Sokolatopita is a Greek chocolate cake with syrup, very chocolatey and moist. This fluffy chocolate cake is topped with the most amazing cocoa glaze!
Sokolatopita in Greek means chocolate pie. Even though it's a cake I don't know why we call it that. Perhaps because it's soaked in syrup like Amygdalopita (=almond pie, another Greek syrup cake).
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No matter the name though. This is a simple, moist, chocolate cake recipe with oil which for me, is one of the best-ever chocolate cakes! There are so many variations of this syrup-soaked cake in Greece. Some recipes call for chocolate while others for cocoa powder (like this recipe). The base of the cake is the same though, an ultra-moist, chocolate syrup cake.
This Greek cake is one of the most popular Greek chocolate desserts. Along with Sokolatina (a creamy, chocolate cake).
Ingredients
To make this old-fashioned and easy cocoa cake recipe you need:
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Vegetable oil (corn oil, sunflower oil). You may use olive oil but it will make the cake a bit more dense
- Milk
- All-purpose flour
- Cocoa powder (Dutch-processed ideally)
- Salt (to balance the sweetness)
- Baking powder
- Vanilla powder (or vanilla extract)
- Brandy (or almond liqueur, dark rum, even red wine, if you don't want to use alcohol sub for orange juice)
- Butter (for the glaze)
The Cake Batter
To make the cake batter you need to beat the eggs with sugar until thickened and foamy using an electric mixer. Next, gradually add the vegetable oil. And then the flour-cocoa mixture and milk alternately. Finally, mix in the brandy and the batter is ready! Pour it into an oiled 8x8-inch non-stick pan and bake.
TIP: 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.
Baking
Bake the cake at a low temperature of 165°C / 329°F for about an hour in a conventional oven. A conventional oven, as well as, low and slow baking help the cake rise more evenly. If you are using a convection oven to bake this cake, that doesn't have a conventional function option, then you can use baking strips. See here why you should use baking strips.
Also, bake the cake on the lowest rack of the oven so the top doesn't heat too quickly and become too hard.
OTHER DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE DESSERTS YOU MAY LIKE:
- Red Wine Chocolate Cake
- Moist Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
- Chocolate Salami (Mosaiko)
- Chocolate Halva With Tahini
The Syrup
Preparing the cake: Before adding the syrup to the cake, you need to let the cake cool down to room temperature. Then overlap the pan to remove the cake. Slice the top of the cake to make it even and flat. Then place the cake back in the pan bottom side facing up.
Making the syrup: The syrup for this chocolate cake with cocoa powder is made with water, sugar, and cocoa. Its consistency is very thin. This way it gets absorbed very easily by the cake and doesn't weigh it down.
To make the syrup, add the sugar, water, and cocoa to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Drop the heat to moderate and simmer for 5 minutes.
Adding the syrup to the cake: Poke many little holes using a skewer to the cake. This helps the syrup distribute evenly. Then ladle the hot syrup all over the top of the cake.
The Glaze
To make the cocoa glaze for cake, first make a thick syrup and then add butter and cocoa powder. Simmer over low heat until thickened. Make sure to stir very often so the glaze won't overcook or burn on the sides inside the saucepan.
Allow the glaze to cool down for a couple of minutes and thicken even further before adding it to the cake. While the glaze cools at room temperature place the cake in the fridge.
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.
Storing
This super moist chocolate cake will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
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.
Recipe
Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake - Sokolatopita
Ingredients
For The Chocolate Cake :
- 4 medium-sized eggs at room temperature
- 260 grams (1 cup + 6 tbsp) sugar
- 200 ml vegetable oil sunflower, corn oil, etc
- 180 ml milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla powder or vanilla extract
- 300 grams (2½ cups) all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons cocoa powder unsweetened
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons brandy
For The Chocolate Syrup:
- 270 grams (1 cup + 7 tbsp) sugar
- 400 ml water
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder unsweetened
For The Cocoa Glaze:
- 160 grams (1 cup minus 4 tbsp) sugar
- 140 ml water
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder unsweetened
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 140 grams (½ cup + 2 tbsp) butter
Instructions
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 5-6 hours before cutting and serving.
- Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top (highly recommended!).
This is the best recipe. The cake turns out perfectly and it is a favorite of my family's at Christmas. Thank you for perfecting this recipe and explaining the directions so well!
The amounts of water, sugar, and cocoa for the glaze are not listed, or at least I did not see them. Can you list them please? Thank you.
Hi Debra, they're are listed as ingredients for Cocoa Glaze. 160 grams sugar, 140 ml water, 4 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tbsp honey, and 140 grams butter.
How much brandy do you add? You talk about it in the text, but it's not in the recipe.
Hi Jean. Sorry for the inconvenience. I fixed it. It's 3 tablespoons.
Glaze didn't thickened, the amount of syrup was much more than enough, the cake was literally drowning in syrup, the cake was really nice, i followed the recipe exactly so i don't know where is the problem
Hi, sorry to hear that! Did you cook the syrup until thickened? If the syrup doesn't get thick enough the glaze will be runny. As for the amount of syrup for the cake, its a moist cake, and we do make desserts very syrupy in Greece, if you think its too much you can always use a bit less of it.
hi, would like to try making your recipe but can't figure out the conversion from metric to American pounds and ounces. Is there an American version?
Thank you for any help you can give me
Hi Lucille, you can use this converter and convert all grams measurements into pounds and ounces.
Hi. I'm looking for the greek chocolate cake with the ganache topping. What is the filling and the cream looking topping under the ganache?
I don't know which cake you're specifically referring to Arlene but most Greek cakes are made with a basic pastry cream (Creme Patisserie) usually enriched with whipped cream.