Chocolate dessert cakes are rich, indulgent and sometimes considered sinful because of their aphrodisiac properties, however, it's loved by people of all ages and they have been notable baked for famous generals, architects, kings and queens and also gangsters, such is their irresistible appeal. So, here's a list of some of the chocolate cakes which are a speciality of different countries, mostly Europe which has been and still is the innovative hub of desserts.
Bolo formigueiro or Anthill cake originates from Brazil where a sponge cake's batter has dark chocolate shavings in it which when it's baked looks like an Anthill because of the chocolate. The cake batter is made with flour, butter, sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, salt, dark chocolate shavings, and baking powder. It might have a glaze with chocolate or sprinkled with chocolate shavings while it's still hot.
Coming from Bulgaria’s Ruse, this cake comes from the Austro-Hungarian Empire invented by Kosta Garash in 1885 at a lavish hotel he was working at. The cake consists of 5 walnut sponge cake layers with a filling of dark chocolate in between. It's covered in ganache or chocolate icing with nuts toppings, chocolate decoration or desiccated coconut.
A classic French almond meringue cake, the cake has a dacquoise base that is crispy almond meringue topped with crunchy praline cream with melted chocolate, local thin crispy biscuits and praline paste. This whole thing is covered with a layer of chocolate mousse with a cocoa dusting or chocolate glaze. These may be prepared in round or rectangular shapes and you'll find it in most French pastry shops.
Cake of the Seven Veils is named after Salome’s dance for King Herod that seduced him, named perhaps because this rich chocolate cake has the same appeal. It's a Sicilian cake that uses alternating layers of chocolate and hazelnut cream layers between chocolate sponge cake layers and is usually prepared for birthdays. It is topped with a chocolate glaze and it's hard to say who first invented this cake. There are two versions, one says it was Capello of Pasticceria Capello in Palermo. The other one claims that Luca Mannori from Prato was the inventor that won him the 1997 Pastry World Cup in France.
A classic chocolate cake from Serbia, it's made up of walnut sponge cake with a filling made with chocolate, oranges and walnuts. There is a local meringue topping made with egg whites, sugar and water and also topped with chocolate. Back in 1908, this cake was gifted to a son-in-law by his mother-in-law, when oranges were expensive. He was taking his wife to give birth in Vienna in better conditions and the anxious mother probably gifted it to them for the journey from Serbia’s Paracin to Vienna. Since then the cake has become a staple in most Serbian households and prepared for local festivities.
A layered chocolate cake from Bavaria, this smooth and velvety cake is coated in chocolate with a luscious buttercream filling. Often raspberry and apricot preserves are used underneath the chocolate top layer. It's topped with whipped cream, chocolate cream or shavings. It was made in honour of Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, who later became Prince Regent, hence the cake's name. The cake has 7 layers representing the districts of Bavaria, earlier it used to have 8 when Bavaria had another district.
Also known as Torta Nera, this cake comes from Italy's Vignola area which is made from almonds and chocolate with an aftertaste of coffee and rum. The cake was dedicated to a famous Italian architect, Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola from the 1500s who is from the same region as the cake. He is famous for Villa Farnese at Caprarola and the Jesuits' Church of the Gesù in Rome. The cake was invented in 1907 by the baker Eugenio Gollini. His descendants have guarded the cake's recipes and continue to run the Gollini bakery even today.
This cake originates from the US, from Brooklyn's Ebinger's Bakery, where it was invented in 1942. The cake was named because of its dark appearance and the blackouts that used to happen in the country during World War II, to protect Brooklyn Navy Yard. The blackout cake consists of a sponge cake filled with thick chocolate custard and topped with chocolate sponge cake crumbs.
Like the Sicilian Torta Setteveli, Bolo de brigadeiro is also a birthday cake in Brazil. It's made with layers of soft chocolate sponge cake and a fudgy brigadeiro (local chocolate bonbons) and frosting made with milk, cream, condensed milk, margarine, cocoa powder and cornstarch. The cake is decorated with chocolate sprinkles and brigadeiro balls once the layers are assembled and covered with frosting.
Another rich chocolate layered cake made with buttermilk, Joffre cake, comes from Romania’s Bucharest. It was invented in 1920 for Marshall Joffre, leader of the French army, who was visiting the country and resided at the Casa Capsa hotel. The hotel served high society and also had a restaurant and cafe where special dinner parties were hosted. The cake came from their place and was said to resemble the shake of the French casquettes worn by the French leader’s troops.