How To Make The Bake Off Cake

Excited for the new series of The Great British Bake Off? It may look a little different from its very first instalment, but one core element of the show we can count on to stay the same is the show’s opening credits – and the now-iconic chocolate cake that starts off every episode. With series 15 on the horizon, we revisit the now-classic recipe and pose one very important question: will you be leaving off the last raspberry? Here’s how to make The Great British Bake Off cake.

Back: Illiyin, Dylan, Sumayah, Nelly, John, Christiaan, Andy, Mike, Jeff, Hazel, Georgie, Gill.
Front: Prue, Paul (holding the Great British Bake Off cake), Alison and Noel

What Flavour Is The Cake?

A staple of the opening credits since the show’s launch in 2010, audiences have long wondered the exact flavour of the Bake Off cake. But all debates were put to rest in series 14, when Paul Hollywood served it up as the first Technical Bake of 2023, revealing that it was, in fact, a chocolate fudge cake.

 

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Fancy a slice? Get your bake on with this chocolate cake recipe, which comes courtesy of the official Bake Off website:

Recipe: The Great British Bake Off Chocolate Fudge Cake

Serves: 16

Baking Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

For The Sponge

• 175g dark chocolate, 54%
• 150g unsalted butter, diced
• 125ml hot water
• 3 medium eggs
• 125ml sour cream, at room temperature
• 50ml vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g light soft brown sugar
• 250g self-raising flour
• 50g cocoa powder
• 1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ¼ tsp salt

For The Chocolate Ganache

• 300g dark chocolate, 54%
• 25g unsalted butter, diced
• 450ml double cream

To Decorate

• 400g raspberries

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4.
2. For the sponges, grease and base line 2 x 20cm sandwich tins with butter and baking parchment. Combine the chocolate, butter and water in a heat-proof bowl and set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until melted and then whisk to combine. Remove the bowl from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
3. In a large mixing bowl use a balloon whisk to mix the eggs, sour cream, oil and vanilla until combined. Add both sugars and whisk until smooth. Add the melted chocolate mixture and whisk again until smooth.
4. Sift the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and salt into the bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined. Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared tins and level with a palette knife. Bake for about 35-40 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre of the sponges comes out clean.
5. Leave the sponges to cool in the tins for 10 minutes and then carefully remove from the tins and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
6. For the ganache measure the chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl and set aside. Pour the cream into a medium saucepan and slowly bring just to the boil. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate and butter. Leave the hot cream to melt the chocolate without stirring for 1 minute and then stir until smooth and glossy. Once smooth, leave it to cool and thicken before using.
7. Place one of the sponges on a cake stand and spread approximately 6 tablespoons of the ganache over the top with a palette knife or spoon. Top with the second sponge, turned upside down so the flat side is the top of the cake. Gently press the two cakes together. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the remaining ganache and roughly smooth the sides. Arrange the raspberries on top.