Turkish Chocolate Sauce Cake (Kakaolu Islak kek)

Turkish Chocolate Sauce Cake (Kakaolu Islak Kek) is the ultimate "wet cake" — a deeply moist, cocoa-rich sponge that soaks up a glossy chocolate sauce as it cools, turning every slice into soft, fudgy comfort.  Using pantry ingredients this is a perfect midway point between a regular chocolate cake and a pudding thanks to the sauce making this a dessert that disappears quickly!

Ingredients and substitutions for Turkish Chocolate Sauce Cake

• Cocoa powder: The star ingredient here so you’ll want a nice high quality unsweetened cocoa powder for a truly chocolate flavor. I do not recommend substituting melted chocolate in equal measure here as this can be quite dense, however, chocolate chips or chunks would work well as an addition.
• Eggs: The eggs bind and adds structure to our cake resulting in that soft interior. It is not recommended to replace them with an alternative.
• Sugar: The superfine or caster sugar adds sweetness without adding additional flavors.
• Neutral oil: Sunflower oil was used here as it’s a neutral oil making for a light texture and lends more beautifully to the chocolate flavors. You could substitute with any neutral vegetable oil or even coconut oil which has the same texture as vegetable oils, but adds a complimentary addition to the chocolate.
• Baking powder: The only raising agent used in the recipe, helps our cake rise for a nice light crumb inside.
• Plain flour: Plain flour or all purpose is best because it helps give the cake it’s light texture and nice crumb. You also don’t want to overwork the batter so you don’t end up with a firm cake texture.
• Milk: Full fat milk helps add moisture to our cake, but can be substituted with skim or non dairy milk.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make Turkish Chocolate Sauce Cake:

Step 1: Fluffy base: Whip the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy.

Step 2: Wet ingredients: Add the remaining wet ingredients and whip on low.

Step 3: Dry ingredients: Add the dry ingredients and whip on low to create a loose batter.

Step 4: Dish and bake: Pour into the baking dish and bake until a skewer comes out clean.

Step 5: Sauce: Heat the sauce ingredients in a saucepan until it reaches a rolling boil. Remove and allow to cool.

Step 6: Soak: Cut slices into the cake in the dish and then pour over the sauce.

Step 7: Serve up: Serve up and dig in!

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Turkish Chocolate Sauce Cake (Kakaolu Islak kek)

Sylvie Taylor

This Turkish Chocolate Sauce Cake takes that classic ?slak kek and adds cocoa and a rich chocolate sauce for a chocolate lover's version that needs no frosting. Light where you'd expect a cake to be light, dense and glossy where you'd expect it to be fudgy

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Soaking time 1 hour hr

Course Dessert

Cuisine Turkish

Servings 12

Calories 379 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Chocolate Cake

• 165 grams / 3 large eggs room temperature
• 200 grams / 1 cup superfine/caster sugar
• 227 grams / 1 cup neutral oil such as sunflower or canola
• 240 grams / 1 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 28 grams / ¼ cup cocoa powder sifted
• 10 grams / 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 240 grams / 1 ½ cups plain flour

Chocolate sauce

• 240 grams / 1 cup milk
• 150 grams / ¾ cup superfine/caster sugar
• 21 grams / 3 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 114 grams / ½ cup neutral oil
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

 

Chocolate Cake

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and grease a 30 x 19.5 centimeters or 12 x 7.75 inch baking dish.
• Whip the eggs and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, approximately 12 minutes.
• Pour in the oil, milk and vanilla extract and whisk on low until combined.
• Add the cocoa powder baking powder and flour whip on low until combined.
• Pour into the prepared tin and bake until a skewer comes out clean, approximately 35 minutes.
• Remove and set aside to cool completely.

Sauce

• Add the milk, oil, sugar, cocoa powder and salt into a small saucepan on medium heat.
• Cook until it has a rolling simmer, approximately 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
• Whilst waiting for the sauce to cool, cut the cake into equal slices in the tin or dish.
• Pour over the cake slowly and steadily until the sauce is completely covering the cake.
• Allow to soak in for at least 1 hour before serving up.
• Serve up and dig in!

Notes

• Cocoa Powder: The star ingredient here so you’ll want a nice high quality unsweetened cocoa powder for a truly chocolate flavor. I do not recommend substituting melted chocolate in equal measure here as this can be quite dense, however, chocolate chips or chunks would work well as an addition.
• Neutral Oil: Sunflower oil was used here as it’s a neutral oil making for a light texture and lends more beautifully to the chocolate flavors. You could substitute with any neutral vegetable oil or even coconut oil which has the same texture as vegetable oils, but adds a complimentary addition to the chocolate.
• Baking dish: The size of the baking dish used here was 30 x 19.5 centimeters or 12 x 7.75 inches. This lends to a higher cake which is not as traditional, but something I prefer for guests. You could absolutely use a larger dish up to 23 x 33 cm or 9 x 13-inch baking tin which results in a flatter cake that will serve up to 24 people. If using a larger tin the baking time would be reduced to 20-25 minutes. 
• Best served: Though it’s best served the same day or the next. It can be stored in a covered container at room temperature for 1 day or refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Adapted from Nefis Yemek Tarifleri

Nutrition

Calories: 379kcal

Keyword cake, chocolate

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