Sven Epiney’s Chocolate Cake

A more recent component of Switzerland’s food culture is Sven Epiney’s Schoggikuchen (chocolate cake). I’m not sure whether my parent’s generation know this recipe as it’s a newer one but amongst the younger Swiss folks it’s safe to say this cake has become a bit of a cult recipe, which I’m pretty sure wasn’t intended; Sven Epiney isn’t a chef or food blogger, instead he’s a tv presenter for the public tv broadcaster SF DRS. From 2004 to 2010 he presented one of the most popular Swiss cooking shows called ‘Al Dente’ and for that show he once created his very own version of chocolate cake. It’s beautifully moist and very quickly prepared which must have made it so popular. Here’s the English translation of Sven’s chocolate cake – one more little piece of knowledge to impress your Swiss friends with.

Recipe

• 125g plain flour
• 190g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 125g butter
• 155g dark chocolate
• 1-2 tbsp Kirsch schnaps (or another clear, non-sweet fruit distillate), can also be left out if you prefer an alcohol-free version

Method

Preheat oven to 150 degrees C.

In a bowl, mix flour, sugar and the eggs until the mixture is of a bright yellow colour.

Carefully melt the butter and chocolate in a saucepan. Once melted, add the chocolate butter to the other mixture and mix. Add the Kirsch schnapps and mix.

Grease a round, 25cm in diameter cake tin with butter and pour the mixture in.

Bake at 250 degrees C for 11 minutes, on the second lowest rack. Important: The cake should still be moist on the inside. Therefore you’ll need to be very accurate with the baking time, but if your oven is on the hotter side, you might have to reduce the time by a minute, and if it‘s on the less hot side you might have to add 1-2 minutes. After your first attempt you‘ll know your own best timings.