Do you remember these lines: “You like my special chocolate cake, don’t you, Bogtrotter? It’s rich and delicious, isn’t it, Bogtrotter?”

They are from Matilda by Roald Dahl.

It’s the scene where Miss Trunchbull summons poor Bruce Bogtrotter to the stage in the school auditorium so she can humiliate him for eating her chocolate cake.

As punishment, she has her wretched cook bake him a whole cake and she forces him to eat it.

Every. Last. Bite.

Miss Trunchbull was the stuff of nightmares…but her chocolate cake looked delicious.

I can understand why little Bruce Bogtrotter helped himself to a piece.

I’ve had a recipe for Miss Trunchbull’s cake for years.

Finally, I got around to baking it!

It is dense and oh-so-chocolatey, with its shiny, chocolate ganache frosting and its layered filling of chocolate buttercream.

Oh my.

If anyone else feels the need for chocolate, I’ve got the recipe for you.

I’d forgotten what a genius Roald Dahl was.

In addition to Matilda, he wrote nearly 50 books, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and The BFG.

He wrote his very first book for Walt Disney in 1943: The Gremlins, which was later made into a Disney film.

His imagination knew no bounds.

He famously invented more than 500 words—much like Dr. Seuss—and mostly for The BFG.

Remember Whizzpopping?

Hopscotchy?

Squibbling?

Dahl wore a lot of hats during his 74 years.

He was a novelist, a short story writer, poet, medical inventor, screenwriter, fighter pilot in World War II, a spy, and a chocolate historian.

His stories are roller coasters of imagination.

When I was a kid and visited Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory in San Francisco, I was so disappointed that it wasn’t anything like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.

And I LOVE the idea of jars full of dreams, like in The BFG.

The magic wasn’t over-the-top in his books…just so fanciful.

If you want to get carried away by a word wizard’s stories, check out Roald Dahl’s books.

By the way, many of his books are illustrated by Quentin Blake who has his own fanciful style.

And now, here’s the recipe.*

This will take a good couple of hours to bake and assemble.

But you’ll be on your feet and moving most of the time…think of the calories you’ll be burning!

Put on some dance music and, my goodness, you’ll be able to eat two pieces of this cake.

While you’re waiting for the cake to bake or cool, maybe you could pull out a notebook (or a
piece of paper or a paper napkin…) and write about: The chocolate cake of your dreams.

Miss Trunchbull’s Chocolate Cake

Cake: Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup boiling water
• 2 ½ tsps instant espresso powder (or use 5 tsps of instant coffee)
• 4 ½ ounces semi-sweet chocolate
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 ¾ cups granulated sugar
• 1 ¼ cups unsweetened cocoa powder (NOT hot chocolate mix)
• 1 ½ tsps baking soda
• 1 ½ tsps baking powder
• 1 ½ tsps salt
• 3 large eggs (room temperature. Take them out an hour or so before making cake)
• 1 ½ cups buttermilk
• ¾ cup grapeseed oil or vegetable oil
• 2 tsps vanilla

Chocolate Ganache: Ingredients

• 14 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
• 1 ¼ cups heavy cream

Milk Chocolate Buttercream: Ingredients

• ¾ cups unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 4 ounces milk chocolate
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Pinch of salt

Cake: Instructions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and grease the paper and the sides of the pans with butter. Set aside.

2.In a medium bowl, stir together the boiling water, espresso powder, and semi-sweet chocolate until the chocolate and coffee has dissolved and the mixture is nice and smooth. Set aside to cool.

3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.

5. Add in the cooled espresso-chocolate mixture, stirring just until it’s combined.

6. Divide the batter evenly among the pans and bake for about 30 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cakes. If it comes out clean or with hardly any crumbs attached, the cakes can be removed from the oven. Let them cool completely.

7. Once the cakes are cooled, carefully remove them from the pans. Wrap them in waxed paper and freeze for an hour or so. This will make it easier to frost them.

Ganache: Instructions

1. If you have a microwave (I don’t): Pour the heavy cream into a microwave-safe glass measuring cup and heat until it starts to boil. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour the boiling heavy cream over the chocolate. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about 5 minutes to cool. Then stir, stir, stir until the ganache is smooth.

2. I wanted the ganache more liquid, so this thickness was fine. If you want it thicker, refrigerate it for a bit until it reaches your desired thickness.

Milk Chocolate Buttercream: Instructions

1. Place the milk chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl and heat in microwave until
smooth and melted. Stir and allow to cool to just about room temperature.

2. Using a mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt and continue beating. Add the cooled chocolate and beat on high for about 2 minutes. The frosting should be smooth and fluffy.

Assembly: Instructions

On a large cake plate, dab some buttercream in center of plate (to prevent cake from slipping around), then place one layer on the plate.

Dollop half of the buttercream on top of the layer and spread evenly.

Bring the buttercream right to the edge of the cake.

Add the second layer and dollop the other half of the buttercream on top and spread evenly.

Again, bring the buttercream right to the edge of the cake.

Top with the third layer.

If the buttercream is trying to escape, use a knife or spatula held vertically to the cake to smooth the buttercream flush with the sides.

Now take the ganache and pour it on top of the cake SLOWLY.

Then bring it to the top edge and let it drip down.

Using your knife or spatula, again held vertically, spread the ganache on the sides of the cake.

Use a very sharp knife to slice the cake, without sawing back and forth.

You don’t want it to topple.

If you refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes or longer, it will harden up and be easier to cut.

This cake was delicious for several days after we made it.

The buttercream was almost like candy.

Again, OH MY!

It will feed a crowd.

Or one person for days.

*this recipe is adapted from abajillianrecipes.com

Here are some other writing prompts.

One for every day for the rest of the week:

1. He looked up and saw the white bird…

2. I never expected that reaction when I told my dad about…

3. She blinked, then blinked again. She couldn’t possibly have seen…

4. Magic pulsed from her gloved fingertips like…

5. If it weren’t for that one mistake, I’d be…

6. Somehow the cake baked up taller than expected. Now what do I do?…

Have fun.

And feel free to share this recipe and blog post with your friends.

~gail

More about cake Here.

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