The Ulti­mate Choco­late Cake

This recipe is made from a com­bi­na­tion of two choco­late cake recipes. The sponge is adapt­ed from Angela Nilsen’s ‘Ulti­mate Choco­late Cake’ recipe and the ganache from Orlan­do Murrin’s ‘Cel­e­bra­tion Choco­late Cake’ recipe.

For The Sponge
200g good qual­i­ty dark choco­late, about 70% cocoa solids
200g unsalt­ed but­ter, cut in pieces
1 tbsp instant cof­fee granules
85g self-rais­ing flour
85g plain flour
1⁄4 tsp bicar­bon­ate of soda
200g light mus­co­v­a­do sugar
200g gold­en cast­er sug­ar (I used 180g Gold­en Cast­er Sug­ar and 20g White Cast­er Sugar)
25g cocoa powder
3 medi­um eggs
5 tbsp/75ml buttermilk

N.B. If you wish to make a lighter sponge only use 100g of the choco­late. How­ev­er, it is sweeter.

For The Ganache
220g dark choco­late, about 70% solids, chopped
240 ml dou­ble cream
2 tbsp gold­en syrup
2 tbsp unsalt­ed but­ter, at room temp

To Dec­o­rate
3 tbsp crys­tallised vio­let petals