I am 100% sure that you won’t taste a better chocolate cake than the Matilda chocolate cake recipe I am about to share with you.
It took me a while to get the recipe to be as rich in chocolate flavor and as soft in texture, with the kind of indulgent frosting Bruce from the 1996 “Matilda” movie had to eat. And this time, Bruce will not dread finishing the entire cake!
People come for the reference to the “Matilda” movie scene, but they get hooked because of the rich and delicious chocolatiness.
This moist chocolate cake is also easy to make for any special occasion, like birthdays, and even for a simple day of chocolate indulgence at home.
What Is Matilda Chocolate Cake?
As I’ve already hinted at, the Matilda chocolate cake recipe is inspired by the 1996 movie called “Matilda,” based on the Roald Dahl children’s book.
There is a scene in this movie where the antagonist, Miss Trunchbull, forces a character of a young boy named Bruce Bogtrotter to eat an entire fudgy chocolate cake as a punishment in front of his whole school.
Even though the incident was hard on poor Bruce, there’s no way you can look at the cake and not wish to have a bite yourself.
But what if you actually can eat a homemade chocolate cake that is just as appetizing as the one in the movie? Well, that’s exactly what this recipe is for!
It mimics the soft, moist cake with a fudgy homemade frosting that melts in your mouth, just like in the movie. Not only is this classic cake recipe perfect for birthdays and parties, but you can also gift it to your favorite person because it is so easy to make.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Beginner-friendly recipe that’s simple to follow.
- It’s rich, moist, and chocolatey, just like the iconic movie.
- Stays fresh, tender, and perfectly moist for days.
- Crowd pleaser, the kind of cake everyone wants a second slice of.
- Perfect for birthdays, movie nights, whenever a chocolate craving hits.
How To Make Matilda Chocolate Cake
- Grease two 8-inch cake pans with butter and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, then add the sugar and mix well. Set it aside.
- In another mixing bowl, add Greek yogurt, vegetable oil, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla essence, and whisk together until the batter is fully mixed.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the bowl in 2 parts with the wet mixture until combined.
- In a separate small bowl, add the cocoa powder and instant coffee. Pour over the boiling water and whisk until a smooth, shiny mixture forms.
- Add the cocoa mixture to the prepared batter and gently fold until combined.
- Divide the batter into two halves and pour equally into the prepared cake tins. Pat the cake tin a few times to make sure that there are no air bubbles present in the batter.
- Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes in a preheated oven at 350°F or 180°C.
- Once done, place the cake tins on a wire rack and let them cool down to room temperature. Demould the cakes, then cool them down completely before frosting.
Prepare Chocolate Fudge Frosting
- In a saucepan, add the heavy cream, sifted cocoa powder, powdered sugar, vanilla essence, and kosher salt. Stir continuously.
- Then, add the butter and semi-sweet dark chocolate, and mix it until the chocolate has melted.
- Sift the chocolate frosting and let it cool at room temperature for a couple of minutes. Then, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 30 to 60 minutes, depending on how thick you want it.
- Assemble the cake, cut off the excess from the cakes to make them level. Add the frosting on top of the first layer of cake and put the other layer on top. Finish layering the frosting evenly.
- Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, and you’re ready to serve.
What You’ll Need: Ingredients
- Sugar: You want your cake to be sweet, obviously. So, you should use white granulated sugar to make the Matilda movie chocolate cake sweet and tasty.
- All-Purpose Flour: You need to make sure you use the right amount of all-purpose flour in your chocolate cake batter. So, you should use a kitchen scale to weigh the flour before using it.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Baking a cake means using the right amount of leavening agents, such as baking soda and baking powder, so that the cake lifts nicely and doesn’t feel too dense.
- Cocoa Powder: If you want to make a chocolate cake, you are obviously going to need cocoa powder. Just make sure you choose a good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder that gives the cake a rich chocolate flavor.
- Salt: Adding a little bit of salt will bring out the flavor of the chocolate even better and balance the sweetness of the cake.
- Oil: I would suggest you use vegetable oil for the batter instead of butter to make the cake moist and soft. You could use butter, but it will not make the cake as soft as the oil.
- Eggs: You need to use 3 large eggs and add them at room temperature to the batter before mixing.
- Vanilla Essence: This will give the cake a richer flavor. Make sure you use pure vanilla extract.
- Buttermilk: I use full-fat buttermilk for the best results, but you can go the other way if you want. Just make sure you add it to the batter at room temperature.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream is an important ingredient for making the chocolate fudge frosting, as it makes the frosting thicker.
- Instant Coffee: This brings out the rich chocolatey flavor more, as it tends to deepen the flavor of chocolate.
- Powdered Sugar: This is mainly for the fudgy frosting you will make because it will make the frosting sweet and give it structure.
- Greek Yogurt: Adding a bit of Greek yogurt to the batter will make the cake even richer, lighter, and fluffier. It also helps balance the sweetness.
Tips for Perfect Matilda Chocolate Cake
- Make sure you use fresh ingredients, also the eggs and the buttermilk are at room temperature before adding them to the batter for the best results.
- Use a kitchen scale or a measuring cup to add the right amount of flour. You don’t want to put too much flour in your batter.
- Don’t forget to line the base of the pans with parchment paper. Otherwise, the soft chocolate cake might not bake evenly, and it will become difficult to release the cake from the pan.
- Try not to overmix your batter if you don’t want there to be too much gluten in your cake.
- Avoid cooking the frosting on high heat because you could burn the chocolate, and the texture might turn out to be grainy.
- If you find your frosting to be too soft before spreading, you should refrigerate it for another 30 minutes.
- When you take the cake out of the oven, you need to let it cool before you move on to frosting.
Storage, Freezing & Serving
Storing:
After you make the cake and have to deal with leftovers, you can keep it in the fridge for up to 4 days without it getting bad. Just make sure you cover it up with plastic wrap or foil before putting it in the fridge so that it doesn’t dry out.
Freezing:
The best way to freeze this cake is to freeze individual pieces. Take each piece and wrap it in plastic wrap tightly before placing the pieces in a freezer-safe airtight container. You could also freeze the whole cake. For this, you need to first put the cake in the freezer for at least an hour without wrapping it in anything.
Then, you have to take it out of the freezer to wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and another layer of aluminium foil. This will keep the cake from getting freezer burn. Only then can you put it back in the freezer. And you can keep it there for up to 3 months.
Make-Ahead:
You can make the cake ahead of time and freeze the cake layers by wrapping them in plastic wrap. Make sure you use a couple of layers of plastic wrap. You can freeze the cake this way for up to 2 months.
Serving:
You can thaw the whole cake or cake pieces in the refrigerator overnight before serving. And if you are freezing the cake before frosting, you can thaw it the same way and add the frosting before serving.
Matilda Chocolate Cake Recipe – Rich, Moist & Easy to Make
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups / 250 g All-purpose flour
- ¾ cup / 64.5 g Cocoa powder
- 2 tsp / 8 g Baking powder
- 1.5 tsp / 6 g Baking soda
- 2 cups / 400 g Granulated sugar
- ½ tsp / 3 g salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 3 large Eggs
- ¼ cup / 60 ml Vegetable oil
- ½ cup / 100 g Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- ½ cup / 120 ml Butter Milk
- 1 tsp / 5 ml Vanilla essence
- 2 tsp / 2 g Instant Coffee
- 1 cup / 237 ml Hot Water
Chocolate Fudge Frosting:
- 200 grams / 7.05 oz Semi-sweet dark Chocolate
- 1 cup / 237 ml Heavy cream
- ½ cup / 113 g Butter
- ⅓ cup / 28.67 g Cocoa powder
- 1 cup / 120 g Powdered sugar
- ½ tsp / 3 g Salt
- 1 tsp / 5 ml Vanilla Essence
- ¼ tsp / 1.23 g coffee
Instructions
Preheat The Oven and Prepare The Pan
- Grease two 8-inch cake pans with butter and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Preheated the oven to 180 degrees Celsius / 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare Dry Ingredients
- Place a sieve on top of a large mixing bowl and add the following ingredients: all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Pass all these ingredients through the sieve and then add the sugar and mix them well.
Prepare Wet Ingredients
- In another large bowl, add Greek yogurt, vegetable oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla essence.
- Whisk until everything is well combined.
Combine The Dry And Wet
- Now, add the prepared dry ingredients mixture to the wet ingredients. Make sure to add the dry ingredients in 2 parts for easier mixing.
- Mix it gently with light hands.
Prepare Cocoa Mixture
- To make the cocoa and coffee mixture, you need to add cocoa powder and instant coffee to a small bowl.
- Then pour the boiling water and mix it until a smooth, shiny mixture forms.
- Now, pour the cocoa coffee mixture into the batter and mix well.
Bake and Cool The Cake
- Take the prepared cake pans and distribute the cake batter evenly in them.
- Place the pans in the oven rack and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- When you take the pans out of the oven, let the cakes cool in the pan for about 20 minutes. Then, turn them onto the cooling rack to let them cool completely, and don’t forget to remove the parchment paper from the bottom.
Prepare Chocolate Fudge Frosting
- To make the chocolate fudge frosting, take the heavy cream to the stove and let it simmer on medium to low heat.
- Add cocoa powder, powdered sugar, instant coffee, vanilla essence, and salt, and stir continuously.
- Then, add the butter and semi-sweet dark chocolate, and mix it until the chocolate has melted.
- Sift the chocolate frosting and let it cool at room temperature for a couple of minutes. Then, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 30 to 60 minutes, depending on how thick you want it.
Assemble, Chill, and Serve!
- Using a large serrated knife or cake leveler, slice a thin layer off the top of each cake to create a flat surface.
- Add the prepared fudge frosting on top of the first layer of cake and put the other layer on top. Finish layering the frosting evenly.
- Once the cake is well covered, refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, and you’re ready to serve.
Video
Recipe FAQs
What is the Matilta chocolate cake like?
This rich chocolate layer cake is moist and chocolatey with a melt-in-the-mouth chocolate fudge frosting in between.
Can you make this cake into a three-layer cake?
Yes, you can actually turn this cake into a three-layer cake. Just add another 8-inch pan to the recipe and make sure you make the cake layers a little thinner. You should also make sure you bake it for less time, as the layers are thinner.
Can you taste the instant coffee in the cake?
No, you can’t taste the instant coffee at all in the chocolate cake. Instead, it enhances the rich chocolatey flavor even more.
Where does the Matilda Chocolate Cake Recipe come from?
The Matilda chocolate cake is inspired by the 1996 movie “Matilda’s” chocolate fudge cake scene with the character Bruce Bogtrotter.
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