Matilda Chocolate Cake is the recipe that Lucia made the night after watching the classic film for the hundredth time and deciding that she absolutely needed to produce her own version of the most iconic and impossibly tempting chocolate cake ever committed to film. She made the moist and deeply chocolatey cake layers in one bowl with buttermilk and hot coffee and Dutch cocoa powder, and then made the frosting in the most unconventional and completely extraordinary way, melting butter, heavy cream, dark chocolate, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar all together in a saucepan and then cooling it to the most silky and glossy and completely fudge-like frosting consistency imaginable.
When she assembled and frosted the cake and it sat on the stand looking glossy and dark and completely magnificent she understood exactly why the scene in that film has haunted chocolate cake lovers for thirty years.
Matilda Chocolate Cake is the deeply indulgent celebration cake inspired by the most famous chocolate cake in cinema history. Moist and tender chocolate cake layers made in one bowl with Dutch cocoa powder, buttermilk, and hot coffee, frosted with a silky and luxurious chocolate fudge frosting made by melting dark chocolate, butter, heavy cream, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar together into the most glossy and completely extraordinary two-ingredient-style frosting imaginable. Come follow us on Pinterest where we share beautiful and indulgent cake recipes and iconic celebration bakes from our kitchen every single week.
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Matilda Chocolate Cake Recipe
This Matilda Chocolate Cake recipe is the celebration bake that delivers both the most visually dramatic and the most deeply satisfying chocolate cake experience through two elements that work together perfectly: a genuinely moist and velvety chocolate sponge and a chocolate fudge frosting that is completely different in character and application from a conventional buttercream. The fudge frosting is made not by creaming butter with sugar but by melting all ingredients together in a saucepan and then cooling the mixture until it reaches a thick and spreadable consistency that is simultaneously glossy, smooth, and deeply chocolate-flavored in a way that no conventional buttercream can fully replicate.
The one-bowl batter made with a whisk rather than a mixer is the approach that makes this cake so accessible and so reliable for any home baker regardless of experience level. Dry ingredients whisked together first, wet ingredients added in, hot coffee added last for blooming and flavor depth, poured into pans and baked. The simplicity of the process produces results that are completely extraordinary and deeply impressive. Our Heaven on Earth Cake makes a beautifully indulgent and equally crowd-stopping companion for a complete and spectacular celebration dessert spread alongside this iconic chocolate cake.
Ingredients Needed for This Matilda Chocolate Cake Recipe
For the Chocolate Cake:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda
- Granulated Sugar
- Kosher Salt
- Vegetable or Canola Oil
- 3 large Eggs, room temperature
- Buttermilk, room temperature
- Sour Cream, room temperature
- Hot Strong Coffee (espresso or instant)
- Pure Vanilla Extract
For the Chocolate Fudge Frosting:
- Best-Quality Dark Chocolate, chopped
- Unsalted Butter
- Heavy Cream
- Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder, sifted
- Powdered Sugar, sifted
- Kosher Salt
How to Make This Matilda Chocolate Cake Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare two 8-inch round baking pans with parchment paper and cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, kosher salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Sift the Dutch cocoa powder into the bowl and whisk all the dry ingredients together until fully combined. Add the buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, sour cream, and room-temperature eggs directly to the dry ingredients and whisk together until the mixture is almost combined. Add the hot strong coffee and whisk until completely combined with no visible lumps of flour remaining. The batter will be smooth and quite runny, cara mia. This is exactly correct.
For the most even cake layers, weigh the batter and divide it equally between the two prepared pans. Use cake strips wrapped around the outside of the pans if available, as they help the layers bake flat rather than developing a dome in the center. Bake for approximately 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
For the chocolate fudge frosting, place the chopped dark chocolate, butter, heavy cream, sifted cocoa powder, sifted powdered sugar, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until all ingredients are melted and the mixture is completely smooth and uniform. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve into a large clean bowl or a flat baking pan to speed the cooling process. Press plastic wrap directly against the surface of the frosting to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes then refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours until the frosting reaches a thick and spreadable consistency.
To assemble, place the first cooled cake layer on a serving surface and spread approximately one third of the fudge frosting in an even layer over the top. Place the second layer on top and frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting. Use an offset spatula to create a wave pattern across the top of the frosting for the most beautiful and classic presentation.
How to Serve This Matilda Chocolate Cake Recipe
Serve this cake at room temperature for the most luxurious frosting texture. The fudge frosting becomes significantly firmer in the refrigerator and needs 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature after being refrigerated to return to its most creamy and softly yielding consistency.
For the most spectacular presentation that captures the spirit of the film, bring the cake to the table whole on a cake stand and slice generously at the table with a large serving knife. A single warm raspberry or a few fresh strawberries alongside each slice adds the most beautiful color contrast against the deeply dark chocolate frosting. Our Raspberry Tiramisu makes a beautifully vibrant and equally deeply indulgent companion for a complete and memorable chocolate celebration dessert table.
How to Store This Matilda Chocolate Cake Recipe
Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Cover with plastic wrap or foil to prevent the cake from drying out. Allow to come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving so the fudge frosting softens and becomes creamy and smooth rather than hard and slightly waxy.
Individual slices can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before bringing to room temperature and serving.
Tips to Make This Matilda Chocolate Cake Recipe
Use the best quality dark chocolate available for the fudge frosting. The frosting has only a few ingredients and the quality of the chocolate is the dominant flavor. A high-quality dark chocolate with 60 to 70% cacao produces a frosting that is deeply and luxuriously chocolatey. Lower quality chocolate produces a thinner and less impressive frosting flavor.
Do not cook the frosting over very high heat. High heat causes the cocoa butter and milk solids in the chocolate to separate and the frosting to become grainy and dull rather than silky and glossy. Medium heat with constant stirring is essential for a smooth and unified frosting.
Helpful Notes for This Matilda Chocolate Cake Recipe
Dutch-process cocoa powder is specified for both the cake and the frosting in this recipe and the choice matters. Dutch-process cocoa has been treated with alkali which neutralizes its natural acidity and produces a deeper, darker, more intensely chocolate flavor than natural cocoa powder. It also produces a darker color in both the cake layers and the frosting which gives this cake its most dramatically dark and visually iconic appearance.
If the fudge frosting is too soft to spread after the refrigeration time, return it to the refrigerator for an additional 30 minutes. If it has become too firm and difficult to spread smoothly, allow it to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and stir briefly before applying to the cake.
Variation of This Matilda Chocolate Cake Recipe
Maria made a version adding a tablespoon of fresh orange zest to the cake batter for an orange chocolate version that was completely extraordinary. The orange note woven through the deep chocolate cake and rich fudge frosting produced a flavor combination that felt genuinely special and more complex than the classic version. Teresa tried adding a layer of salted caramel sauce spread over the first cake layer before the fudge frosting for a chocolate salted caramel filling that was deeply indulgent.
For a stunning garnish that captures the over-the-top spirit of the film, press fresh raspberries, halved strawberries, or chocolate shavings into the top frosting layer immediately after applying while it is still slightly soft. Our Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes make a beautifully bright and individually portioned companion for a complete contrast-filled celebration dessert spread alongside this spectacular dark chocolate cake.
FAQs About This Matilda Chocolate Cake Recipe
Can I taste the coffee in the finished cake?
No. The coffee in this recipe functions as a flavor enhancer rather than a flavor contributor. The compounds in strong coffee share chemical similarities with the flavor compounds in cocoa and their presence makes the chocolate flavor taste deeper, more complex, and more completely developed without adding any perceptible coffee flavor to the finished cake. Even people who dislike coffee will not detect it in this cake.
Why is the fudge frosting made in a saucepan rather than a mixer?
The saucepan method produces a fundamentally different frosting texture and character than a conventional beaten buttercream. Melting all ingredients together creates a glossy and cohesive fudge frosting that is silky and smooth with a richer and more concentrated chocolate flavor than a beaten buttercream can achieve. The frosting sets to a glossy and firm finish that is distinctively beautiful and appropriate to the iconic visual of the Matilda cake.
Can I make this cake a day ahead?
Yes. The unfrosted cake layers can be baked, cooled completely, wrapped in plastic wrap, and refrigerated for up to 2 days before assembly. The fudge frosting can be made and refrigerated in its bowl up to 2 days ahead. Assemble the cake on the day of or the morning of the celebration for the freshest and most beautiful presentation.
Conclusion
This Matilda Chocolate Cake is the celebration bake that honors the most iconic chocolate cake in film history and produces something that genuinely deserves its legendary status. Deeply moist, glossy, fudgy, and completely extraordinary in every single slice. We hope it brings the same sense of childlike indulgence and the same completely satisfied chocolate-covered table to your kitchen that it has always brought to ours. Make it, share it, and come back to tell us all about it. With all our love, Maria, Lucia, and Teresa.
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Matilda Chocolate Cake The Most Iconic and Indulgent Chocolate Cake You Will Ever Bake
- Total Time: 3 hours including cooling and chilling frosting
- Yield: 14 slices 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
The most iconic and indulgent Matilda Chocolate Cake made with moist one-bowl Dutch cocoa powder chocolate cake layers baked with buttermilk and hot coffee and smothered in a silky glossy chocolate fudge frosting made by melting dark chocolate butter heavy cream cocoa and powdered sugar together. A completely spectacular celebration cake.
Ingredients
All-Purpose Flour
Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder
Baking Powder and Baking Soda
Granulated Sugar
Kosher Salt
Vegetable Oil
3 large Eggs room temperature
Buttermilk room temperature
Sour Cream room temperature
Hot Strong Coffee
Pure Vanilla Extract
Best-Quality Dark Chocolate chopped for frosting
Unsalted Butter for frosting
Heavy Cream for frosting
Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder sifted for frosting
Powdered Sugar sifted for frosting
Kosher Salt for frosting
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prep two 8-inch pans with parchment and cooking spray.
2. Whisk flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sifted cocoa in a large bowl.
3. Add buttermilk, oil, vanilla, sour cream, and eggs. Whisk until almost combined.
4. Add hot coffee and whisk until smooth and no flour lumps remain. Batter will be thin.
5. Divide evenly between pans. Use cake strips if available.
6. Bake 30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
7. Place dark chocolate, butter, heavy cream, sifted cocoa, powdered sugar, and salt in a saucepan.
8. Heat over medium stirring constantly until completely smooth. Do not boil.
9. Strain into a large bowl or flat pan. Press plastic wrap directly on surface.
10. Cool at room temperature 30 minutes then refrigerate 1 to 2 hours until spreadable.
11. Place first cake layer on stand. Spread 1/3 of frosting evenly on top.
12. Place second layer on top. Frost top and sides with remaining frosting.
13. Create wave pattern with offset spatula. Serve at room temperature.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 580
- Sugar: 48g
- Sodium: 310mg
- Fat: 32g
- Saturated Fat: 17g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 68g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 8g
- Cholesterol: 95mg
Keywords: matilda chocolate cake, matilda chocolate fudge cake, iconic chocolate layer cake recipe, chocolate fudge frosting cake
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