Gordon Ramsay’s chocolate cake is a vanilla sponge filled with fresh ginger cream and covered in a dark chocolate ganache made with golden syrup for shine. Three layers: soft sponge, sharp ginger, rich chocolate. From the Ultimate Cookery Course. Serves 8.
Ramsay calls this his “canvas” cake: “every cook should master how to make a light, even sponge. Once you have, you can use it as a canvas for any flavours you like.” He filmed it on YouTube (13 million views), where he builds the whole thing from scratch and says “when something looks that delicious, dive in.”
The fresh ginger is what nobody expects. Ramsay grates a large piece of root ginger directly into the whipped cream, juice and all. On the video he says “it’s fragrant, it’s not sweet, it’s got a really nice taste.” The fresh root cuts through the richness of the ganache so the cake doesn’t sit heavy after one slice.
Gordon Ramsay Chocolate Cake
Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Medium8
servings20
minutes25
minutes520
kcal45
minutesFrom the Ultimate Cookery Course: vanilla sponge filled with fresh ginger cream and topped with a dark chocolate ganache made glossy with golden syrup. The ganache needs 30 minutes to thicken before spreading, so make it while the sponge bakes.
Ingredients
175g (6 oz) butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
175g (6 oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
175g (6 oz) caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
About 2 tbsp milk, to loosen
- For the chocolate ganache:
200g (7 oz) plain chocolate, finely chopped
50g (1¾ oz) unsalted butter
300ml (1¼ cups) double cream (heavy cream)
2 tbsp golden syrup
- For the ginger cream filling:
300ml (1¼ cups) double cream (heavy cream)
2 tbsp icing sugar
3cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
Directions
- Bake the sponge: Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan / 350°F / Gas 4). Butter and flour a deep 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla extract and mix well. Sift in the flour and baking powder, fold in gently with a spatula. Add a little milk if needed to reach a dropping consistency. Pour into the tin, smooth the top and tap on the worktop to knock out air pockets. Bake for 25 minutes until golden and firm to touch.
- Make the ganache while the sponge bakes: Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream and golden syrup in a saucepan until just boiling, then pour into the bowl. Stir until the chocolate and butter have melted and the mixture is thick and glossy. Set aside for 30 minutes to thicken.
- Make the ginger cream: Whip the cream and icing sugar to soft peaks, then mix in the grated ginger.
- Assemble: Once the sponge is completely cool, cut it in half horizontally. Spread the ginger cream over the bottom half, then place the top half on, pressing down lightly to push the cream to the edges. Spread the ganache over the top and sides with a spatula. Allow to set before serving.
FAQs
Why does Ramsay use fresh root ginger instead of ground?
Fresh ginger has oils and juice that ground ginger loses in the drying process. When you grate it into whipped cream, the juice mixes through and gives a sharp, fragrant heat that sits behind the sweetness rather than on top of it.
Ground ginger would give a dusty warmth but none of that brightness. The fresh root is what makes the filling feel like a counterpoint to the chocolate rather than just another sweet layer.
Why does the ganache need golden syrup?
It gives the chocolate coating a glossy, almost lacquered finish that plain chocolate and cream can’t achieve. The ganache also needs 30 minutes to thicken after making. Ramsay warns: “if it is too runny, it will pour off the sides and look messy.”
Make it while the sponge bakes and by the time both have cooled, the timing works out.
Can you make this as a chocolate sponge instead of vanilla?
Ramsay designed the vanilla sponge so each layer does a different job: light sponge, sharp ginger, rich chocolate. Putting chocolate in the sponge too would make it one-note.
If you want chocolate all the way through, his gooey chocolate fondant packs 275g of dark chocolate into the batter with a molten centre. But that’s individual puddings, not a sliceable cake. For a sliceable all-chocolate cake, his chocolate mint cake is completely flourless with whisked egg whites for lift and mint caramel shards for crunch.
Can you turn this into a pound cake?
A pound cake uses equal weights of butter, sugar, flour and eggs with no baking powder, giving a dense, tight crumb. Ramsay’s sponge uses the same equal-weight ratio (175g each) but adds baking powder and milk for a lighter bake that holds the ginger cream between layers.
Drop the baking powder and the milk if you want it denser. The sponge will come out heavier and closer to a traditional pound cake, but slice it thinner because the cream won’t hold as well between two thick, heavy layers.
