the strips, flap sides down with the notches mendacity flat on the pan’s backside. The folded half ought to match neatly the place the pan’s aspect meets the underside. Overlap the quick edges of the strips.
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Lastly, line the underside of the pan with the parchment paper circle, putting it on prime of the notched flaps.
To Put together the Components
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Mix ¼ cup cake flour, ¾ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, and ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and sift utilizing a fine-mesh sieve.
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It‘s necessary to sift as cocoa powder could have clumps (see picture). Press them down with a spoon so the cocoa passes by means of the mesh. Repeat sifting 2–3 instances and put aside.
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Wipe a stand mixer bowl (or a big mixing bowl) with a clear towel. This ensures that there isn’t a moisture or grease to be able to correctly whip the egg whites. Separate 5 massive eggs (50 g every w/o shell), placing the whites within the mixer bowl and the yolks in a separate massive bowl. Maintain the egg whites at room temperature. If they’re chilly, the chocolate combination could solidify.
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Arrange a double boiler by putting a heatproof glass bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water on the bottom warmth. Minimize 9 Tbsp unsalted butter into smaller chunks or cubes.
To Put together the Chocolate Combination
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Add the butter and ¾ cup chocolate chips to the glass bowl. Stir often till the chocolate is melted. In the meantime, put together the egg yolk combination within the subsequent step. Tip: Make certain to not introduce any moisture to the bowl; in any other case, the chocolate will seize.
To Put together the Egg Yolk Combination
To Mix the Yolk and Chocolate Mixtures
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The chocolate combination needs to be 122ºF (50ºC). I like to recommend getting an instant-read thermometer to test the temperature (it‘s helpful for steak, fish, and custard, too). Decide up the bowl from the double boiler and wipe off the moisture/steam on the underside of the bowl. We don’t wish to drop any moisture into the batter whereas pouring the chocolate combination.
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Add the chocolate combination to the yolk combination, one-quarter portion at a time. Utilizing a hand whisk, mix nicely earlier than including the subsequent portion.
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Proceed including the chocolate combination, one-quarter portion at a time. Mix nicely after every addition so the combination is homogeneous. Chocolate will solidify if the chocolate combination just isn’t heat sufficient or the yolk combination is just too chilly. For this reason it‘s necessary to make use of room-temperature eggs.
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Microwave 2 Tbsp milk for 10 seconds incrementally, till it‘s steaming. Add it to the batter and whisk to mix. Tip: The milk will assist heat up the batter, stopping the chocolate from hardening.
To Beat the Egg Whites
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Working with the whisk attachment of the mixer, beat the room-temperature egg whites at Medium velocity till they’re foamy.
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Begin including ½ cup sugar in 3 separate additions whereas beating.
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Then, enhance the velocity to Excessive and proceed beating till very mushy peaks kind.
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To check for very mushy peaks, do the next: Take away the whisk attachment from the mixer. With the whisk attachment, hand combine the egg whites yet another time, scraping from the underside and raise it up. The egg whites shouldn’t be runny, but mushy sufficient that they drop a number of instances and cease. Don’t overbeat the egg whites.
To Add the Egg Whites and Dry Components
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Add one-third of the whipped egg whites to the batter. With the whisk, stir the combination with a scooping movement. Cease mixing if you see a pleasant marble impact (see subsequent step) within the combination.
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Add the dry substances to the batter .
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Proceed utilizing a scooping movement with the whisk to mix the combination till the vast majority of the dry substances are included however somewhat little bit of dry substances are nonetheless left.
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Add the remainder of the egg whites to the batter. Swap to a silicone spatula and gently fold within the egg whites, scraping the underside of the bowl. It‘s necessary to fold the batter with out deflating the air.
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Proceed to fold simply till the colour is uniform and no white streaks or dry substances stay. Don’t overmix, however on the identical time, you may‘t undermix because the cake could kind a hole spot inside.
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Pour the batter into the pan and in a single spot to each decrease air pockets and clean the highest of the batter. Drop the pan onto the counter two instances to deliver up any air bubbles trapped within the batter.
To Bake
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Bake the cake at 350ºF (175ºC) for 55–60 minutes till a toothpick pulls out moist crumbs (not moist batter) when inserted close to the middle of the cake. Tip: When you‘re utilizing a dark-colored cake pan, your cake could bake sooner than mine did. I like to recommend lowering the oven temperature by 25ºF (15ºC) and checking for doneness 10 minutes earlier, beginning at in regards to the 45-minute mark.
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When the cake is finished, take away it from the oven and firmly drop the cake pan on the countertop to permit the water vapors to flee. Place the pan on a cooling rack and let the cake cool fully within the pan. Because the cake cools, it could deflate a bit. For the perfect taste and texture, wrap the cake (nonetheless within the pan) nicely so the moisture doesn‘t escape, then retailer it within the fridge in a single day.
To Unmold the Cake and Serve
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About quarter-hour earlier than serving the cake, take it out from the fridge. Run a knife alongside the sides of the cake. Then, fastidiously flip the cake over onto your hand and take away the pan.
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Invert the cake once more onto a cake plate or stand so it’s proper aspect up. Take away the parchment paper from the perimeters of the cake. Go away the parchment paper on the underside in place.
To Embellish with Strawberries and Whipped Cream (choice 1)
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In a stand mixer, whip ⅔ cup heavy (whipping) cream (needs to be very chilly) and 4 tsp sugar till medium peaks kind. When you‘re hand-whisking, you may whip whereas cooling the underside of the bowl with ice water.
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Medium peaks imply if you raise the whisk, the cream will maintain its form, however the tip of the height will fold again on itself. To brighten the cake, use a fine-mesh sieve to mud the highest with a nice layer of confectioners’ sugar. Subsequent, prime the cake with whipped cream; you may both pipe it as you want or observe the straightforward technique I present right here. First, switch the whipped cream to the middle of the cake‘s prime.
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Unfold a circle of whipped cream with an offset spatula to about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of the cake‘s edge.
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Minimize ½ lb strawberries in half lengthwise. Place the primary layer of strawberries, minimize aspect up and ideas pointing outward, on the whipped cream to kind a hoop close to the sting of the whipped cream circle. Then, place a second ring of strawberries, minimize aspect down this time, contained in the ring of the primary strawberry layer. Tip: For a pure look, create some irregular patterns.
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Put the third and ultimate layer of strawberries across the heart. Embellish with small recent mint leaves on prime and flippantly mud the strawberries with confectioners’ sugar. Get pleasure from!
To Embellish with Raspberries (choice 2)
Vitamin
Vitamin Info
Chocolate Gateau (Chocolate Cake)
Serving Dimension
1 8-inch cake
Quantity per Serving
% Each day Worth*
* P.c Each day Values are primarily based on a 2000 calorie food regimen.
