Water: the foundation of life, the substance that comprises 70% of our planet, and the thing that makes chocolate cakes even more chocolatey.
Thatâs what Senior Recipe Developer Molly Marzalek-Kelly and the rest of our Test Kitchen discovered while on a recent mission to develop our new Chocolate Pound Cake recipe. Thanks to water, youâll get chocolate flavor thatâs âa little bit richer and a little bit stronger,â says Molly. âAnd thatâs going to win across the board.â
Why water is actually better than milk
The team originally started making their new recipe with milk, a natural instinct. Itâs the liquid called for in our Original Pound Cake, which is the foundational recipe they were starting from, as well as most cakes in general. Milkâs fat and protein add tenderness, structure, and flavor to a cake â all great attributes you want in your baking!
But there was one key difference between that Original Pound Cake recipe and the new one Molly was developing: chocolate. And when it comes to chocolate desserts, especially cakes, thereâs really only one goal: maximize the chocolate flavor as much as possible. Turns out, thatâs the one thing milk isnât good at. Its added flavor muddies the pure, clean taste of chocolate. As Molly explains, âWith milk, thereâs a little bit of sweetness, a little bit of sourness, so there are some other contributing flavors present there. Which, in the case of chocolate cake, kind of works against it.â
Molly turned to water instead, based on a tip that Director of Research and Development Sue Gray shared during recent work on the recipe for Cookies and Cream Cupcakes. âWater is neutral, so there are no other flavors,â Molly says. As a result, it âreally made the chocolate flavor popâ since it wouldnât compete with the cakeâs cocoa powder.
When Molly tested the water-based cake against one made with milk, the results were clear: Water, not milk, was the best way to get maximum chocolate flavor. âWhen youâre having them side-by-side, itâs very noticeable,â according to Molly. She notes that the differences are subtle enough that if youâre not eating the cakes together, you might not pick up on the improved flavor. âBut if youâre a chocolate fan,â she stresses, âwho wouldnât want a little bit more chocolate flavor? Nobody.â
Plus, there was one additional bonus: The water-based cake had a longer shelf life. âItâs not something that would be perceivable unless you had them side-by-side, but on day two, the water-based cake definitely tasted like it did the first day, whereas the milk-based cake was already a bit drier,â Molly recounts.
Ultimately, this is a tiny but mighty element thatâs subtle, yet improves a recipe â which shows the thought, care, and detail that our Test Kitchen puts into every aspect of recipe development.
What about coffee in chocolate cake?
If you peek at the final recipe for that Chocolate Pound Cake, youâll see that it not only calls for water, but also lists coffee as an option.
âCoffee is a natural chocolate enhancer,â explains Molly. âIf youâre in the chocolate camp that likes a little bit more of the âmochaâ chocolate flavor, then go with the coffee, since that helps deepen the chocolate flavor.â That said, âboth water and coffee will let the chocolate flavor shine more as opposed to milk.â
To choose, think about what kind of chocolate taste youâre going for: Do you want a complex, rounded flavor with multiple notes? Pick coffee. Do you want pure, unadulterated chocolate? Waterâs your best bet.
Can you swap water into any chocolate cake recipe?
This isnât something Molly has tried, but she advises that as long as the cake is flavored with cocoa powder (as opposed to another form like melted chocolate), then using water in place of the recipeâs milk should work just fine. Her one hesitation is if the cake calls specifically for buttermilk since thatâs likely contributing to the cakeâs leavening and rise.
Now if you stumble across a chocolate cake recipe that calls for either milk or water, like our Devilâs Food Cake, youâll know the ramifications of choosing one or the other. And if you want to recreate Mollyâs testing and make both versions to compare side-by-side? Itâll mean a little more baking education and a lot more chocolate cake in your life â both very excellent things.
See how water allows chocolate to shine in our recipes for Chocolate Pound Cake, Cookies and Cream Cupcakes, or Dark Chocolate Cake.
Cover photo (Chocolate Pound Cake) by Liz Neily.