With dark chocolate, olive oil and sour cream, this cake is rich, decadent and fuss free

No heavy machinery is needed for this cake – the fat is oil, not butter, which so often demands to be creamed.

Chocolate olive oil cake by Elizabeth Hewson. Photo: Nikki To / TWAM

This cake looks far more ­impressive than the effort deserves – a mix of cocoa brought to life with a spoonful of instant coffee and a cup of boiling water. (The coffee allows the cocoa to bloom, giving you a more flavoursome cake; the flavour of the coffee is barely there, but the role it plays is anything but.) No heavy machinery is needed for this cake either – the fat is oil, not butter, which so often demands to be creamed. I add sour cream too, to make it richer, moister, more tender. This is a proper cake to welcome winter. Heavy in the hand, light on fuss. The kind that asks for nothing but a fork and a bit of quiet.

Try too my chicken meatballs in broth recipe.

The chocolate ganache really makes it. Pictures: Nikki To / TWAM

Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or whipped cream.

Chocolate bundt cake

Ingredients

• 75g (¾ cup) cocoa powder

• 1½ teaspoon instant coffee granules

• 250ml boiling water

• 300g (2 cups) plain flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• ½ teaspoon bicarb soda

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 200g (1 cup) caster sugar

• 100g (¾ cup) brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla 

• 125ml (½ cup) vegetable oil

• 180ml sour cream, full fat

• 3 eggs, whisked

Ganache

• 125g dark (60% cocoa) cooking chocolate
• 150ml thickened cream
• ½ teaspoon instant coffee granules
• Pinch of salt
• Double cream, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven 180C (160C fan forced). Butter an 8-10 cup capacity bundt tin, making sure to get into all the nooks and crannies. Dust with cocoa powder and tap out the excess – using cocoa instead of flour prevents white marks on the cake once it’s turned out. In a bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, coffee granules and boiling water. Leave for 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, caster sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, bicarb soda and salt. Set aside. After 10 minutes your chocolate/coffee mix will be cool enough to add vanilla, oil, sour cream and whisked eggs. Mix well.
3. Pour this chocolate mix into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined – don’t overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt tin. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then carefully flip out on to a wire rack and let it cool completely.
4. For the ganache, roughly chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the cream and coffee granules until just below boiling point – you want it hot, but not boiling. Stir in a pinch of salt.
5. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit, undisturbed and uncovered, for 10 minutes. Then gently stir until smooth and glossy.
6. Pour the ganache immediately over the cooled cake and leave it to set for 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with a generous spoonful of double cream. Serves 8-10