🎂 1. Chocolate Sponge
🧾 Ingredients
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup buttermilk (room temperature)
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot coffee (don’t worry—it won’t taste like coffee, it deepens the chocolate flavor)
👩🍳 Instructions
1. Prep
• Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F)
• Grease and line two or three 8-inch (20 cm) cake pans
2. Mix dry ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together:
• flour
• sugar
• cocoa powder
• baking soda
• baking powder
• salt
3. Add wet ingredients
Add:
• buttermilk
• oil
• eggs
• vanilla
Mix until smooth (don’t overmix).
4. Add hot coffee
• Slowly pour in the hot coffee while mixing.
• The batter will be thin—that’s exactly what you want.
5. Bake
• Divide evenly between pans
• Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean
6. Cool
• Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes
• Then transfer to a rack to cool completely
🔥 Tips for a better result
• Use natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed) unless you adjust the leavening
• Don’t skip the coffee—it’s doing chemistry, not flavoring
• Chill layers before assembling → easier stacking
You’ve got the cake base nailed. Next, you’ll need:
• Salted caramel sauce
• Frosting (usually chocolate ganache or buttercream)
• Assembly steps
If you want, I can give you a perfect salted caramel recipe and a clean bakery-style assembly guide so it looks as good as it tastes.