Here’s a classic recipe for the best Greek chocolate cake sokolatopita. Guys, it’s a super rich, silky, syrupy chocolate cake with a velvety ganache topping that will change your life.
You know us Greeks, we love a deeply saturated syrupy cake, treat or dessert. This cake along with my portokalopita are my two favourites!
Sokolatopita is another member of the siropiasta family, which essentially refers to any dessert which is soaked in syrup.
For more of these much-loved syrup-soaked delights, check out my lemonopita (Greek lemon cake with syrup), and baklava! Also, this Galaktoboureko – custard pie with syrup. They’re all incredible – let me know what you think.
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Why you'll love this sokolatopita recipe
Here’s why us Greeks can’t live without this classic chocolate cake:
- Moist and tender texture: The sponge cake base is moist, tender, and perfectly balanced in sweetness. If baking cakes gives you nightmares of dry results – this is the cake recipe for you.
- Incredible Ganache topping: Topping off this exquisite dessert is a creamy ganache made with luxurious milk chocolate and thickened cream. It adds a velvety smooth texture and an extra layer of richness, elevating the dessert to a whole new level of decadence.
- Versatile and party-pleasing: Whether you're celebrating a special occasion or simply craving a comforting treat, this Sokolatopita is going to be a major hit. Friends, I’m telling you, it’s bloody beautiful, mate.
Video How to make this Greek Chocolate Cake
How to pronounce sokolatopita?
Sokolatopita (pronounced so-kola-to-pita) is a popular Greek chocolate syrup cake. The name comes from the Greek word sokolata, which means chocolate.
How to make it this cake - Short video
Ingredients for Greek chocolate cake
Here’s what to round up to make this luscious and authentic Greek chocolate cake:
Chocolate syrup
- Sugar: Use good old granulated sugar – caster sugar is fine, too.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: Look for high-quality cocoa powder for a rich chocolate flavour. Dutch-processed cocoa powder can also be used for a deeper flavour profile.
Sponge Cake
- Eggs: Use large eggs at room temperature for the best results.
- Vanilla: Choose pure vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, or just a good quality vanilla essence.
- Unsalted butter: Melt the butter gently and let it cool slightly before using it in the recipe. Unsalted butter provides richness without adding extra saltiness.
- Orange zest: Freshly grated orange zest is just SO perfect in this batter.
- Plain flour: Honestly, cake or bread flour will work just as well.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: Like in the syrup, choose high-quality cocoa powder for intense chocolate flavour.
- Baking powder: This leavening agent helps the cake rise and become fluffy. Make sure it’s a fresh batch so the cake recipe doesn’t flop.
- Salt: If you happen to use salted butter, don’t add extra salt.
Ganache
- Thickened cream: This type of cream, also known as heavy cream or whipping cream, contains a higher fat content, which creates a smooth and luxurious ganache.
- Milk chocolate: Go for good quality milk chocolate with at least 30% cocoa solids for a rich and creamy ganache. Higher cocoa content can also be used for a more intense chocolate flavour.
Top Tips
This recipe is easy-going. Even if you’re new to cake baking, it’s a good one.
- Properly prepare your cake pan: Grease it really well, and don’t skimp on this step.
- Sift dry ingredients: Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt to remove any lumps and aerate the mixture. This will help create a lighter, fluffier cake.
- Don't overmix the batter: Mix the cake batter until just combined. Overmixing can result in a tough, dense cake. Use a gentle hand when folding in the dry ingredients to avoid overworking the batter.
- Check for doneness: To ensure your cake is cooked through, insert a toothpick into the centre. If it comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, it's done. Overbaking will dry out the cake guys, don’t do it.
- Decorate: Garnish the sokolatopita with orange zest, chocolate shavings, whipped cream or a dusting of cocoa powder for an elegant finish.
Instructions
Here is a quick run through the recipe, but remember for the full written recipe and ingredients list can be found in the recipe card down below.
Preparing the Sponge Cake
- Mix Wet Ingredients: Beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract, melted butter, and orange zest. Mix well.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In another bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Combine Mixtures: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until well combined.
- Bake: Pour the batter into a buttered baking dish and bake. Poke holes in the hot cake and pour the cooled syrup over it. Let it soak.
Adding the Ganache
- Prepare Ganache: Bring cream to a boil and pour over chocolate. Stir until smooth.
- Top Cake: Pour the ganache over the cake, spreading it evenly.
Cutting and Serving
- Cut and Serve: Once set, cut the cake into pieces.
- Garnish: Serve with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Enjoy!
How to prevent ganache from becoming grainy or seizing
To get a smooth ganache, heat the cream gently until it's just simmering before pouring it over the chopped chocolate. Let it sit for a minute or two before stirring to allow the chocolate to melt gradually.
Use a whisk to stir the mixture until smooth and glossy gently. If your ganache becomes grainy or seizes, add a tablespoon of hot cream and whisk vigorously until smooth again.
Storage
Once assembled, store the Sokolatopita in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Ensure it is placed in a cool, dry area away from direct sunlight.
If the ambient temperature is warm, consider storing the cake in the refrigerator to prevent the ganache from melting and the cake from spoiling. Keeping it in the fridge will extend the shelf-life to 3 days.
The dish I use is obviously not air tight, but wrapped carefully in cling wrap does the trick! By the way the measurements for my dish are 32cm x 21cm.
Freezing
Can Sokolatopita be frozen? Absolutely! If you want to prepare this delicious Greek chocolate cake ahead of time, freezing it is a great option. Here's how you can do it:
- Bake the Cake: Follow the recipe to bake your sokolatopita. Once baked, allow the cake to cool completely in the dish.
- Wrap the Cake: Wrap the cooled cake (with the dish/ pan) tightly in plastic wrap. Ensure that it is well-sealed to prevent any freezer burn.
- Store in the Freezer: Place the wrapped cake in the freezer. Just make sure your dish is freezer safe.
Thawing and Serving:
- Thaw the Cake: When you're ready to serve the cake, remove it from the freezer and let it thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator overnight.
- Prepare the Syrup: Once thawed, prepare the chocolate syrup according to the recipe instructions.
- Poke and Pour: Poke holes all over the surface of the cake and pour the cooled syrup over the room-temperature cake, allowing it to soak in.
- Finish with Ganache: Prepare the ganache and spread it over the cake as described in the recipe.
FAQs
Just skimming through? Here are a couple of highlights you won’t want to miss:
Can I use dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate for the ganache?
Absolutely! You can use dark chocolate for a richer, more intense flavour. Just be mindful that dark chocolate tends to be less sweet than milk chocolate, so you may want to adjust the sweetness of the ganache accordingly by adding a bit more sugar or honey if desired.
Can I make this cake without eggs?
While eggs provide structure and richness to the cake, you can try using egg substitutes such as mashed banana, applesauce, or commercially available egg replacers for a vegan version of the cake.
📖 Recipe
Greek chocolate cake (Sokolatopita)
Ingredients
Chocolate Syrup
- 600 ml water
- 600 gram sugar
- 100 gram cocoa powder unsweetened
Sponge Cake
- 4 eggs
- 200 gram sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 250 gram butter unsalted (melted)
- 1 orange zest
- 200 gram all-purpose flour plain
- 100 gram cocoa powder unsweetened
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Ganache
- 150 ml cream 35% fat
- 300 gram milk chocolate
Instructions
- Prepare the syrup first, by adding the water, sugar, and cocoa powder into a saucepan. Bring to the boil until you see a foam form at the surface (very similar to Greek coffee). Turn off from the heat and set aside to cool down.
- Pre-heat your oven to 160 ℃
- In a separate bowl, add the eggs and sugar and with a hand mixer, mix until it is light a fluffy.
- Add the vanilla, butter and orange zest to the bowl and give it a quick mix with a whisk.
- In a separate bowl, add in your dry ingredients. The flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Then mix until all is evenly combined.
- Now add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients bowl, then mix.
- Prepare your baking dish. The size I have used in 32x21cm. Butter the surface and add in the cake batter evenly spreading it out.
- Place into the oven and bake for roughly 30 minutes.
- Get a utensil you can use to poke the cake (I use a souvlaki stick). Then poke holes throughout the cake. This is so the syrup falls evenly throughout the cake.
- Pour the cooled syrup over the hot cake and let it sit for 30 minutes to soak it all in.
- In a small pot, prepare the ganache by adding the cream and bringing it to a boil. Turn off from the heat and add the hot cream to the chocolate. Mix thoroughly to melt it all together.
- Pour the ganache over the chocolate cake and evenly spread it over the top.
- Let the cake come to room temperature and then place inside the fridge for a couple of hours to set the ganache on top.
- For best results, let the cake sit out of the fridge to come back to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
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Danielle says
Hi there!! Trying to make the Greek chocolate cake… in the written recipe it says 200g flour but in video it says 400g 🤔 not sure which one is the correct one 😅 help!!!
Thank you!!!
Nikolopaa says
Hey Danielle! I checked the video and I said 200 grams plain flour. Im thinking that the captions may have picked up "400 grams" ? Apologies for this!. Its definitely 200 grams 🙂
Danielle says
I put wrong email 🤦♀️ sorry!
Sabine says
Definitely the best Greek chocolate cake and it came out beautiful 👍
Nikolopaa says
Thanks so much!!
Jenny k says
Thank you for sharing this recipe niko everyone loved it
Cybele says
It looks delicious! Can you make it gluten free by replacing the flour with ground nuts? Also, what kind of salt do you use?
Nikolopaa says
Hey Cybele! I haven’t tried it this way, but I think it could work. The texture will probably be a bit denser, but it should still be delicious with a nice nutty flavour. As for the salt, I usually use fine sea salt when baking, but any good quality salt will do. Let me know how it turns out if you give it a try!