We were in birthday celebration mode not too long ago and as we all know a good birthday isn't complete without a cake. This time we decided to forget about calorie-counting and treated ourselves to a chocolate feast, mmm.
225g/8oz plain flour (sifted)
350g/12½oz golden caster sugar
85g/3oz cocoa powder
1½ tsp baking powder
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 free-range eggs
250ml/9fl oz whole milk
125ml/4½fl oz sunflower oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
250ml/9fl oz boiling water
To make the icing, heat the chocolate and cream in a saucepan. Stir it over a low heat until the chocolate melts. Then leave it to cool for 1 hour, or until thick enough to spread over the cake.
Now it's time to start on the cake. Place all of the cake ingredients, except the boiling water, into a large mixing bowl and mix or beat the mixture until smooth and well combined. Add the boiling water to the mixture, a little at a time, until smooth (the cake mixture will now be very liquid). Pour the cake batter into the greased cake tin and bake in the oven at 180ºC for 25-35 minutes, or until the top is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely, still in its tin, before icing (and please use all of the icing, try to resist the temptation to eat it before the cake is ready...).
The original recipe divides the batter into two sandwich tins so you can put icing in the middle too. It might require a little more effort but would make the cake very tasty.
This cake is extremely easy to prepare and turns out really nice, moist and has finger-licking icing to boot. Let's just say it's one of those recipes that has to be shared for the good of humanity :)
Easy peasy chocolate cake
I based the recipe on this one from Rachel Manley:
For the cake:
225g/8oz plain flour (sifted)
350g/12½oz golden caster sugar
85g/3oz cocoa powder
1½ tsp baking powder
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 free-range eggs
250ml/9fl oz whole milk
125ml/4½fl oz sunflower oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
250ml/9fl oz boiling water
For the chocolate icing:
200g/7oz dark chocolate* (or dark chocolate with orange for an irresistible flavour combo, although it affects the texture a bit)
200ml/7fl oz double cream
200ml/7fl oz double cream
To make the icing, heat the chocolate and cream in a saucepan. Stir it over a low heat until the chocolate melts. Then leave it to cool for 1 hour, or until thick enough to spread over the cake.
Now it's time to start on the cake. Place all of the cake ingredients, except the boiling water, into a large mixing bowl and mix or beat the mixture until smooth and well combined. Add the boiling water to the mixture, a little at a time, until smooth (the cake mixture will now be very liquid). Pour the cake batter into the greased cake tin and bake in the oven at 180ºC for 25-35 minutes, or until the top is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely, still in its tin, before icing (and please use all of the icing, try to resist the temptation to eat it before the cake is ready...).
The original recipe divides the batter into two sandwich tins so you can put icing in the middle too. It might require a little more effort but would make the cake very tasty.
Et voilà! All you have to do now is enjoy it!
Olga
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