No-Knead Chocolate Yeast Cake for Sukkot

This no-knead chocolate yeast cake stays soft because the dough is meant to be wet and sticky, and one overnight rise in the fridge does what kneading would otherwise do.

Mixing the dough

Stir flour, cocoa, yeast, sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl, then add eggs, oil and lukewarm milk and mix with a wooden spoon until you get a soft, sticky, even dough. No kneading needed, the gluten develops on its own while the dough rests in the fridge. Spread it into a greased 9.5 inch (24 cm) round pan, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 8 hours, one rise only. The cold slows the rise and deepens the yeast flavor.

Make sure the plastic wrap actually touches the surface of the dough, not just the rim of the pan, so a dry skin doesn't form on top while it sits.

Baking

Take the pan out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 1 to 1.5 hours, until the dough has risen by about half its original volume. Bake in an oven preheated to 350°F (175°C) for 40 to 45 minutes, until a skewer comes out with moist crumbs, not wet batter. Cool in the pan before slicing so the center doesn't sink.

Dough that's ready for the oven feels puffy and slack to a light touch, and its surface has lost the tight sheen it had straight out of the fridge.

Mix it Thursday evening, bake Friday morning, and it keeps well through chol hamoed in a closed container. Anyone who'd rather skip yeast altogether can find our no-mixer soft chocolate cake on the site.

The recipe

No-Knead Chocolate Yeast Cake for Sukkot

A soft chocolate yeast cake mixed by hand with no kneading, risen overnight in the fridge, and baked straight from the cold pan.

• Servings 10 servings
• Prep 20 min
• Cook 42 min
• Total 10 hr 17 min

Print recipe

Ingredients

• 4 cups / 500 g flour
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp / 60 g cocoa powder
• 2 tsp / 7 g active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp / 120 g sugar
• pinch of salt
• 3 eggs
• scant 1/2 cup / 100 ml canola oil
• 1 cup / 250 ml lukewarm milk
• 5 oz / 150 g dark chocolate, chopped

Instructions

1. Stir the flour, cocoa, yeast, sugar and salt together in a large bowl.

2. Add the eggs, oil and lukewarm milk, and mix with a wooden spoon until you get a soft, sticky, even dough, no kneading.

3. Fold in the chopped chocolate.

4. Spread the dough into a greased 9.5 inch (24 cm) round baking pan, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface, and refrigerate for about 8 hours.

5. Take it out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 1 to 1.5 hours, until it has risen by about half.

6. Bake in an oven preheated to 350°F (175°C) for 40 to 45 minutes, until a skewer comes out with moist crumbs.

7. Cool in the pan before slicing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why only one rise instead of two like other yeast cakes?
The overnight fridge time and the hour on the counter are the same rise: the dough is never reshaped in between, it just keeps rising slowly in the fridge and faster once it's out, so there's no separate second rise.

Can I skip the overnight rest and bake right away?
Not recommended, the overnight fridge rest is what builds the texture without kneading.