Chocolate Earthquake Cake
This Chocolate Earthquake Cake is a rich, tasty cake that is supposed to sink in the middle! Topped with ganache, whipped cream, and berries, it’s picture-perfect!
This One-Layer Chocolate Soufflé Cake is ideal for those times you don’t want a huge dessert. It’s wonderful for small gatherings.
Why You Must Make
- It’s chocolate on chocolate!!
- Jazzed up with a cloud of sweet whipped cream and beautiful red raspberries, it’s a show stopper.
- With just one layer, this souffle cake is great when you don’t want a full-sized layer cake.
- The cake part of this recipe comes from Ina Garten!
Tips for Making
- PRO-Tip: Use a springform pan for easy release of the cake after it’s baked. Lining the bottom with a round of parchments prevents the cake from sticking.
- PRO-Tip: Make sure no yolk (or oil residue on the bowl or beaters) contaminates the egg whites or they won’t beat properly.
- Don’t worry if your cake sinks in the middle as it cools. This happens with soufflés and with this soufflé cake.
- If you don’t want to fill the indentation with chocolate, adding a simple layer of sweetened whipped cream and berries before serving works well. Just note that the whipped cream will separate over time unless you stabilize it by using a product like Whip It.
- Ina Garten’s version is a gluten-free chocolate cake since she uses 1 tablespoon of gluten-free flour in her recipe. It works wonderfully with all-purpose flour, too. If you don’t have her Make It Ahead Cookbook, you may want to check it out (affiliate link).
- This cake can be kept at room temperature for 6 hours before serving. Once the whipped cream is added, it must be refrigerated.
How to Make a Souffle Cake
My mom baked up the first chocolate earthquake cake I ever sampled. I don’t have her recipe, but this one-layer cake is another winning version!
- Preheat the oven and prep your pan.
- Separate the eggs and beat the whites until light and fluffy.
- Make the chocolate batter.
- Fold the whipped whites into the batter.
- Bake as directed.
When the whites were folded into the chocolate batter and baked, they provided the lift to the otherwise non-leavened cake. But as it cooled, it was destined to crack and fall, thus resembling the ground after an earthquake! Ina talks about the sunken area in the middle of the cake to be filled with chocolate ganache.
In actuality, mine barely sank, but the ganache, and then whipped cream and raspberry topping really played well off the dense, rich cake whether needed to disguise any malformations or not! I took this cake to a holiday luncheon and my hostess, who is gluten-free, loved that this chocolate earthquake cake recipe only had a tablespoon of flour. Using a gluten-free substitute, like Cup 4 Cup, would turn this into a wonderful gluten-free dessert. You might also like this Chocolate Soufflé Cake.
Culinary Term:
To Fold: When you see the term fold in a recipe, it is a mixing technique to gently combine a lighter mixture (like whipped egg whites) into a heavier mixture (like a chocolate cake batter). Using a rubber spatula, the process involves cutting vertically through the two mixtures, scraping along the bottom of the bowl, and bringing the spatula back up the nearest side. The bowl is rotated slightly and the same cutting process is repeated over and over until the mixture is homogeneous.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, with just one tablespoon of flour, it’s easily made gluten-free by replacing it with Cup-4-Cup or another gluten-free all-purpose flour.
A traditional souffle is considered a cake. Like when making a soufflé, in this cake recipe, a flavored mixture is mixed with whipped egg whites and baked. When removed from the oven, this cake is sturdier than other souffles. It will fall, but not collapse completely.
The hot air that’s trapped in a souffle begins to escape once it’s removed from the oven, causing the soufflé to collapse.
You May Also Like:
- Chocolate Earthquake Cookies
- Flourless Chocolate Cake with Ganache Topping
- Frozen Chocolate Mousse Cake
- More Delicious Cake Recipes
Chocolate Earthquake Cake
Rich, dense, chocolate cake inspired from Ina Garten's new cookbook, Make It Ahead.
Ingredients
- 19 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, divided
- 10 tablespoons butter cut into pieces, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1½ tablespoons sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 5 eggs at room temperature, separated
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, sweetened and whipped and fresh berries for serving, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425° F.
- Grease an 8-inch spring-form pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Place the one pound of chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted.
- Off the heat, immediately stir in the butter, flour, sugar, and salt with a rubber spatula.
- Whisk in the egg yolks until smooth.
- Put egg whites in mixer and beat until they form soft peaks.
- Scrape the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and fold them in very carefully with a rubber spatula, just until combined.
- Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for 15 minutes exactly. (Make sure oven is accurate-next time I will bake it 13 minutes!)
- Turn the oven off and leave the cake in the oven, cracking the door open a bit.
- Let cake cool in the oven for 1 hour.
- The cake will sink in the middle.
- Remove sides of pan and place cake on your cake stand.
- Put 3 ounces of chocolate and the 1/4 cup heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and heat gently until it is melted and smooth.
- Pour this into the center of the cake.
- Allow to cool. To serve, topped with whipped cream and berries if desired.
Notes
Make sure no egg yolk or oil contaminates the egg whites or they will not whip properly.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 473Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 144mgSodium: 163mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 4gSugar: 33gProtein: 6g
Wondering why this Chocolate Earthquake Cake is a hometown favorite? My dad was a physics professor at Iowa State University, often referred to as Moo U. An idyllic little university town, we lived just blocks away from the campus. But my father had wanderlust. He grew up on the near north side of Chicago and loved nothing better than our summer vacations hiking in Aspen or camping in the National Parks out west.
When I was a junior in high school, he thought we should pack up our worldly possessions and spend a sabbatical year at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Oh, the drama this caused with his 4 daughters—a lot of estrogen in play. But it was like a dream vacation–sailing on English Bay in the summer, skiing on Grouse Mountain in the winter. And learning how to say about properly and punctuate sentences with “eh.“
And here comes my logic. Being on the west coast of the continent, Vancouver does experience tremors—and so my Chocolate Earthquake Cake now fit the hometown theme. Granted, I never felt an earthquake in Vancouver, though I have in Iowa, but work with me here!!!
42 Comments on “Chocolate Earthquake Cake”
I make this every time I need a chocolate fix!! It’s the best.
Lizzy,
I will definitely be making this cake soon. I’ll skip the whipped cream but I’ll devour the rest.
Annamaria
Any cake that’s CHOCOLATE and then filled with MORE chocolate gets my attention quickly! Yum!
ummmm HELLOOOO this earthquake cake is insane! so decsdent and soooo chocolatey! ganache=love
This cake is beautiful, Liz! I’ve never heard of an Earthquake cake before but love the name and the story behind it!
What a gorgeous cake Liz! I love that this recipe came from your Mom.
This cake looks delicious Liz, so glad you shared it. It is so pretty!
I could get used to this kind of earthquake!
Earthquake cake is new to me but this is a must try – I love the ganache center, so rich and decadent!
Yowzer! You Earthquake cake looks amazing. Ganache…did you say Ganache? Yes, please!
YUMMOOOOOOO!!
What a beautiful cake, and a fun tie in to Iowa 🙂
I can only imagine how rich and dangerous this cake is. It looks so delicious, like everything you post!
Simply drool-worthy!
However tenuous the link may be this cake looks amazing and so pretty. I would love a slice right now!
That looks incredible! So rich and chocolaty 🙂
What a great experience in family an what a great cake ! Looks terrific !
Love the adventure you had growing up, liz…and this chocolate earthquake cake is totally divine! Can you pass me a slice, please?
Sounds pretty heavenly and those raspberries are so beautiful! Awesome addition to Sunday supper for sure! Pinning!
LOL. Appreciate your logic, Liz. And love this chocolate cake with the spectacular touches of ganache and whipped cream!
I want to slice into this one!!! Looks beautiful! YUM!
What a lovely story! I was going to guess somewhere in California as your hometown – earthquake…
And the cake looks absolutely stunning and delicious!
I love the name of this cake! And also the story that goes along with it! 🙂
Your cake is too pretty to eat. I will happily take one for the team and eat…all of it. Yum!
Chocolate and raspberries seem to be an overriding theme in your desserts haha. Not that I’m complaining, it always looks amazing!!
I’m laughing over the tie-in to the hometown food theme. Very creative. And this cake is divine. I can just imagine all that thick rich chocolate-y goodness.
What a cute name for one of the most delicious looking cakes I’ve ever seen. Mmmm…..
I admit the title had me thinking California! This looks so good! It a great combo of flavors!
I don’t care what the theme is, I’m glad you shared this cake! It looks fantastic.
Flourless (or almost flourless, lol) cakes are one of my favorite desserts to make. But mine never look as pretty as this one does, Liz!
What a fun adventure though it must have been hard as a teenager to leave all of your friends. The raspberry’s and whip cream on this cake certainly make it a work of art!
I often take a little liberty with Sunday Supper themes. As long as recipes mean something to you, as this one clearly does, I say go with it! By the way I love Cup4Cup and very frequently use it in my recipes (including the one I posted today!)
Like all your cake creations, Liz, this is absolutely gorgeous! And such a lovely story behind it – my Dad sounds a lot like yours with all the adventures he dragged us on as kids!
Hey Liz, I was waiting to read this post about earthquakes in either Iowa or Indiana! Now I get it! What a great vacation and sabbatical experience with your family! Your words about Ames takes me back to such a fun time! I love this cake and anything chocolate; it sounds perfect for Valentine’s Day or Bill’s February birthday cake! PS: I’ve been in 2 earthquakes now: 1 in Los Angeles when I lived there and now 1 last year here in SC that is surprisingly one of the main fault-lines in the U.S. I’ll take your delicious cake over a real earthquake anyday!
xo sweetie!
Oh, wow, Liz, this looks so good! And I always love your pretty pictures, too. 🙂
Liz!!! an earthquake cake in Iowa. . makes perfect sense to me!!! Plus, your mom baked the first earthquake cake you ever had. .. that’s special!!! and dude, this cake is stunning!!!! love love love!! happy to be back at Sunday supper with you all today!!
I can only imagine the noise level in your home when four daughters were protesting … anything! 🙂
I have no trouble stretching your hometown roots that brought you to this gorgeous Chocolate Earthquake Cake. I’m just glad you made it!
What a gorgeous cake! And a fun way to tie it in with your childhood memories.
I love the Iowa story. I always get some made when the middle sinks in. Of course the idea of filling it in with chocolate is perfection. This cake looks so good.
I’ve been to Vancouver. It’s gorgeous there! We visited Butchart Gardens one summer when Mom lived in Seatle. Amazing. And this cake looks amazing, too!! My MILs SIL has the severe gluten allergy. You bet I’ll be sharing this with them.
I’ve never heard of Earthquake Cake before, yours looks great:@)
Nice Sunday treat.. really necessary before new week 😀