Roald Dahl's fictional chocolate cake from Matilda became real when bakers reverse-engineered it from his 1988 descriptions.
Matilda Cake
Indulge in the rich delight of Matilda Cake, a luscious triple-layer chocolate masterpiece draped in velvety chocolate ganache. This crowd-pleaser is your new best friend in the kitchen, featuring moist cocoa-rich layers and a silky smooth finish that elevates any celebration. Get ready to impress with this ultimate chocolate fix!
Prep
15
min
Cook
35
min
Serves
8
people
Level
intermediate
The Story
This towering chocolate monster was born from British author Roald Dahl's 1988 novel, then perfected by American bakeries in the 1990s who turned his fictional torture-cake into real-world decadence—combining British teatime traditions with American portion sizes and that distinctly Yankee obsession with making everything bigger, richer, and more likely to require medical intervention.
Regional Twist
In Vienna's Sacher district, they swap the vegetable oil for melted Austrian butter and spike the ganache with apricot schnapps, creating a boozy tribute that makes the original look positively innocent.
📝 Ingredients
Shopping List
- 8 ounces (227 g) chocolate
- 1 cup (237 ml) coffee
- 1 cup (237 ml) cream
- 2 large eggs
Pantry Items
Amounts also listed in instructions below
- baking powder (to taste)
- baking soda (to taste)
- ½ cups (114 g) butter
- 1 cup (227 g) buttermilk
- ¾ cups (177 ml) cocoa powder
- 1 ¾ cups (210 g) flour
- ½ cups (118 ml) oil
- salt (to taste)
- 2 cups (400 g) sugar
- vanilla (to taste)
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- 2
In a large bowl, mix together sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt.
- 3
Add buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- 4
Stir in hot coffee until the batter is smooth.
- 5
Pour the batter into prepared cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes.
- 6
For the ganache, heat the cream and sugar until dissolved, then pour over butter, vanilla, salt, and chocolate. Stir until smooth.
- 7
Once the cakes are cooled, layer them with chocolate ganache in between and on top.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Add hot coffee at 180-200°F to chocolate cake batter because the heat blooms cocoa compounds and creates deeper chocolate flavor while the liquid keeps the crumb exceptionally moist.technique180-200°F
- ✓Use buttermilk at room temperature (68-72°F) because cold buttermilk won't properly activate baking soda, reducing lift by up to 25% and creating dense spots.ingredient68-72°F
- ✓Heat ganache cream to exactly 185°F before pouring over chocolate - too hot (above 190°F) breaks the emulsion, too cool (below 180°F) won't fully melt chocolate creating lumps.technique185°F
- ✓Test cake doneness when internal temperature reaches 205-210°F rather than relying on toothpicks, as the high moisture content from coffee can give false readings.timing205-210°F
- ✓Cool cakes completely to 70°F before ganaching because warm cake (above 80°F) will melt the ganache and cause it to absorb into the crumb instead of creating clean layers.timing70°F
Share this recipe
Prep
15
min
Cook
35
min
Serves
8
people
Level
intermediate
Share this recipe
Roald Dahl's fictional chocolate cake from Matilda became real when bakers reverse-engineered it from his 1988 descriptions.
Matilda Cake
Indulge in the rich delight of Matilda Cake, a luscious triple-layer chocolate masterpiece draped in velvety chocolate ganache. This crowd-pleaser is your new best friend in the kitchen, featuring moist cocoa-rich layers and a silky smooth finish that elevates any celebration. Get ready to impress with this ultimate chocolate fix!
The Story
This towering chocolate monster was born from British author Roald Dahl's 1988 novel, then perfected by American bakeries in the 1990s who turned his fictional torture-cake into real-world decadence—combining British teatime traditions with American portion sizes and that distinctly Yankee obsession with making everything bigger, richer, and more likely to require medical intervention.
Regional Twist
In Vienna's Sacher district, they swap the vegetable oil for melted Austrian butter and spike the ganache with apricot schnapps, creating a boozy tribute that makes the original look positively innocent.
📝 Ingredients
Shopping List
- 8 ounces (227 g) chocolate
- 1 cup (237 ml) coffee
- 1 cup (237 ml) cream
- 2 large eggs
Pantry Items
Amounts also listed in instructions below
- baking powder (to taste)
- baking soda (to taste)
- ½ cups (114 g) butter
- 1 cup (227 g) buttermilk
- ¾ cups (177 ml) cocoa powder
- 1 ¾ cups (210 g) flour
- ½ cups (118 ml) oil
- salt (to taste)
- 2 cups (400 g) sugar
- vanilla (to taste)
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- 2
In a large bowl, mix together sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt.
- 3
Add buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- 4
Stir in hot coffee until the batter is smooth.
- 5
Pour the batter into prepared cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes.
- 6
For the ganache, heat the cream and sugar until dissolved, then pour over butter, vanilla, salt, and chocolate. Stir until smooth.
- 7
Once the cakes are cooled, layer them with chocolate ganache in between and on top.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Add hot coffee at 180-200°F to chocolate cake batter because the heat blooms cocoa compounds and creates deeper chocolate flavor while the liquid keeps the crumb exceptionally moist.technique180-200°F
- ✓Use buttermilk at room temperature (68-72°F) because cold buttermilk won't properly activate baking soda, reducing lift by up to 25% and creating dense spots.ingredient68-72°F
- ✓Heat ganache cream to exactly 185°F before pouring over chocolate - too hot (above 190°F) breaks the emulsion, too cool (below 180°F) won't fully melt chocolate creating lumps.technique185°F
- ✓Test cake doneness when internal temperature reaches 205-210°F rather than relying on toothpicks, as the high moisture content from coffee can give false readings.timing205-210°F
- ✓Cool cakes completely to 70°F before ganaching because warm cake (above 80°F) will melt the ganache and cause it to absorb into the crumb instead of creating clean layers.timing70°F