Recipe Portillo’s Chocolate Cake is a delicious chocolate cake with White and Dark Chocolate Icing that is rich, moist, and very decadent. This cake is perfect for birthdays and celebrations.
This recipe makes one 8-inch round cake, but the variations allow you to make a double batch or 3-layer cake. The brownies are also delicious as a frosting but require baking in the oven for 20 minutes before assembling the cake layers on top of them.
I also used a video in the blog post to introduce the cake, but you can see the recipe below. Enjoy!
What is Portillo’s Chocolate Cake?
Portillo’s is a restaurant chain that serves the famous and delicious Chocolate Portillo’s Cake, now available in various outlets throughout America. The cake is a chocolate sponge cake filled and topped with vanilla buttercream. Portillo’s began as a hot dog cart in Chicago in 1927.
You can customize your cake with White or Dark Chocolate Icing and add different toppings such as fresh raspberries, white chocolate chips, or mini Oreos.
How to make Portillo’s Chocolate Cake Recipe?
- Preparation time: 15 minutes
- Cooking time: 25 minutes
- Total time: 40 minutes
- Servings: 8 to 12 people
Ingredients:
- -⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- -1½ cups all-purpose flour
- -“¾ teaspoon baking soda.”
- -“½ teaspoon salt.”
- -“⅛ teaspoon baking powder.”
- -1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature or softened.
- -“1⅓ cups granulated sugar”
- -2 eggs, room temperature or beaten.
- “3 tablespoons sour cream”
- “3 tablespoons buttermilk (or you can use milk + lemon juice)”
- “2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract.”
For the White Chocolate Icing:
- ⅓ cup heavy cream.
- 4 ounces white chocolate.
For the Dark Chocolate Icing:
- ⅓ cup heavy cream.
- 4 ounces dark chocolate.
For the Brownie Icing:
- ⅓ cup heavy cream.
- 4 ounces of chocolate syrup.
Preparing the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit or 190 Celsius and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Set aside the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and powder in a bowl.
3. “Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until the mixture is lighter in color. Add sour cream and buttermilk, and beat well. Beat in vanilla and mix until it is fully mixed well.” ( Note: The butter should be softened, and the sugar should be melted)
4. Cream the flour with the cocoa powder mixture in a large bowl or stand mixer.
5 . “Gradually add the batter to the Butter-sugar mixture. Mix until ingredients are fully incorporated. Pour batter into cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes.” (Note: leave a few inches between each pan because the cakes will rise.)
6. Now comes the fillings! For the White Chocolate Icing, “Heat 1/3 cup of heavy cream over medium heat until it simmers. Remove from heat and add white chocolate chips to cream. Mix until smooth. Let cool and then refrigerate until it thickens.” ( It should be very thick )
7. For the Dark Chocolate Icing, “Heat 1/3 cup heavy cream over medium heat until it simmers. Remove from heat and add the dark chocolate chips to cream. Mix until smooth and let cool. Then refrigerate.” ( It should be very thick )
8 . For the Brownie Icing, “Heat 1/3 cup of heavy cream over medium heat until it simmers. Remove from heat and add the chocolate syrup to cream. Mix until smooth and let cool. Then refrigerate.” ( It should be very thick )
9. Once the cake has cooled completely, poke holes in the cake using a fork. Pour the White or Dark Chocolate Icing over it and spread it evenly. You can choose to add some fresh raspberries as an extra topping!
10. Finally, pour Brownie Icing on the cake and spread it evenly.
11. Enjoy!
Variations of Portillo’s Chocolate Cake Recipe
| Nutrition | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | 360 calories (kcal) |
| Calories from fat | 160 kcal |
| Protein | 6g |
| Carbohydrates | 58.5g (Total Carbs) |
| Sugar | 34g |
| Fiber | 1.5g |
| Sodium | 200mg (Salt) / 0.4g (from Salt) |
| Calcium | 10% RDA |
Conclusion
Portillo’s Chocolate Cake is a delicious chocolate sponge cake with a rich buttery flavor and is best eaten fresh. It is one of the most popular cakes in America, with over 2 million servings. It is also available in different flavors such as Vanilla, Vanilla Bean, Caramel Swirl, and Original. The cake has been around for over 60 years and seems to be around for another century!
I hope that you enjoyed my recipe and that you tried it out! If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Comment below if you make this cake, or let me know your thoughts on the recipe.
FAQ
Why is Portillo’s cake so good?
The cake is baked at Portillo’s bakery, and it is made with the finest ingredients and tested hundreds of times. The butter used in the recipe is also fresh and comes from the dairy farm next to Portillo’s. They add a special secret ingredient I listed above to the batter that makes it all come together nicely.
Is Portillo’s chocolate cake good?
Yes, Portillo’s cake is good. The cake is moist, soft, and rich in chocolate. It also contains mini chocolate chips, making it very sweet and delicious.
How does the cake taste?
The cake has great taste! I had never tried it before, so I didn’t know what to expect, but it was an exciting discovery. It was very sweet and tasted like a brownie because of the icing.
How do you make portillos cake?
First, let us talk about ingredients. We will mention some specific ingredients you will need. You can use other ingredients instead of those. Creaming butter and sugar together will make the cake softer. You can use egg whites or whole eggs. You can add buttermilk or milk or a little of both.
Can I make the cake chocolate flavored?
Yes, you can spice up the cake with chocolate chips or chocolate syrup in time for breakfast, which is delicious this way too. Which comes first, the cake batter or the icing? If you want simple half-and-half icing, mix it into the batter after it is cooked.
Is there mayo in Portillo’s chocolate cake shake?
Yes, mayonnaise is used on the sides of Portillo’s chocolate cake shake. I want to mention that that is a very healthy addition to the recipe because eggs, milk, and oil are involved.
Is Portillos chocolate cake good?
Yes, it is indeed good. Very rich chocolate flavor without any sugar or other sweeteners added. The ingredients used in the recipe ensure they will be moist and soft with a great taste.