Chocolate Celebration Cake (Printable Version)

Deeply chocolatey olive oil cake with rich ganache and crunchy hazelnut praline—a true celebration showstopper.

# What You'll Need:

→ Cake

01 - 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
03 - 2 cups granulated sugar
04 - 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
05 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
06 - 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
07 - 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
08 - 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
09 - 3 large eggs, room temperature
10 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
11 - 1 cup hot brewed coffee

→ Ganache

12 - 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
13 - 1 cup heavy cream
14 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

→ Hazelnut Praline

15 - 1 cup toasted hazelnuts, skins rubbed off
16 - 3/4 cup granulated sugar
17 - Pinch of sea salt

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
03 - In another bowl, whisk olive oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Pour wet ingredients into dry mixture and stir until just combined.
04 - Slowly add hot coffee while whisking until batter is smooth and thin in consistency.
05 - Divide batter evenly between prepared pans. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
06 - Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
07 - Place chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat cream in a small saucepan until just simmering, then pour over chocolate. Let sit 2 minutes. Add butter and stir until smooth and glossy. Cool while stirring occasionally until thickened to spreading consistency.
08 - Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small saucepan, heat sugar over medium heat, swirling until melted and amber colored. Remove from heat, stir in hazelnuts and salt, then quickly spread onto prepared sheet. Cool completely, then break into shards or chop coarsely.
09 - Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread with one-third of the ganache. Top with second cake layer and cover top and sides with remaining ganache. Decorate generously with hazelnut praline shards.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The olive oil keeps this cake ridiculously moist for days, so you can bake ahead without worry.
  • Hot coffee in the batter makes the chocolate flavor so deep it tastes like you melted down a dozen fancy bars.
  • That hazelnut praline on top cracks like glass and adds a salty crunch that stops every conversation at the table.
  • It looks like you spent all day in the kitchen, but the steps are simple enough to do while catching up on a podcast.
02 -
  • Let the ganache cool and thicken at room temperature instead of chilling it, cold ganache becomes stiff and impossible to spread smoothly.
  • Don't stir the sugar while it's melting into caramel or it will crystallize into a grainy mess, just swirl the pan gently.
  • Room temperature eggs and milk are non-negotiable, cold ingredients can cause the batter to curdle or the olive oil to seize.
  • The coffee in the batter really does disappear, but if you're nervous just use hot water and you'll still get a fantastic cake.
03 -
  • Weigh your flour if you can, too much and the cake becomes dense and dry instead of tender and moist.
  • Use a cake strip or wrap the outside of your pans with damp kitchen towels to ensure the layers bake flat and even, no doming or cracking.
  • When making praline, have everything ready before you start, caramel waits for no one and hardens fast.
  • Let the assembled cake sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before slicing, the ganache softens just enough to cut cleanly without crumbling the layers.
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