Chocolate Celebration Cake (Printable Version)

Deeply chocolatey olive oil cake with rich ganache and crunchy hazelnut praline topping for celebrations.

# What You'll Need:

→ Cake

01 - 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
03 - 2 cups granulated sugar
04 - 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
05 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
06 - 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
07 - 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
08 - 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
09 - 3 large eggs, room temperature
10 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
11 - 1 cup hot brewed coffee

→ Ganache

12 - 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
13 - 1 cup heavy cream
14 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

→ Hazelnut Praline

15 - 1 cup toasted hazelnuts, skins rubbed off
16 - 3/4 cup granulated sugar
17 - Pinch of sea salt

# Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
03 - In another bowl, whisk olive oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Pour wet ingredients into dry mixture and mix until just combined.
04 - Slowly add hot coffee, whisking until batter is smooth. The batter will be thin.
05 - Divide batter evenly between prepared pans. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
06 - Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
07 - Place chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat cream in a small saucepan until just simmering, then pour over chocolate. Let sit 2 minutes. Add butter and stir until smooth and glossy. Let cool, stirring occasionally, until thickened to spreading consistency.
08 - Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small saucepan, heat sugar over medium heat, swirling until melted and amber in color. Remove from heat, stir in hazelnuts and salt, then quickly spread onto prepared sheet. Cool completely, then break into shards or chop coarsely.
09 - Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread with a third of the ganache. Top with the second cake layer and cover top and sides with remaining ganache. Decorate generously with hazelnut praline shards.

# Expert Insights:

01 -
  • The olive oil keeps the crumb impossibly moist for days, which means you can bake ahead without the usual day-of panic.
  • Hot coffee in the batter sounds wild but it turns cocoa powder into something that tastes like actual melted chocolate bars.
  • Praline shards add a salty crunch that makes every bite feel like you planned something fancy, even if you didnt.
02 -
  • Let the ganache cool and thicken before you spread it, or it will slide right off the cake and pool on your plate.
  • Watch the sugar for praline like a hawk, it goes from perfect amber to burnt in about ten seconds.
  • Room temperature eggs and milk are non-negotiable, cold ingredients make the batter lumpy and hard to blend.
03 -
  • Use a kitchen scale for the flour and cocoa if you have one, it makes a difference in how the layers rise and stay level.
  • If your ganache breaks and looks greasy, add a tablespoon of warm cream and whisk hard until it comes back together.
  • Praline can be made a day or two ahead and stored in an airtight container, just keep it away from humidity or it will get sticky.
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