Chocolate cake
Chocolate cake is a sweet baked cake flavored with cocoa or chocolate. It may be made as a single layer or stacked with frosting, filling, or ganache.
Cocoa powder: Cocoa powder is the dry, ground material left after much of the cocoa butter is pressed from chocolate liquor. It supplies concentrated chocolate flavor without adding the fat of solid chocolate.
Maillard reaction: The Maillard reaction is a set of chemical reactions between amino compounds and reducing sugars that produce browned flavors. It contributes roasted aromas to the cake’s crust during baking.
Chocolate ganache: Chocolate ganache is a smooth mixture of chocolate and cream used as a filling, coating, or glaze. It provides a rich topping or layer that complements chocolate cake.
Chocolate brownie: A chocolate brownie is a dense baked square made from chocolate or cocoa, flour, sugar, fat, and eggs. Brownies are typically denser and less aerated than chocolate cake.
Chocolate: Chocolate is a food made from roasted cacao beans, usually combined with cocoa butter and sugar. Melted chocolate adds cocoa solids, cocoa butter, and sweetness to cake batter.
Caramelization: Caramelization is the heat-driven breakdown of sugars that produces brown color and complex flavors. It can deepen the flavor of the cake’s browned exterior.
Buttercream: Buttercream is a frosting made chiefly from butter and sugar, sometimes with eggs or other ingredients. It is commonly spread between chocolate cake layers and over the exterior.
Chocolate mousse: Chocolate mousse is a light, chilled dessert made from chocolate and an aerated mixture such as whipped cream or egg whites. Unlike cake, mousse sets without baking and has no flour-based crumb.
Cake: Cake is a sweet baked food made from a flour-based batter or dough, often enriched with sugar, eggs, and fat. Chocolate cake adapts the basic structure of cake with cocoa or chocolate.
Starch gelatinization: Starch gelatinization is the swelling and structural change of starch granules as they absorb water and heat. It helps turn the batter into a stable crumb in the oven.