Chocolate Sponge Cake with Hibiscus Cream Cheese Frosting
This easy chocolate sponge cake made with oil is so pretty and cute for any celebration. The cake itself is dense, creamy and extra soft. And because it’s made with oil, it stays super moist for days! The extra creaminess of the coconut milk soaking syrup does wonders for the texture of this chocolate sponge cake, without leaving it tasting like coconut. To make things pretty in pink I added hibiscus tea to my extra creamy cream cheese frosting. I can tell you this is a very special chocolate cake!
I don’t know about you, but I never think of cakes as a Valentine’s dessert. I think more about fancy confections or decadent treats. But a simple and humble cake has never been my go to for Valentine’s celebrations. For some reason though, I got the idea of making a mini cake, cute and small for a reduced number of people. It is the “mini” aspect which I thought would make a cake perfect for Valentine’s, so of course it had to be chocolate!
The approach for sponge cakes is so straightforward that it makes it perfect for when you are thinking about different things at once; the food, the table setting, the candles… you know, everything you need for a special evening! You just mix the eggs with the sugar in high speed and when that mixture is very foamy you just keep adding the rest of the ingredients. Everything happens in one bowl!
Sponge cakes tend to be dense, that’s why they are usually paired with whipped cream, to add some lightness in each bite. I decided to go with my extra creamy and fluffy cream cheese frosting and, as you will see in the recipe, it uses very little butter compared to other cream cheese frosting recipes, letting the cream cheese get pretty fluffy and also letting its tangy notes shine and create a very nice contrast with the chocolate. And I made pretty and pink by adding some hibiscus tea, making this frosting a bit floral as well.
How to Make this Chocolate Sponge Cake
I started by mixing the milk with the vinegar to create a buttermilk kind situation. If you have buttermilk, just use that instead.
Then I placed the egg with the sugar in the bowl of my stand mixer. Don’t worry if your egg is cold, just place it in a bowl with hot tap water for about 5 minutes. I like to add vanilla in this stage so it infuses the sugar and the egg. Whisk this in high speed until very foamy, about 5 minutes. This technique is basic with any sponge cake. After this you just add the oil in a thin stream and the flour mixture in a few additions to let it incorporate well. Transfer to the cake and bake.
I made the coconut milk soaking syrup 2 minutes before taking the cakes out of the oven. You want the syrup to be warm when pouring it on the still warm cakes. When the cakes are cooled down you can level the tops up if they ended up too high.
I used hibiscus tea to give the frosting that pretty pink hue, but can omit it completely. Use instead water or milk or lemon juice.
If you have the time and space in your fridge, it can be a good idea to frost the top of the cakes and chill them for 15 to 20 minutes, just to let the frosting set before placing one cake on top of the other and arranging any fruits on top.
This is a beautiful chocolate sponge cake that’s super easy to make! And the coconut milk soaking syrup is a game changer. You have to give it a try anytime soon! Let me know how it goes! See you soon my friends!
Chocolate Sponge Cake with
Hibiscus Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
◯ Whole milk - ½ cup
◯ White vinegar - 1 TBSP
◯ Egg - 1 extra large
◯ Natural granulated sugar - ¾ cup
◯ Vanilla extract - 1 Tsp
◯ Unbleached all-purpose flour - 1 ¼ cup
◯ Cocoa powder - ⅓ cup
◯ Baking powder - ½ Tsp
◯ Fine sea salt - ½ Tsp
◯ Vegetable oil - ½ cup
◯ Coffee granules - a good pinch
◯ Very hot water (heated in the microwave, NOT just hot tap water) - ¼ cup
◯ Fresh berries and chopped nuts to decorate if desired.
Coconut Soaking Syrup
◯ Coconut milk - ⅓ cup
◯ Natural granulated sugar - 3 ½ TBSP
Hibiscus Cream Cheese Frosting
◯ Dried hibiscus flowers - 5 to 6 large (or two hibiscus tea bags)
◯ Hot water - ½ cup
◯ Butter, softened – 4 TBSP (1/4 cup)
◯ Cream cheese, softened – 12 oz (1 ½ box)
◯ Coconut milk - 2 to 3 TBSP
◯ Powdered sugar, sifted – 1½ cups
Details
Yield:
two 6” or one 8” cakes
Total time:
1.5 hours
Active time:
15 minutes to make the cake, 10 minutes to make the frosting
Baking time:
about 30 minutes
Equipment:
mixer, cake pans
Steps
To make the sponge chocolate cake:
Mix milk and vinegar together. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease or spray with baking spray two round 6” or one 8” cake pans.
Put egg, the ¾ cup of sugar and the teaspoon of vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attached or in a large bowl to work with a handheld mixer. Mix in high speed (#8 in the Kitchen Aid) for 5 minutes.
In the meantime combine in a second bowl the 1 ¼ cup of flour with the ⅓ cup of cocoa powder, the ½ teaspoon of baking powder and the ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt.
With the mixer still running pour in a thin stream the ½ cup of oil into the egg-sugar mixture. Mix for 2 minutes. Decrease speed to the lowest and pour in the milk-vinegar mixture until combined. Add the flour mixture in additions about ½ cup. Dilute the coffee granules with the ¼ cup of hot water and pour over cake batter just until everything is combined. If there’s any large streak of flour just mix gently with a spatula.
Pour batter between the two cake pans (or in the cake pan you’re using). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted through the middle of the cake.
Retire from oven and wait about one minute. Poke the cake with a toothpick. Using a pastry brush or small spoon drizzle the coconut milk soaking syrup (recipe below) while the cake is still warm. Wait for about 5 minutes before removing cakes from cake pans. Let them cool down completely before frosting.
If desired, you may cut the dome of the cakes to make the tops even. (See how to’s above)
To make the coconut milk soaking syrup:
Place the ⅓ cup of coconut milk with the 3 ½ tablespoons of sugar in a small sauce pan. Cook over medium high heat. Remove from heat as soon as all the sugar dissolves. Pour over cakes as stated in the recipe.
To make the hibiscus cream cheese frosting:
Immerse the dried hibiscus flowers or the hibiscus tea bags in the hot water. Let them steep for about two minutes. Remove the flowers or tea bags and let cool completely, preferably in the fridge. (If using dried flowers you may pass the water through a sieve to remove any remaining flower pieces.)
Place the 4 tablespoons of butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or in a large glass or metal bowl for whisking with a handheld electric mixer and whisk for 30 seconds in medium low speed (#2 in the Kitchen Aid) to make it lighter. Add the 12 ounces of cream cheese and whisk for about 4 to 5 minutes, scraping the whisk wires and walls of the bowl if necessary to make sure everything is mixing well. Add two tablespoons of hibiscus tea half way thru the mixing.
Decrease speed to the lowest and gradually add the 1½ cup of sifted powdered sugar. Add one or two more tablespoons of tea if needed to make the frosting more saturated. Increase speed one notch and mix for 3 to 5 minutes, until frosting is super creamy and smooth. If it’s too runny for you just add extra powdered sugar, but remember this is a smooth, not thick, frosting.
To assemble the cake:
Spread some of the hibiscus frosting on top of the two cakes. If possible place them like that in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes before topping one on top of the other. Decorate with fresh strawberries, raspberries or your favorite fruit and sprinkle with crushed pistachios or almonds as well if desired.
