Traditional Polish chocolate cake is very popular in Poland. It’s super easy to make with only few ingredients, insanely moist and delicious. In our home, when I was growing up, this was the “go-to cake” for every holiday, anniversary or birthday. The cake can stay fresh for up to three day, but me and my brother always made sure it was gone by the end of the night. Mama just could’t bake enough.

Here is my Mom’s old recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 5 eggs
• 5 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 250g unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Desiccated coconut to decorate (optional)

Instructions 

In a small saucepan, put a 250 grams of cubed butter, 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of milk and 5 tablespoons of cocoa, stirring gently over low heat. Stir for about 5 minutes until smooth and all the ingredients are well combined, the sugar has melted and the mixture is bubbling. The chocolate cream does not need to be brought to a boil. Set the pan aside to cool.

Save half a cup of the hot chocolate cream for topping of the cake. Put the topping aside. Optionally, you can add 1/4 bar of dark chocolate and mix the whole thing until you get a thick cream.

The icing will thicken, but it doesn’t matter. When you put the topping on a slightly warm cake, it will melt.

Separate egg yolks from the whites. Set the yolks aside and mix the whites until stiff with a pinch of salt. Mix the egg whites starting with low speed and gradually increase it.

Be sure to take the eggs out of the fridge ahead of time. They should be at room temperature.

In the meantime, in a separate bowl combine sifted flour with baking powder and cinnamon. Mix well.

Pour the cooled cocoa mass into a large bowl and add egg yolks one at a time while mixing. Then add gradually flour mixture and whisk into the cocoa batter. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix it well.

Next, gently fold whipped egg whites into the cocoa batter using a spatula and mix gently by hand (with a silicone spatula), so the dough is airy and fluffy.

Pour the finished dough into a baking dish, greased with a little bit of butter on the sides and the bottom. Additionally, you can also sprinkle the dish with breadcrumbs, but I don’t do it.

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F (180℃) and bake for about 35-40 minutes.

After 30 minutes, slightly open the oven door and use a wooden skewer to check if the cake is ready. The cake should have cracks on the top. Use a skewer to check that the cake is moist but not sticky inside. It is very important that you do not bake the chocolate cake for longer than necessary.

Remove cakes from the baking dish and leave to cool.

To make the cake extra moist, after it cools down, I poke it with a toothpick before pouring frosting over the still warm cake, letting it fill the cracks.

Finish by sprinkling over some desiccated coconut.

Smacznego! Enjoy!