I bring you Bob’s chocolate cake as featured in Disney Pixar’s The Incredibles! Bob’s post-workout snack looks unbelievably indulgent every single time I watch this film, so it was about time I made it myself. Friends, this cake is UNREAL. I reckon it has the power to save the day. Is the police scanner working?
Contents
The Bake
The Incredibles is one of Pixar’s finest, FACT. It’s an iconic film for so many reasons and one I go back to over and over again. The characters, the concept, the aesthetic. So much greatness in one movie.
Edna Mode. That’s it. That’s the sentence. Well done, Pixar.
Food features quite a few times throughout The Incredibles, so I had plenty of inspiration in that regard. Naturally, I chose to recreate the chocolate cake that Bob finishes upon his return home after an evening of… heroism?
Or, in his words: “a little workout”. How many people can call preventing a bank robbery, followed by saving people from a fire before a building collapses a workout?
Did anyone else play the PS2 version of this movie? This specific scene was SO stressful to play!
Bob’s chocolate cake is a delicious-looking two layer chocolate cake with a simple chocolate frosting that sits between the layers and covers the entire cake.
It’s moist, indulgent and easy to make. Everything you’d want in a chocolate cake, friends.
The cake isn’t technically a chocolate fudge cake, like my Harry Potter birthday cake or my Hot Fuzz black forest gateau, but it’s similar in that it’s moist, as well as soft and light!
I adapted this lush recipe by Christina of Scientifically Sweet to create my version of Bob’s chocolate cake. The cake uses oil in place of butter and yoghurt (or sour cream) to create the delectably moist crumb, which is utterly divine.
I love the texture of the sponges with Greek/natural yoghurt instead of sour cream, but the choice of which you use is yours. Both of them keep the cake sponges moist, but offer a slight difference in texture. See Top Tips below for more information.
Like chocolate fudge cake, this recipe calls for coffee to be added to the batter.
You cannot taste the coffee in the baked cake – it simply helps to bring out the rich chocolate flavour.
If coffee is an issue, you can leave it out, just be sure to add the hot water anyway so as not to affect the structure of the cake.
Like in the film, my version of Bob’s chocolate cake requires minimal decoration.
I literally slathered the chocolate frosting on, both in between the layers and all over the entire cake with an offset palette knife. Easy.
Using evaporated milk in the buttercream frosting creates a really light and smooth texture which pairs with the chocolate cake like a match made in cake heaven. It’s almost mousse-like.
DELICIOUS.
You can check out my other Disney recipes & themed menus here!
Top Tips
- You can’t taste the coffee in the sponge at all, but if it’s an issue allergy-wise, feel free to leave it out. Be sure to add the hot water anyway, so you don’t throw the chemistry of the cake off balance.
- Greek yoghurt creates a slightly different texture to sour cream; the sponges are slightly lighter using yoghurt and a little fudgier using sour cream. Depending on where you buy the yoghurt, it can be a little more expensive than sour cream. If preferred, you can simply swap the Greek yoghurt out for an equal amount of full fat sour cream. Alternatively, you can use natural yoghurt instead of specifically Greek yoghurt.
- If preferred, you can use sunflower oil instead of vegetable oil in the sponge. Avoid using an oil with a strong taste!
- Evaporated milk creates a seriously delicious frosting, but you can use cow’s milk if you can’t find evaporated milk.
- If your sponges dome in the oven and then sink a little after baking, don’t stress. They will be delicious so long as they’re baked. To prevent doming and achieve a more even bake, wrap strips of tin foil around the outside of the tins or use even bake strips that you can get online.
- For a more accurate bake, weigh your ingredients out rather than using cups.
- The joy of this cake is that it can be as neat as you want it to look, or as homemade as you want it to look, so have fun with it!
My version of Bob’s chocolate cake really is incredibly moreish. The fact that it stays moist for days after baking just makes it even better. This cake makes a great addition to a The Incredibles themed party or movie night, especially for my fellow chocolate lovers. Enjoy!
Happy baking, happy eating!
The YouTube Video
The Recipe
Ingredients
Bob’s chocolate cake:
- 2 tsp instant coffee with 240ml [1 cup] boiled hot water
- 250g [1½ cups + 1 tbsp] plain [all-purpose flour]
- 55g [½ cup] cocoa powder
- 150g [¾ cup] caster sugar
- 160g [¾ cup + 1 tbsp] light brown sugar
- 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda [baking soda]
- 1 level tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs
- 120ml [½ cup] vegetable oil
- 180ml [¾ cup] Greek yoghurt or full fat sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract optional
Decoration:
- 250g [8.75 oz] unsalted butter room temperature
- 500g [3¼ cup + 3 tbsp] icing [confectioners] sugar
- 50g [1.75 oz] dark chocolate melted
- Splash of evaporated milk or cow’s milk
Serves: 10+
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 30 – 35 minutes
Decorating time: 10 minutes
Method
Bob’s chocolate cake sponges:
- Preheat your oven to 180°C [350°F] or 160°C fan. Grease and line two deep 8 inch cake tins with parchment paper or greaseproof paper. Set aside.
- Boil the kettle. Once the water has stopped boiling, pour it into a mug and mix in the coffee until dissolved. Leave to cool a little.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift in the flour and cocoa powder. Spoon in the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Add both sugars and mix together with a whisk, making sure to press out any lumps of light brown sugar.
- In a separate bowl, use an electric hand whisk to bring together the eggs, Greek yoghurt and oil until fully combined. Add the vanilla as well if using.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour in the egg mix and mix everything together with an electric hand mixer on a low-medium speed until the ingredients are fully incorporated. The mix will be relatively thick at this point.
- The coffee should be a little cooler, but still hot. Pour half of the coffee into the cake mixture and mix until fully incorporated. Add the other half of the coffee and beat in until the mix is fully combined and smooth.
- Divide the cake mixture into the two cake tins using a spoon.
- Bake on the middle shelf for 30 – 35 minutes or until a skewer comes out of the centre clean, the surfaces of the sponges spring back when gently pressed on, and you hear little crackling/bubbling sound when you listen to them.
- Leave the sponges to cool in their tins for 10 – 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack upside down to cool completely.
Decoration:
- While your sponges are cooling, make your chocolate buttercream.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter to loosen it. Add half of the icing sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the other half of the icing sugar and beat in.
- Add in the evaporated milk and beat on a medium-high speed until the buttercream is light and fluffy. Do this by texture, so start small and add more if needed to achieve the mousse-like lightness.
- Pour in the melted chocolate and beat in until smooth. Add more to taste if needed.
- Once your cake sponges are cool, build your cake!
- Place the first sponge on a cake board/plate/stand and cover in a generous amount of buttercream.
- Place the last sponge on top and, using a palette knife, smother the entire cake in the remainder of the buttercream frosting.
This version of Bob’s chocolate cake is best eaten on the day of baking, but will stay moist for at least another 4 days if kept in an airtight container/cake case/cake box. Seriously friends, this cake stays SO moist for days, it’s incredible. See what I did there? Heh. Enjoy!
The Film
I already said this in the beginning of this post, but it’s worth repeating: The Incredibles is ICONIC. A film that an entire generation adores.
Every time this movie comes up in conversation (which is more often than you may think), my siblings and I discuss who our favourite characters are and whose powers we’d want to have if we could.
Frozone’s powers all day, any day. Although Elastigirl’s powers could come in handy… and I could get places a lot faster if I could run as quickly as Dash… oh, but force fields would also be great.
As you may be able to tell, these conversations aren’t ever short.
In 2004, writer and director Brad Bird gave us the story of the Parr family.
After being forced to go underground, superheroes across the globe have to adapt to regular – perhaps even mundane – life. Including Bob and Helen Parr: formerly known as Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl.
These “supers” are hiding in plain sight among the citizens that they used to protect.
Years down the line and three kids later, a figure from Bob’s past puts his years of scheming into action and threatens the general way of life. Unable to sit by, Bob makes a return as Mr. Incredible and unintentionally brings his family into the hero business in the process.
A large part of the charm of The Incredibles is the vocal talent that helped breathe life into the characters.
The likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Holly Hunter, Craig T. Nelson, Spencer Fox, Sarah Vowell, Jason Lee, Eli Fucile and more became the voices we would know and love as the characters of The Incredibles.
Brad Bird himself provided his own voice as Edna Mode!
Whilst I think The Incredibles 2 (2018) is good in its own right, it’s hard to beat the pure brilliance and nostalgia of the first one.
Pixar gold, this film is.
Let me know in the comments who your favourite character is and which superpower you’d love to have!
Recipe Card
Bob’s Chocolate Cake | Pixar’s The Incredibles
Ingredients
Bob’s chocolate cake:
- 2 tsp instant coffee with 240ml [1 cup] boiled hot water
- 250 g [1½ cups + 1 tbsp] plain [all-purpose flour]
- 55 g [½ cup] cocoa powder
- 150 g [¾ cup] caster sugar
- 160 g [¾ cup + 1 tbsp] light brown sugar
- 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda [baking soda]
- 1 level tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs
- 120 ml [½ cup] vegetable oil
- 180 ml [¾ cup] Greek yoghurt or full fat sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract optional
Decoration:
- 250 g [8.75 oz] unsalted butter room temperature
- 500 g [3¼ cup + 3 tbsp] icing [confectioners] sugar
- 50 g [1.75 oz] dark chocolate melted
- Splash of evaporated milk or cow’s milk
Instructions
Bob’s chocolate cake sponges:
- Preheat your oven to 180°C [350°F] or 160°C fan. Grease and line two deep 8 inch cake tins with parchment paper or greaseproof paper. Set aside.
- Boil the kettle. Once the water has stopped boiling, pour it into a mug and mix in the coffee until dissolved. Leave to cool a little.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift in the flour and cocoa powder. Spoon in the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Add both sugars and mix together with a whisk, making sure to press out any lumps of light brown sugar.
- In a separate bowl, use an electric hand whisk to bring together the eggs, Greek yoghurt and oil until fully combined. Add the vanilla as well if using.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour in the egg mix and mix everything together with an electric hand mixer on a low-medium speed until the ingredients are fully incorporated. The mix will be relatively thick at this point.
- The coffee should be a little cooler, but still hot. Pour half of the coffee into the cake mixture and mix until fully incorporated. Add the other half of the coffee and beat in until the mix is fully combined and smooth.
- Divide the cake mixture into the two cake tins using a spoon.
- Bake on the middle shelf for 30 – 35 minutes or until a skewer comes out of the centre clean, the surfaces of the sponges spring back when gently pressed on, and you hear little crackling/bubbling sound when you listen to them.
- Leave the sponges to cool in their tins for 10 – 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack upside down to cool completely.
Decoration:
- While your sponges are cooling, make your chocolate buttercream.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter to loosen it. Add half of the icing sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the other half of the icing sugar and beat in.
- Add in the evaporated milk and beat on a medium-high speed until the buttercream is light and fluffy. Do this by texture, so start small and add more if needed to achieve the mousse-like lightness.
- Pour in the melted chocolate and beat in until smooth. Add more to taste if needed.
- Once your cake sponges are cool, build your cake!
- Place the first sponge on a cake board/plate/stand and cover in a generous amount of buttercream.
- Place the last sponge on top and, using a palette knife, smother the entire cake in the remainder of the buttercream frosting.
Notes
© Flavour of the Film. All content and imagery is copyright protected. Please do not use any of my images or written content without prior permission. If you would like to share any of the recipes or images on Flavour of the Film, please link back to the recipe in question and rewrite it in your own words, crediting Flavour of the Film as the original source.