Chocolate Ginger Passion Cake, a simple moist chocolate cake with 3 types of chocolate, passion fruit and candied ginger. Topped with a chocolate glaze, this takes it over the edge!
Chocolate Cake with Melted Chocolate and Cocoa
Over the years of family birthdays, this is my ultimate best chocolate cake. It's simple to make, it's moist and, above all, it's fluffy. The result is a light yet intense chocolate cake made extra special with a touch of passion fruit and candied ginger.
Although simple to make, there's one condition with this recipe: you must use the BEST quality ingredients you can find.
I use 3 types of chocolate in this cake: a quality couverture (special baking) dark chocolate (Valhrona, Lindt, or Nestlé Corsé), unsweetened cocoa powder, and dark chocolate chips, give it that extra chocolate crunch for an exciting texture.
The result is intense in chocolate, especially topped with a shiny chocolate glaze.
Chocolate and Passion Fruit - Best Together in a Cake!
Not only is this a triple, fluffy chocolate cake but it's extra light with the strained juice of passion fruit and an exotic touch of ginger with chocolate.
The touch of passion fruit adds a zingy acidity rekindling the taste of a Mogador chocolate-passion fruit macaron by Pierre Hermé in Paris. Chocolate and passion fruit together is the best combination ever!
However, if passion fruits are difficult to come by it's just as easy to use a good quality mango or exotic fruit smoothie in place of the classic milk used in a recipe.
Simple, Moist Chocolate Cake
If anyone has tried my dessert recipes, they're not too sweet and this is no exception - especially as the lower sugar quantity brings out the flavours much more.
Moreover this moist chocolate cake is so simple to make. Instead of making 2 cakes or splitting one horizontally in the middle and filling it with buttercream, throw the whole lot in a non-stick cake pan. Bake, leave to cool on a wire rack, turn it upside down on its flat side, then pour over the creamy dark chocolate glaze.
This moist chocolate cake is light and fluffy. If you love a more dense, fudgy chocolate cake then try this French Chocolate Fondant Cake recipe. It's so fudgy, it doesn't need a glaze but in France, it's normally served with a crème anglaise light custardy sauce.
How Do You Make A Chocolate Cake Moist From Scratch?
Moist Chocolate Ginger & Passion Fruit Cake
Ingredients
- 170 g (6oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 50 g (2oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 170 g (6oz) butter, unsalted at room temperature
- 150 g (5.5oz) soft light brown sugar
- good pinch fleur de sel salt
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 50 g (2oz) dark bittersweet chocolate (min 64%)
- 3 organic eggs at room temperature
- 150 ml (5.5fl oz) passion fruit juice (from 4 passion fruits) or an exotic smoothie
- 50 g (2oz) dark chocolate chips
- 50 g (2oz) candied ginger roughly chopped
Shiny Chocolate Glaze
- 50 g (2oz) dark bittersweet chocolate (min 64%)
- 50 g (2oz) butter, unsalted cubes
- 50 g (2oz) icing (confectioner's) sugar
- 50 g (2oz) Whipping cream (30% fat) Crème fleurette in France
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan/360°F/Gas 4. Grease a springform cake tin or non-stick/silicone cake mould (24cm diameter).
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder.
- Cream together the butter and sugar in a food processor (or mix together in a large bowl by hand using a spatula) until light and fluffy. Add the salt then the eggs, one by one until well mixed.
- Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (bain-marie*), ensuring the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl. As soon as it starts to melt, take off the heat, stir until completely melted and leave aside to cool slightly.
- Gradually add the flour mixture until well blended together, add the melted chocolate then the juice, chocolate chips and ginger until all well combined and smooth.
- Pour into the cake mould/tin and bake for about 30 minutes until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Set aside to cool with the uneven top the right way up. When cool, you can cut off any excess hump with a good knife or cake slicer then turn the cake upside down, so that the smoothest side is facing upwards, ready to glaze.
Chocolate Glaze
- Melt together the chocolate, butter and icing sugar in a bain-marie (heatproof bowl over simmering water) then stir in the cream and mix together until smooth. Leave to cool about 10 minutes then pour over the cake.
Peter
Lovely rich, dense and moist. I made a ginger syrup to go with it for folk who like it a bit more gingery, but it's really nice as it is and will definitely make it again
Jill Colonna
So happy to hear you loved this chocolate cake, Peter. Super idea with your ginger syrup. Really chuffed to share this with you!
Have a delicious New Year ahead.
Lucie
I've made this one more times than I can remember, it always turns out perfectly thank you for the recipe mum! Even better when you add the ginger to it, it's the best way to surprise everyone. 🙂
Jill Colonna
Thanks, Lucie. My work is done! So happy you like making this yourself now x
Millicent
This will surely please my serious chocolate eaters with afternoon coffee..
Jill Colonna
I love it when it pleases serious chocolate eaters! Thanks, Millicent x
Enrique
It's looks delicious
Jill Colonna
I hope you try it to confirm, Enrique.
Thomasina
This looks amazing Jill. I love how you have shown a slice of the cake and how the chocolate is drizzled down the sides of the whole cake. The professional cakes from patisseries are often far too sweet. Definitely a contender to be made for Easter.
Jill Colonna
Thanks so much, Thomasina. I hope you make it.
Luckily the professional cakes from reputable Patisseries in Paris are certainly not that sweet at all - my mantra in "Teatime in Paris"! That's why I can really enjoy the occasional pastry or two here and taste the fruit and the good chocolate - even that play of salt makes it all rather addictive... Unfortunately the chain stores, supermarkets etc. are the same in France: just TOO sweet. Another reason why it's so good to make our own!
Salvatore C
thank you for your two books: I have bought both !!! I have a request for next future: what do you think about a parisian cake book ? You are a wonderful teacher !!!
Thank you for your attention.
Jill Colonna
What a lovely thing to say, Salvatore. Thank you! I'm not sure I have the energy left for a third book ... I'm giving everything away here on le blog! So happy you enjoy the recipes in the books.
Liz
What a fabulous creation, Jill! So moist and luscious, and most important of all, CHOCOLATE! I remember you counting my chocolate posts back in our early blogging days. Not much has changed 😉
Jill Colonna
Thanks so much Liz. Yes, I
wasam rather a tease! And you still stay skinny at that... 🙂Jean
I'm loving your recipes Jill. Made this chocolate cake at the weekend and it was a great success. Love the texture, enough chocolate, not too rich either and the ginger in it is great. Must try your brandy snaps with mojito and scones. Also have your Teatime book by the way. Made the financiers from it recently and they're my favorite recipe by far. Dying to try the eclairs next. Thank you!
Jill Colonna
You've made my day Jean. So thrilled to hear you're making the recipes here and especially from "Teatime in Paris". The financiers are one of my favourites too: not too sweet but just enough. Have fun with the choux chapter and let me know how you get on.
Christina
I could sink my teeth into a slice of this for breakfast right now! Not too sweet, you say? PERFECT! And of course, one must use top quality chocolate for a chocolate cake with chocolate glaze, or what is the point of even making it? 🙂 Looks absolutely heavenly, Jill, and I love the addition of the ginger and chips!
P.S. Those mice are adorable!!
Jill Colonna
thanks Christina. The passion fruit just adds that extra je ne sais quoi - and it's healthy too! Hehe, glad you like the mice. Made these when we had a moose in the hoose so went a bit crazy.