Last Updated on 04/06/2020 by Adina
Chocolate gateau – a sinfully delicious chocolate cake layered with a chocolate-heavy cream filling.
Gateau Cake
Making a chocolate gateau cake is easier than you might think. It looks impressive, but the cakes are easy to make (best chocolate cakes ever, by the way) and the filling is made with only heavy cream and two sorts of chocolate.
What can I tell you about this gateau?
It is my favorite chocolate cake.
I have been making this cake for at least 8 years now, not only for us but most of the time for other people, so I am baking it about 7 or 8 times every year, there is no other one that I get to bake so often. I don’t even have to check the recipe anymore, it is the only cake recipe I know by heart.
How to make the filling?
The filling recipe was given to me by my mother-in-law, she used to make it for the chocolate cakes they used to sell in the bakery/confectionery they used to have when my husband’s father was still alive.
Chocolate:
- The filling for the chocolate gateau is a very simple and versatile one. The very best thing about it is that you will only need three ingredients to make it: dark chocolate (between 70 and 80 % cocoa), milk chocolate, and double/heavy cream.
- Buy good brands to make the filling, only the kind of chocolate you would enjoy eating as it is as well. There is so much of it in this filling that you will definitely be able to taste the chocolate itself, so it has to be something good.
- This is not a sponsored post, but I still recommend using Lindt dark chocolate
70% cocoa and Milka (German), they are the two sorts I use most of the time. Usually, I would go for dark Lindt and milk Milka. (Amazon affiliate links) - You will have to make the filling one day in advance, as it needs time to set in the fridge.
70% cocoa
(German), they are the two sorts I use most of the time. Usually, I would go for dark Lindt and milk Milka. (Amazon affiliate links)
Chocolate cream step by step:
- Chop the chocolate very finely.
- Pour the heavy cream into a small pot, slowly bring to a boil, take off the heat, and add the chocolate to the cream.
- Stir slowly until the chocolate has melted. Place a piece of plastic foil directly over the cream (so that it doesn’t form a “skin”), let the mixture get cold then place it in the fridge until the next day.
- When ready to use (the next day) whisk the cream mixture until stiff with the electric mixer like you would normally whisk heavy cream.
A word of advice: don’t be tempted to add sugar to the filling, even if you might think it could be sweeter. The cake itself is sweet enough so that the filling should not be sweeter than it already is.
Chocolate cake
- The gateau looks really impressive, one would think you’d have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen and use some fancy ingredients to make it, but don’t worry, making this particular cake is a “piece of cake”, everything is stirred in no time and the filling must be one of the easiest I know.
- And the taste is just amazing: chocolate, a dense moist cake sandwiched with this wonderful, luscious cream filling.
- The chocolate gateau can be baked one day in advance as well. Let the cakes get cold on a wire rack, wrap them tightly in plastic foil to prevent them from drying out and keep refrigerated until the next day.
- If it’s not too warm, you can keep them at room temperature until the next day as well, just make sure you wrap them well.
Assemble:
- When the cakes are completely cool, cut each one into two equal slices, so that you will have four layers.
- Whisk the filling until stiff with the electric mixer like you would normally whisk double cream.
- Place one layer on a platter. Add some of the whipped cream, then the second layer, and so on. Cover with the remaining cream mixture, you should use about half of it for the layers and half of it for covering the whole cake.
- Decorate to your liking. I used dried strawberries and meringues, crushed between my fingers, some chopped pistachios, and some hazelnut brittle.
- This recipe is part of the Harry Potter series, my interpretation of the chocolate gateau Ron Wesley stuffs his face with in the 6th book of the series.
More chocolate cakes?
Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Triple Chocolate Cake with Ganache
Kinder Cake (with Kinder candy)
Chocolate Gateau
Chocolate gateau - a sinfully delicious chocolate cake layered with a chocolate-double cream filling. Making an impressive gateau is easier than you think!
Ingredients
- Chocolate cream filling:
- 500 ml/ 17 fl.oz/ 2 cups double/heavy cream
- 100 g/ 3.5 oz milk chocolate (Note)
- 100 g/ 3.5 oz dark chocolate 70 - 75 % cocoa (Note)
- Chocolate cake:
- 210 g/ 7.4 oz/ 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 400 g/ 14 oz/ 2 cups granulated sugar
- 85 g/ 3 oz/ ¾ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 250 ml/ 8.5 fl.oz/ 1 cup buttermilk
- 120 ml/ 4 oz/ ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs (large Germany, extra-large US)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 250 ml/ 8.5 fl.oz/ 1 cup hot coffee
- Decoration (optional, you can decorate as you like):
- dried strawberries
- meringues
- chopped pistachios
Instructions
Chocolate cream filling:
- Start one day in advance by making the filling.
- Chop the chocolate very finely. Pour the heavy cream into a small pot, carefully bring to a boil, take off the heat, and add the chocolate to the cream. Stir slowly until the chocolate has melted. Place a piece of plastic foil directly over the chocolate cream (so that it doesn't form a “skin”), let the mixture cool completely, then place it in the fridge until the next day.
Chocolate cake:
- You could bake the cakes one day in advance as well. Let them cool completely, then wrap them tightly in plastic foil to prevent them from drying out.
- To make the cake start by preheating the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour 2 springforms or cake pans of 20 cm/8-inch diameter. Brew one cup of strong coffee.
- In a large bowl mix and sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract preferably in a jug or in another bowl. Pour this mixture, slowly, over the dry ingredients whisking with an electric mixer at very low speed.
- Add the hot coffee and stir with a spatula very shortly until the ingredients are just combined. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl as well in the process. Divide the mixture into two equal parts (I use the scale to make sure I divide the mixture evenly) and pour it into the two prepared forms.
- Bake for about 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out rather clean, it can still be a bit wet, but it should not be covered in chocolate. Let cool in the pan for a while, then transfer the cakes to wire racks and let cool completely.
Assemble the chocolate gateau:
- When the cakes are completely cooled, cut each one into two equal slices.
- Whisk the chocolate-heavy cream mixture until stiff with the electric mixer like you would normally whisk heavy cream.
- Place one cake layer on a cake platter. Add some of the chocolate cream, then the second cake layer, cream, third cake layer, cream again, last cake layer. Cover the cake with the remaining chocolate cream, you should use about half of it for layering the cake and half of it for covering the whole cake.
- Decorate the cake to your liking. I used dried strawberries and meringues, crushed between my fingers, some chopped pistachios, and some hazelnut brittle.
Notes
For a genuine taste, I recommend using German/European style chocolate (Milka, Lindt – German, Belgian or Swiss chocolate).
All the product links are Amazon affiliate links.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 572Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 98mgSodium: 495mgCarbohydrates: 76gFiber: 3gSugar: 53gProtein: 9g
Nutritional information is not always accurate.
24 comments
Happy anniversary! Sounds like a fun day. I love Harry Potter, chocolate cake, and any reason to celebrate with chocolate cake. This looks divine and I can see why it’s a favorite!
It looks amazing! I love the look of those black sponge layers. Happy anniversary! xx
It looks beautiful! Happy Anniversary!
This is a chocolate lover’s dream come true and so beautiful! I can see why you have lots of requests for it!
Happy Anniversary, Adina! What a lovely cake to celebrate!
I am not a porterhead fan but my daughter is. She went to watch the first show of this new movie with her friends.
deeeeeply dark chocolate cake and a super smooth frosting too! this is perfection. 🙂
OMG. This is amazing cake ?Thank you very much. Thank you very much for recipe. Was delicious ?
So glad to hear it! Thank you, Magda.
Wowww …todo con chocolate me encanta,que delicia es una gran torta,gracias por su comentario la espero siempre,abrazos.
That’s so funny that you dreamed about this cake before making it. Now I’ll be dreaming about it. 🙂 What an OMG cake!!!! Death by chocolate for sure. So lovely.
Adina, we are Potter fans at my house, too. We haven’t seen the movie yet, but it is on our list of things to do this weekend, along with putting up the Christmas tree and cleaning house in anticipation of my folks flying out to visit. I think Ron’s cake looks simply amazing and I bet it tastes amazing, too. I love the addition of the coffee to enhance the chocolate flavor and the buttermilk to balance the sweet and give the cake moisture and a bit of a lift. Outstanding.
Hi,
Looks delicious! Can you tell me what size cake tins you used?
Thanks
Hi Cheryl. Two springforms of 20 cm/8 inch diameter.
hi! complete amateur here, I’ve only ever baked cupcakes – horrible – but I’m a huuuge HP fan and your amazing description (not to mention droolworthy photos) totes made me want to try this. some questions:
1) I have the sugar in everything I bake eg cookies and was thinking of cutting this to 300g, do you think it would be ok?
2) can I substitute the baking powder w baking soda (and vice versa) and how should it be done?
3) do you bake both cakes at the same time? our oven isn’t very big and I don’t think it can fit two 8 inch cake tins at the same time 🙁 is stacking possible?
thanks a lot Adina!!
Hi Sunny. I am glad you want to bake the cake, it is an amazing chocolate cake and actually well suited for beginners in baking. To your questions:
1. You can reduce the sugar quantity a little, but normally sticking to the required quantities when baking is always best. Unlike cooking, baking is almost chemistry and requires precission, if you change the quantities and the ingredients, the result will not be as expected. However, in the case of this cake, I had used less sugar the first times I have made it and although I find the texture of the cake better when the whole quantity of sugar is used, the reduced sugar version was ok as well. If you are worrying that the cake is too sweet, don’t, for some reason, although there is so much sugar in it, the cake is not overly sweet. Must be all the bitter chocolate and the coffee.
2. No, you can definitely NOT substitute baking powder for baking soda, they have different effect on the cake. Use always as required by this or any other future recipe.
3. I bake the cakes together because I have a convection oven. I put two racks in the oven and place each cake pan on a rack. If you don’t have a convection/hot air oven and the cake pans don’t fit together one next to the other (not stacked) in the regular oven, then it is better to split the recipe and mix the batter twice. If one cake waits so long to be baked, it will not rise anymore in the oven, so it is better to only make the batter just before you can put the cake in the oven.
I hope this helps, if you have more question, do ask. 🙂
Thank you so much Adina! I will try it out with help from my friend this weekend, super excited! 🙂
Hello there. I just baked this recipe and it’s divine. I would like to know if I can bake it in a bundt pan, considering the thickness of the pan. Will the consistency stay without breaking or getting burnt.
I ask this because my friend’s birthday is next month and I will like to bake something really special for her.
Thank you in anticipation of your response.
Hi Ebi. I am so glad you liked the chocolate cake, we love it too and I make it so often. However, I have never baked it in a bundt pan, so I cannot say for sure how that will turn out. Theoratically, it should work. If you notice that the top of the cake gets too dark before the inside of the cake is baked, cover the top very loosely with some aluminum foil, just place the piece of aluminum foil on top of the form without pressing it down or anything.
Hi Adina, now currently making this cake for my dad’s birthday tomorrow, this is my first time making it ( hoping it goes right first time as won’t have any more ingredients). Slightly concerned that when I asked for cream stabilizer in the supermarket no one knew what it was so I googled it and said the next best thing is gelatine. Would this be ok to use because the last thing I want to do is muck it up because I added the wrong thing. Many thanks.
Hi Tanya. No, that is not gelatine, gelatine would not do well here. Either leave it out, but in this case the heavy cream will be softer, less stable. Or mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with one tablespoon icing sugar together. Use this mixture exactly as the stabilizer, which is beat the cream shortly and very slowly start adding the cornstarch mixture while mixing all the time.
Thank you!
I love it when Harry Potter marathons are on. I leave it on all day long as I’m working in the house. This cake looks chocolaty and delectable! I can eat that chocolate cream filling by the spoonful!
This recipe does not work I promise you it looks really nice on the picture but it does not look anywhere near as good when you really make it.Taste wise this cake is not good there is so many ingredients to make this gateau your better off going to Aldi and getting a chocolate gateau. So my conclusion on this recipe is rubbish and cost quite a bit of money. Be careful when baking on this blog it may cost you lots of unnecessary amounts of money.
Considering that I bake this cake for clients and about 20-25 times a year and all the previous very good reviews, I just assume you can’t bake or can’t follow instructions. Do get your Aldi cake, if that what your taste buds are used to. Definitely less hassle and money.