Greek Chocolate Cake (Sokolatopita)

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour & 15 minutes
Refrigerate Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 7 hours & 35 minutes
Servings: 3 people

Sokolatopita is a delightful Greek chocolate cake that's rich, syrupy, and incredibly moist. This fluffy treat is finished off with a luscious cocoa glaze that takes it to the next level!

Why you'll love this recipe:
I love how intense the chocolate flavor is in this cake. Also, the cake itself is quite moist, but once you add the syrup over the top it becomes even more rich and moist as the syrup soaks right through it. I also love that the chocolate ganache can either be spread over the cake, like a frosting, or it can be served on the side. That way, anyone who wants a little more chocolate can add the ganache.

Ingredients:

For The Chocolate Cake:

4 medium-sized eggs at room temperature
260 grams sugar
200 ml vegetable oil sunflower, corn oil, etc
180 ml milk
1 teaspoon vanilla powder or vanilla extract
300 grams all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons cocoa powder unsweetened
4 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons brandy

For The Chocolate Syrup:

270 grams sugar
400 ml water
4 tablespoons cocoa powder unsweetened

For The Cocoa Glaze:

160 grams sugar
140 ml water
4 tablespoons cocoa powder unsweetened
1 tablespoon honey
140 grams butter

Directions:

Make The Chocolate Cake:

Preheat oven to 165°C / 330°F.
Oil a non-stick 8 x 8-inch pan.
Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and vanilla powder (if using vanilla extract add with wet ingredients later on).
Sift the flour mixture.
Combine salt and sugar in a bowl and set aside.
Beat eggs at high speed using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment on.
Add sugar and salt mix gradually into the eggs and keep beating until they become foamy, thickened, and creamy in color.
Pour the oil into the egg mixture slowly and keep beating until combined. If using vanilla extract add it now.
Add the flour mixture in batches alternately with the milk.
Pour the brandy in as well. Once fully combined transfer the batter to the prepared pan.
Bake for about 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean.
Cool. Allow the cake to reach room temperature.

Prepare The Syrup:

Add the water, sugar, and cocoa powder to a saucepan.
Bring to a boil then drop the heat to medium and simmer for 5-6 minutes until very slightly thickened.
Prepare the cake. Overlap the pan to remove the cake. Place the cake with the top side facing up. Slice a thin layer from the top to flatten it. Then place the cake back in the pan with the bottom side facing up.
Poke many little holes into the cake using a skewer.
Ladle the hot syrup to the cooled cake. Then let the cake cool down to room temperature again.

Make The Glaze:

Add the sugar, water, and honey to a saucepan.
Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 3 minutes until thickened. Turn off the heat.
Add the butter and cocoa powder. Switch on the heat to low this time.
Simmer stirring often until thickened about 10-12 minutes.
Cool. Let the temperature of the glaze drop a bit so it thickens more. Allow to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. During this time place the cooled cake in the fridge.
Spread the glaze over the cake.
Refrigerate the chocolate cake for 6 hours before cutting and serving.
Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top (highly recommended!).

Tips & Notes:

For a fluffy and airy cake sift the flour and cocoa powder. I prefer to mix the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder with a whisk first, then sift them together. This way the leavening agent gets mixed better resulting in a more even cake rising

Make Ahead:

You can make the base for this wet chocolate cake a day ahead and keep it at room temperature. Then the next day make the syrup and the glaze for the cake.

Type of cocoa powder:

For this Greek chocolate cake you want to use unsweetened cocoa powder or even Dutch process cocoa powder. I have made the cake with both, and both work out just fine.

Poke holes in your Greek chocolate cake after it bakes:

Using a skewer to poke holes all over your cake is really important in order to have the syrup soak through easily. The syrup for sokolatopita is a bit thick because of the cocoa. If you don’t poke holes, the syrup will not easily penetrate the cake. If you prefer, you can actually use a knife to score the pieces of cake and pour your syrup after that. This may be a good option if you don’t have a skewer – using a toothpick will not be enough (the holes will be too small).

Check your cake for doneness:

Traditionally you bake this cake in a rectangular baking pan and it is not very thick. Baking takes about 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Test your cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center. Your cake is done if the toothpick comes out clean, or with a few crumbs attached to it.

Serve With:

Although this rich chocolate cake can proudly stand on its own, it is almost a must to serve Sokolatopita cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (I always make this quick, 2-ingredient ice cream to serve with this cake). It's a heavenly combination! The cake is soft and combined with the ice cream will remind you of cookies and cream.