Easy Chocolate Brownie Cake (Without Cocoa Powder)

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This recipe for Chocolate Brownie Cake (without Cocoa Powder) came from my podcast guest, Liz Zunon. Make sure you listen to her episode Grandpa Cacao's Granddaughter while you make her Classic Chocolate Cake!   

Liz developed this recipe from their memory of her mother's rich and luxurious Gateau de Chocolat cake. However, because Liz featured this book in her children's book, Grandpa Cacao, she simplified the recipe to be more suitable for young cooks.

Also, as an artist, Liz wanted to include the visual of that divine combination of melted butter and chocolate in her book! Therefore, this recipe uses melted chocolate rather than cocoa powder.

As a nod to her mother, and also as a way to contrast the climates of her childhood, Liz suggested decorating the cake with a snowflake stencil. My oldest son made this stencil for me and it turned out so beautifully!

P.S. Make sure to check out my 97 Brownie Toppings recipe round-up post to get some inspiration on unique and personalized ways to top your delicious cake.

Texture and Flavor of a Brownie Cake

Look & Texture:

• You will have a good rise on this case - almost 100% rise while baking. A brownie cake is not as light as, for instance, a boxed cake, so it won't rise quite as much.
• A brownie cake will have a very moist texture with a tight crumb - not as tight as a brownie (which barely has a discernable crumb) and not as airy as a chiffon cake, but somewhere perfectly in between!
• The knife will easily fall through the cake when you cut a piece.

Flavor:

• Due to the chocolate-butter mixture, Liz's celebration cake has a super rich, deep, decadent chocolate flavor. 

Liz's Memories of Chocolate Celebration Cake

This is the Chocolate Celebration Cake recipe featured in the beautiful and poignant book Grandpa Cacao by Liz Zunon. Liz was born in Albany New York and spent most of her early childhood in Abidijan, Ivory Coast. The Ivory Coast was her father's home country and her mother was American. Therefore, she took frequent summer trips back to Albany, New York, where her grandparents lived. As Liz explains, this cake is all about connections.

Top Tips

• This moist chocolate cake recipe means that you want the cake to be moist but completely cooked. Look for the cake to be slightly pulling away from the sides of the pan, keep an eye on the baking time, and use a cake tester or toothpick in the middle of the cake while baking to see if it comes out cleanly or with a few lightly moist crumbs attached to your tester.
• To ensure the cake doesn't get stuck to the bottom of the pan, place the pan on a piece of parchment paper, trace a circle around the pan, cut out the parchment rounds, and place it inside the bottom of the pan. This will ensure that the cake won't get stuck to the bottom of the pan. Make sure to let the cake cool completely and then remove the paper from the bottom of the cake.

Ingredients & Substitutions

This easy chocolate cake recipe is one of my favorite recipes when I want both a brownie and a slice of cake combined into one. This perfect dessert uses simple ingredients that you won't have to make a special trip to the grocery store to go get.

Dry ingredients

• All purpose flour - you can substitute this out for cake flour
• Baking powder - make sure your leavening agent is not expired because it will negatively affect the cake rise and it will be a denser cake
• Salt
• Brown sugar
• Semisweet chocolate chips
• White sugar
• Optional, espresso powder - to enhance the chocolate flavor even more, you can add about a teaspoon into the batter to give it a little kick

Wet Ingredients

• Butter - you can substitute butter for vegetable oil, and according to Allrecipes a good rule of thumb is to use 3/4 cup of oil to 1 cup of butter ratio
• Large eggs - make sure the eggs are at room temperature so the cake batter is fluffier and the cake will rise better
• Milk - you can swap out regular milk for buttermilk to give the cake a little more tang

Instructions

If you are a chocolate lover, you will not need a special occasion to make this homemade chocolate cake, nor will it be hard to make this cake even if it is your first time baking!

• Sift together the flour and baking powder and then add the salt.
• In a separate bowl, melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave.
• Add the sugars and beat well.
• Whisk in the eggs and the milk until liquidy and shiny. 
• Pour the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
• Pour into a prepared pan and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Topping Variations

This simple chocolate cake recipe is delicious on its own, but the combination of chocolate on chocolate is one of my all time favorites. Here are a few more examples of toppings to spark your creativity and taste buds.

• I love to top this cake with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream from Sugar Geek Recipes.
• Powdered sugar - like the decoration on top of the cake in my pictures; here is a website from Salvaged Inspirations that shows you how to make your own DIY stencils!
• Chocolate frosting - like the frosting I had on my cake in a few of the pictures
• Cream cheese frosting - you can try many different flavors with this frosting such as milk chocolate, dark chocolate, strawberry, plain cream cheese, orange, espresso, etc. Check out this list from My Cake School to see all the different variations of cream cheese frosting.
• Coconut frosting - Baked By An Introvert makes her coconut buttercream frosting with coconut milk
• Homemade Whipped Cream - this easy recipe from Add A Pinch is only made with 3 ingredients: heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract

Though this is a chocolate cake recipe, check out my post, 97 Brownies Toppings, to discover even more delicious toppings for your cake!

Equipment

• Electric hand mixer OR metal whisk
• Large bowl
• 9" Metal Cake Pan
• Wire rack OR cooling rack
• Wooden spoon OR rubber spatula
• Parchment paper

Storage

According to The Spruce Eats:

• If the cake is going to be eaten within 24 hours, simply leave the cake at room temperature and keep it away from direct sunlight and heat.
• The best way to avoid a dry cake if you are going to keep it for 1-3 days is to wrap the leftover cake in plastic wrap and store it in an airtight container for three additional days in the fridge.
• To store your cake for longer than 3 days, you can freeze it by wrapping it in plastic wrap and place it in freezer bags. When you are ready to thaw the cake, take it out of the freezer and let it thaw on your counter.

More Cake Recipes

More Chocolate Recipes

Listen to Liz's Zunon's Episode While You Make Her Chocolate Celebration Cake

One of my favorite episodes ever! Author/Illustrator Liz Zunon talks about her semi-autobiographical children's book. As the little girl in the book bakes a cake with her father, she is connected across climates, continents, and generations to her grandfather. In the interview, we discussed Liz's story and how it relates to her book. We also talk about issues surrounding cacao farming and fair-trade chocolate. Finally, Liz tells us about the many artistic techniques she used to create a "visual language" to tell a story through illustration.

Recipe

Chocolate Brownie Cake (without Cocoa Powder)

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4.4 from 5 reviews

• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Description

A rich and luxurious chocolate brownie cake made with melted butter and chocolate rather thantraditional cocoa powder.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate
• 1/2 cup butter (*See Note 1)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk

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Instructions

Cue Up The Episode!

1. Make sure you listen to Liz's episode on The Storied Recipe Podcast, Grandpa Cacao's Granddaughter while you make her Chocolate Brownie Cake.

Make The Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C.
2. Sift together the flour and baking powder in a large bowl.
3. Add the salt.
4. Melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave in 20-second increments.
5. Add the sugars to the chocolate mixture. Beat well.
6. Whisk in the eggs and the milk until liquidy and shiny like chocolate syrup.
7. Pour the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
8. Pour into a 9-inch greased pan and bake for 30 minutes.

Notes

1. You can substitute butter for vegetable oil; a good rule of thumb is to use 3/4 cup of oil to 1 cup of butter.
2. You can add a teaspoon of espresso powder to enhance the chocolate flavor.
3. I love to top this cake with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream from Sugar Geek Recipes.
4. Check out this list of 97 Brownie Toppings for a personalized Brownie Cake!
5. Make sure to listen to Liz on The Storied Recipe Podcast, Grandpa Cacao’s Granddaughter while you make her Chocolate Cake recipe!

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Calories: 386
• Sugar: 32
• Sodium: 304
• Fat: 19
• Saturated Fat: 11
• Carbohydrates: 50
• Fiber: 2
• Protein: 5
• Cholesterol: 94

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