If you think i am exaggerating when i say this is the best basic recipe for a chocolate cake, try it and prove me wrong! I am sure you will be checking this recipe over and over and over….

If you remember my spectacular chocolate cake with red fruits i did a year go, you will find that this is the same recipe of the chocolate cake, but this one with nutella butter frosting.

Trust me with or without frosting, ganache or fruits, it’s a staple chocolate cake for all the occasions and times.

To bake the cake you need:

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup, unsweetened cocoa powder

11/2 tsps baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 1/2 tbsps instant coffee powder

1 cup hot water

2 large eggs

Preheat oven on 180ºC. In a large bowl, sieve the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the sugar and mix well with the dry ingredients.

Make a well in the center and add the milk, oil, vanilla essence and eggs then mix. Finally add the hot coffee melted in the cup of hot water.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 40 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Start checking from 35 mins onwards.

I should mention that my little baker helped me to prepare this cake!

For the frosting you need:

200g nutella

200g butter

1 cup icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 pinch of salt

1 tsp granulated sugar

Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the icing sugar, then vanilla and pinch of salt and mix until combined.

Add nutella and beat until fluffy. When ready to use stir in the granulated sugar without over mixing, it will give you a light crunchiness effect later when savoring the cake.

I used 1M Wilton tip to create the swirls, and decorated it with some cherries. You can replace the cherry with strawberry or chocolate sprinkles if you want.

I put it couple of hours in the fridge before serving. But guess what?! the next day was even better!

By the way, this was my birthday cake (last week) but i didn’t find the urge to post it, I was enjoying reading and over reading, everyday and many times for the whole week, the surprise post my husband did.

Again thank you babes for the beautiful unexpected surprise! Love xx