Bizcochuelo de Chocolate y Café
A fluffy, light and moist chocolate coffee sponge cake — the perfect show-stopping dessert.
This cake is a memory. My grandmother used to bake a version of it every Sunday in Mérida, filling the apartment with the smell of dark chocolate and strong coffee. I've been chasing that smell ever since. The bizcochuelo — the Venezuelan sponge — is lighter than a brownie but richer than a génoise. The espresso doesn't make it taste like coffee; it makes it taste more like itself. Bake it the day before if you can. It's better the next morning, cold, with more coffee alongside.
- 200 g dark chocolate70% cocoa, chopped
- 150 g unsalted butterplus more for greasing
- 180 g caster sugar
- 4 eggsroom temperature, separated
- 120 g plain floursifted
- 30 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp instant espresso powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tbsp cocoa powderfor dusting, to serve
As featured on
Tablet Magazine ↗Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease a 22 cm (9 in) round cake tin and line the base with parchment paper.
Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
Separate the eggs. Whisk the yolks with the sugar until pale and thick, about 2 minutes. Fold the cooled chocolate mixture into the yolk mixture until combined.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt together. Fold gently into the chocolate batter — do not overmix.
In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Fold one-third into the batter to loosen it, then fold in the rest in two additions with a light hand. This is what keeps the bizcochuelo airy.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the surface is set and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out with moist crumbs (not wet batter).
Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Dust generously with cocoa powder before serving. Best at room temperature or slightly warm, with crème fraîche or strong black coffee alongside.
The bizcochuelo keeps well for 2 days wrapped at room temperature. In fact it improves — the crumb settles and the coffee flavour deepens overnight. Resist cutting it while it's still warm.
For a more elegant finish, skip the cocoa dusting and pour over a simple ganache: melt 100 g of dark chocolate with 80 ml of warm cream and a tablespoon of butter. Let it set at room temperature for a glossy, crackable top.
Brew a very strong espresso shot, reduce it to 1 tablespoon over low heat, and add it to the batter with the chocolate. Or simply leave it out — the chocolate stands on its own, though it will be a different cake.