Dorie Greenspan’s Lisbon Cake

Dorie Greenspan’s Lisbon Cake is, in essence, chocolate ganache over a dense chocolate cake base. It tastes incredibly luxurious and is quite something. Even after a long chill in the fridge, the chocolate ganache would remain soft and glossy; and, no matter how many times you’ve done this before, the moment when you try unmolding the cake is always filled with a sense of thrill/dread (could I have inexplicably buggered up this cake??). And then, as the cake stands upright, tall and proud, you do too. 

I used a metal cake pan with a removable bottom, one that is fast becoming my favourite-est cooking equipment. It makes unmolding cakes stupidly easy, and especially in this recipe, it’s a cinch. If you have a regular cake pan, the original recipe (link below) have steps to ensure a smooth unmolding.

Lisbon Chocolate Cake

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan‘s NYT article

Makes an 8-inch cake 

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE:

115 grams unsalted butter, cubed, plus more for greasing the cake pan

30 grams unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

140 grams semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

100 grams granulated sugar

3 large eggs, chilled

FOR THE GANACHE:

300ml +120ml heavy cream

170 grams semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

FOR THE TOPPING:

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

STEPS

CAKE

Center a rack in the oven, and heat oven to 160C. Butter the sides of a cake pan (mine has a removable base) and set aside.  

Sift the cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Mix well and set aside. 

In a saucepan set over the lowest possible heat, melt butter. When the butter is just-about melted, add chocolate and stir constantly, until the chocolate has fully melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. If worried about scorching the chocolate this way, you can intermittently remove the saucepan from the fire, or use a water bath, although I’ve never found that necessary. 

Stir in the sugar. Add the eggs one by one, mixing them in vigorously with each addition and then beating the mixture for a full minute after the last egg is added. 

Stir in the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into prepared cake pan. On the tabletop lined with a dishcloth, rap the cake pan on the tabletop to let any trapped bubbles out of the mixture.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with only a tiny streak of chocolate. Transfer to a rack and let completely cool to room temperature. Transfer to your refrigerator and chill it thoroughly. Attempting to add your chilled ganache to a warm cake is a sure way melt the ganache and undo all your hard work. So don’t cheat!

GANACHE: 

Pour 300ml cream into a small saucepan set over medium heat. Warm the cream until it almost comes to a boil, and then remove from heat and add in the chocolate. Mix well with a whisk.  

Refrigerate the ganache for about an hour, taking it out and giving it a good whisk every 10 minutes or so, until the ganache is thick enough to make tracks when you stir. 

In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining 120ml cream over high speed until it holds medium peaks. With a spatula, fold the whipped cream into the ganache. Pour the ganache over the chilled cake. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 

SERVING

Unmold the cake, and place onto a serving board. Cut using a long knife, wiping the knife between cuts. Using the finest sieve you have, dust a layer of cocoa powder over each slice. Serve immediately.  

After assembly, the cake will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.