Hi everyone

I need a sturdy chocolate recipe that will hold up to fondant and carving. My favorite chocolate cake made with oil is just too moist and settles too much under the fondant. I made a chocolate Madeira cake yesterday to try out, it was delicious but too dry. My husband says people may think its a bit old
I really liked the taste but its not the right recipe.

here's the recipe i use, i just can't remember where i got it, but it works well with fondant and tastes great

Devil's Food Cake


Ingredients
  2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  1 tsp baking soda
  1/4 teaspoon salt
  1/2 cup shortening
  1-3/4 cups sugar
  1tsp vanilla
  4 eggs
  1-1/3 cups cold water


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Grease and lightly flour two 9x1-1/2-inch round cake pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set pan(s) aside. Stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat the shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla; beat until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add the dry mixture and water alternately to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.
3. Spoon batter into prepared pan(s), spreading evenly. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool layer cakes in pan on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool thoroughly on wire racks. Or, place 13x9-inch cake in pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly.

Recipe from: Verusca Walker
http://www.facebook.com/veruscawalker

Hi there
I get a lot requests for recipe so here it is:
Basically I prefer to use chocolate mud cake because it is more dense and easy to carve.
I bake a basic chocolate mud cake and cut the cake in three layers, alternating with chocolate ganache . Make a 12" cake

500g Butter
300g Dark chocolate
850g caster sugar
400g water

It suppose to be 160 grams or mls or 1 cup of any of your favorite flavours. You can mix and match or don't put anything at all. It's all up to you and your preference.
80g (1/2cup) vanilla essence
80g (1/2cup) coffee paste or licor (Preference)

480g bakers flour
100g cocoa
10g baking powder
300g (6) eggs

Place in a pan, butter, chocolate sugar, water and all liquids and slowly heat to melt the chocolate and butter and dissolve the sugar.
Put aside to cool.
Sieve together flour, cocoa and baking powder and blend until smooth.
Add to the batter egg and blend evenly. Deposit into the greased and papered tin. Bake at 160ºC for 1 hour (+ or -)
Mudcake is a very dense cake and you need to cook it slow.

"Bakers flour is a high protein flour and is also refered to as strong flour you can buy it from your local supermaket or mixing 1 teaspoon of gluten (cornflour) to 1 cup of your plain flour will give you the same result as the cornflour is a wheat starch (gluten).

Ganache coating recipe
300 g dark chocolate
188 g cream

Thank you so much, looks like I'll be doing some test cakes this weekend. Both recipes look yummy.

I had the same problem this weekend with a chocolate cake made with oil not being sturdy enough (sadly I did not realize it would not be sturdy enough until it died all over the back of my subaru - thankfully I was able to rescue the top tier before it died too, so the grooms cake was a pitiful 8-in cake and not a 2 tier cake as the bride had envisioned, but it was better than no cake at all!); anyway, I am also looking for a more sturdy chocolate cake recipe... Have you ever substituted the water in this cake for coffee/espresso?  Do you know if it would change anything about how the cake holds up?  I ask because the cake recipe I have been using (perfect for cupcakes by the way) has coffee in it, and, because of its richness, has received many compliments, therefore I want to preserve the deep chocolate flavor of the cake while making it more sturdy... Any suggestions?  

AThis is an older thread so you might not get a response from the original posters. I recently stumbled across this recipe that resembles a mudcake (which I love) but the alterations really produce a fantastic cake! I always add coffee to my chocolate cakes, I know some people think it makes your cake taste like coffee, but it really elevates the chocolate IMHO.

Anyway, I highly recommend this recipe!

http://www.cakepaperparty.com/2014/02/american-mud-cake/