Chocolate cake orchocolate gâteau (fromFrench:gâteau au chocolat) is acake flavored with meltedchocolate,cocoa powder, or both. It can also have other ingredients such asfudge, vanilla creme, and other sweeteners.[1]
History
Double-layerchocolate truffle cakeA brown chocolate cakeBlack Chocolate cake with almonds and biscuits surrounding it
The history of chocolate cake goes back to the 17th century, when cocoa powder from the Americas was added to traditional cake recipes.[2]
In 1828,Coenraad van Houten of the Netherlands developed a mechanical method for extracting the fat from cacao liquor, resulting incacao butter and the partly defattedcacao, a compacted mass of solids that could be sold as "rock cacao" or ground into powder.[3] The processes transformed chocolate from an exclusive luxury to an inexpensive daily snack.[3]
A process for making silkier and smoother chocolate, calledconching, was developed in Switzerland in 1879 byRodolphe Lindt. This made it easier to bake with chocolate, as it amalgamates smoothly and completely with cake batters.[3] Until the 1890s, chocolate recipes were mostly forchocolate drinks,[3] and its presence in cakes was only infillings andglazes.[4]
Chocolate cakes were first introduced to Spain in the late 19th century, viaCatalonia and theBasque Country.[5] In 1886, American cooks began adding chocolate to the cake batter to make the first chocolate cakes in that country.[4] The Duff Company of Pittsburgh, amolasses manufacturer, introduced "Devil's food" chocolate cake mixes in the mid-1930s, but production was put on hold during World War II. After the war, thePillsbury company was in 1948 the first to sell a chocolate cake mix,[6] and in 1951 the "Three Star Surprise" mix fromDuncan Hines (so called because a white, yellow or chocolate cake could be made from the same mix)[7] swept the market.[6][8]
"Chocolate decadence" cakes were popular in the United States 1980s. In the 1990s, single-servingmolten chocolate cakes with liquid chocolate centers and infused chocolates with exotic flavors such as tea, curry, red pepper, passion fruit, and champagne were popular. Chocolate lounges andartisanal chocolate makers were popular in the 2000s.[9] Rich, all-but-flourless chocolate cakes are "now standard in the modernpâtisserie", according toMaricel Presilla'sThe New Taste of Chocolate in 2001.[3]
Fudge cake – Generic term for a chocolate cake with a consistency, flavor, or richness reminiscent offudge, sometimes from the use of dark brown sugar or a rich icing[10][11][12]
^abByrn, Anne (2016).American Cake: From Colonial Gingerbread to Classic Layer, the Stories and Recipes Behind more than 125 of our Best-Loved Cakes. Rodale. pp. 39, 68.ISBN9781623365431.OCLC934884678.
^Carol Mighton Haddix (2007),Chicago Cooks: 25 Years of Food History with Menus, Recipes, and Tips from Les Dames d'Escoffier Chicago.Agate Publishing, p. 32.ISBN1-57284-090-0
