Matilda's Chocolate Cake

I absolutely adore chocolate cake for any reason, but especially for celebrating birthdays and holidays. In fact, I spent the better part of a month perfecting my Tahini Buttercream Chocolate Cake for my birthday one year. With this cake in mind, I set out to create the most decadent, chocolate filled cake I could. I know you’ll love my Matilda cake because:  

• You love a simply stunning chocolate cake.  This Matilda cake was made famous thanks to the movie. But rather than make a giant chocolate cake, I decided to make a wonderfully moist and chocolate filled 8-inch version with all the same decadence. 
• Super simple to make. From start to finish, you can make and bake this fudgy chocolate cake in about an hour. All you need is two mixing bowls, a whisk and two cake pans. 
• The most decadent and fudgy chocolate cake made with simple ingredients.  This from scratch Matilda cake is made with simple ingredients like flour, dutch cocoa powder, oil, sugar, eggs, sour cream and freshly brewed coffee.  This delectable chocolate filled layer cake comes together quickly and easily making it the perfect cake for birthdays and every occasion in between.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Gather butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, milk and salt.

This chocolate cake from Matilda recipe is meant to be so easy you can make it as a casual cake to enjoy anytime. Here are my recommended substitutions to make this homemade cake as easy as possible. 

• Dutch Process Cocoa powder: If you need to use unsweetened cocoa powder instead of Dutch processed cocoa powder, use an equal amount of unsweetened cocoa powder and swap the baking powder for baking soda. For this recipe that would be ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder and 1 teaspoon baking soda (with no baking powder). 
• Oil: I like to bake with canola oil. However, any neutral baking oil will work well in this chocolate cake recipe. 
• Sugar: This recipe hasn’t been tested using other types of sugar. 
• Sour Cream: This ingredient can be substituted with full fat greek yogurt or an equal amount of buttermilk. 
• Eggs: This recipe hasn’t been tested without eggs. 
• Freshly Brewed Coffee: Use an equal amount of hot water. 
• Unsalted Butter: Use salted butter if needed. Just make sure to omit the added teaspoon of salt listed in the recipe. Vegan or dairy free butter can also be used if needed. 
• Milk: Any type of milk will work well for the chocolate buttercream frosting. 
• Vanilla Extract: This is for another layer of flavor in the chocolate frosting. It can be omitted if needed. 
• Cocoa Powder for the Frosting: Use unsweetened cocoa powder if needed. Black cocoa powder would also be a delicious swap for a deeply dark chocolate frosting.

This Matilda cake recipe is super easy to make. So grab your ingredients and let’s get baking!

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Lightly grease and line the bottom of (2) 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk the all purpose flour, dutch process cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until well combined. 
2. In another large bowl add the oil, granulated sugar, eggs, and sour cream. Mix until smooth and well combined. 
3. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet until smooth and well combined.

4. Slowly whisk in the warm coffee until well combined. 
5. Evenly pour the chocolate cake batter into each of the prepared cake pans. Each of the pans will have about 25 oz (707 g) of cake batter. Bake the cakes for about 35 - 40 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pan for 15 minutes then carefully remove the cakes from the pan to cool completely. Once cooled, place the cake layers in the fridge for 1-2 hours before frosting.

6. While the cakes cool, make the chocolate frosting. Beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. 
7. Mix in the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon milk and salt. Mix on low until mostly combined. Increase the speed to medium for 1 minute. If needed, mix in up to 2 teaspoons additional milk. Mix well to combine. 
8. Assemble the cake: Smear a dollop of frosting onto the serving plate or cake stand. Place the first chocolate cake layer on top. Apply a layer of frosting to the first layer of cake. Evenly smooth the frosting across the top, onto the side. Top the frosting with the second layer of chocolate cake. Apply another layer of frosting to the top, smoothing it out along the sides. This is the crumb coat. Place the cake in the fridge to set for about 20 - 30 minutes. Apply the rest of the frosting to the cake, slice and serve.

Store

To store leftover chocolate cake at room temperature: Keep the Matilda cake stored at room temperature for up to 2 days under a cake dome or wrapped in plastic wrap. After two days, the cake should be transferred to the fridge for up to another 2-3 days.  

To store leftover fudgy chocolate cake in the fridge: This chocolate Matilda cake is super moist and will do just fine when stored in the fridge. Keep the cake in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap for up to 5 days. At this point the cake will start to taste a bit dried out. This cake tastes best at room temperature, so bring the cake to room temperature before enjoying. 

Freeze and Thaw

To freeze frosted cake pieces: I don’t recommend storing an entire fully frosted cake in the freezer. However, you can easily store sliced pieces of frosted chocolate cake in the freezer. Slice the pieces into your desired sizes. Wrap each slice in plastic wrap. Place each wrapped slice of cake in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months.  

To thaw Matilda’s chocolate cake: Transfer your desired amount of cake slices or cake layers out of the freezer. Allow them to thaw overnight in the fridge. Bring the cake slices to room temperature before enjoying. The cake layers can still be cool when applying the frosting.