Chocolate Cake

Doesn't matter if you call it molten chocolate cake, chocolate lava cake, Valrhona cake, chocolate truffle cake, or even "that dessert fromChef," it's still gonna taste like heaven — or possibly the '80s and '90s.

Traditional Coca-Cola cake, a staple of the American South, usually comes in the form of a chocolate sheet cake that's doused in a gooey glaze. The batter is splashed with a bit of cola, sometimes for flavor but mostly for fluff; the soda's carbonation acts as a leavening agent, similar to baking soda or baking powder, helping the cake rise and come out light and airy. In her modern-day version, cookbook author Vallery Lomas flips tradition on its head by making a cola-flavored cake with cola-flavored icing. The key to Lomas' Cocoa Cola Bundt Cake is in the Coca-Cola syrup. Lomas concentrates the cola by reducing it with sugar and adding a bit of lemon juice, and then she mixes the resulting syrup into both the cake and the icing. "You get a more concentrated taste by using the syrup instead of straight-from-the-can Coca-Cola," Lomas says. Plus, the warming spices Lomas adds into the cake, like cinnamon and nutmeg, along with a dash of both orange and lemon zest, deepen the cake's chocolaty, cola-y flavor. Lomas takes her new-age cake one step further by baking it in a Bundt pan instead of a sheet pan. "It's just as easy but much more centerpiece- worthy." Although this cake could be paired with a glass of ice-cold Coca-Cola, Lomas recommends balancing the cake's sweetness with something warm and a bit bitter, like your favorite coffee or tea.

The large range of figs called for in this fig cake recipe leaves the decoration and texture of this dense and fudgy chocolate dessert up to you: 4 ounces of figs creates two small rings around the cake, while the full 12 ounces of fruit will cover the entire top with a jammy layer and require a few more minutes in the oven to fully bake.

Rich, chocolaty, and so very festive, this chocolate cake with ganache frosting is worthy of a party. Ganache has many applications in pastry, and here Chef Paola Velez uses it to make the silky-smooth frosting to top her chocolate cake. If you're making the sprinkles from scratch, remember to start one day ahead so they can dry overnight.

This beauty has everything you want in a perfect chocolate cake—a simple, stir-together batter infused with velvety melted chocolate; ano-fail cream cheese–based frosting,和足够的;装修和无压力ethod you can nail no matter your skill level. A scant cup of freshly brewed coffee intensifies the rich flavor of the chocolate cake, thanks to the coffee’s pleasantly bitter notes—use the best-quality chocolate and coffee for the biggest flavor payoff. Love to get ahead? You’ve got two solid options with this recipe. First, make the frosting and bake the layers the day before, then cover/wrap both tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. You could also prepare the cake and decorate as directed a day ahead, then cover with a cake dome and refrigerate until ready to serve.

We all cook with red wine, adding a glug or two to enrich pan sauces and stews. Here, our culinary director Justin Chapple makes the case for baking with it as well. Cabernet Sauvignon adds fruity notes that brighten this chocolate cake, which is great for a midday snack or casual dessert.Slideshow: More Chocolate Cake Recipes