Lisbon Chocolate Cake
Updated Sept. 17, 2025
- Total Time
- About 1 hour, plus cooling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ½cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into chunks, plus more for greasing the pan
- ⅓cup/30 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1½tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼teaspoon baking powder
- ¼teaspoon fine sea salt
- 5ounces/140 grams semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- ½cup/100 grams granulated sugar
- 3large eggs, chilled
- 1¾cups/420 milliliters heavy cream
- 6ounces/170 grams semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 3tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
For the Cake
For the Ganache
For the Topping
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
450 calories; 36 grams fat; 22 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 28 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 106 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Make the cake: Center a rack in the oven, and heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-inch cake pan, line with parchment paper and butter the paper.
- Step 2
Sift together the cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk to blend.
- Step 3
Put the ½ cup butter in a large heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Scatter the semisweet or bittersweet chocolate on top, and heat, stirring often, until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Remove the bowl from the pan, and stir in the sugar. One by one, energetically stir in the eggs, beating for 1 minute after the last egg is added. The mixture will look like pudding. Stir in the dry ingredients. Scrape the mixture into the cake pan, and give the pan a couple of good raps against the counter to settle the batter.
- Step 4
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean (or with only a tiny streak of chocolate). Transfer to a rack, cool for 5 minutes, then unmold the cake. Peel off the paper, invert the cake and cool to room temperature. Wash and dry the cake pan.
- Step 5
Make the ganache: Pour 1¼ cups cream into a small saucepan; refrigerate the rest. Scald the cream over medium heat, turn off the heat and stir in the semisweet or bittersweet chocolate until fully incorporated. Transfer to a heatproof bowl. Refrigerate the ganache for 10 minutes, whisk it, then refrigerate again for 10 minutes. Repeat chilling and whisking steps until the ganache is thick enough to make tracks when you stir, 50 to 60 minutes.
- Step 6
Cut two 3-by-16-inch pieces of parchment or foil, and crisscross them in the cake pan. Carefully return the cake to the pan. (The mousse layer is too soft to stand on its own until it's chilled. It needs the support of the pan sides.)
- Step 7
Whip the remaining ½ cup cream until it holds medium peaks.
- Step 8
Using a whisk, gently beat the ganache until it’s soft and spreadable. With a spatula, fold in the whipped cream. Spread over the cake, and refrigerate for 2 hours (or cover and keep for up to 2 days). The cake is best served cool or at room temperature, so take it out of the fridge about 20 minutes before serving.
- Step 9
To finish, put the cocoa powder in a fine-mesh strainer, and shake it over the top of the cake. Run a table knife along the sides of the pan. Using the parchment or foil handles, carefully lift the cake out of the pan and onto a serving plate. Discard the strips. Cut the cake using a long knife that has been run under hot water and wiped dry between each cut.
Private Notes
Comments
Former pastry chef here. I think the best cocoa is Valrhona. It has an assertive chocolate flavor but doesn't ever produce a bitter product. It's also a beautiful rich color, deep warm brown. You can order it from Worldwide Chocolate, Chocosphere or Kalustyan's. I have a simple brownie recipe made with cocoa only - no unsweetened chocolate -- and Valrhona does the trick.
Why do virtually all recipes that call for using an oven give, as the first step, to preheat the oven, regardless of how much time will be spent preparing what goes into the oven will transpire ? Commenters here are mentioning how long it takes them to get to the stage where the oven is actually used. i doubt many ovens take more than 15 minutes to reach 325 degrees F. It's a waste of energy. Stop doing it.
I made this Friday and served it Saturday. I used a springform pan and had no trouble whatsoever with setting the mousse. I added a pinch of espresso powder to the cake. I added a pinch of fine sea salt and a drop of vanilla to the ganache. The cake was refrigerated overnight and I took it out 3 hours before serving. I served it at a dinner party for 7 people. It was a smashing success. This cake was easy and delicious, I only used a hand mixer to whip the cream. I highly recommend this cake.
Delicious but way too much cocoa powder on the top. It doesnt add to the flavor and caused a couple of people because they inhaled it as they ate their slice
such an incredibly rich and exquisite cake. I used 70% madagascar chocolate for ganache and cake, and a cake collar to hold the ganache, which worked perfectly, and it came right out of the pan. it cracked when cooling--in the middle of the top of the cake--maybe I whipped the batter too much and it cooled too quickly upon removing it from the oven? not sure. it didn't matter because it was covered with ganach. i also used freeze-dried sour cherry powder to make a design on the cocoa--gorgeous!
OMG just reading all the comments is painful!!! I made the cake as written and it was the best dessert I've ever made, and one of the best I've eaten. Fantastic, elegant, understated. I will use a springform pan from now on. I may do the ganache whipped on ice instead of the longer process but don't want to mess with how perfectly the ganache came out. My only question is, how do you keep your guests (and yourself) from inhaling the cocoa?