Oh chocolate heaven! The kids and I have just finished making this amazing chocolate cake recipe from Nigella.
Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:FOR THE CAKE:
200 g plain flour
200 g caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
40 g best-quality cocoa
175 g soft unsalted butter
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
150m l sour creamFOR THE ICING:
75 g unsalted butter
175 g best quality dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
300 g icing sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
125m l sour cream
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
sugar flowers, optionalDirections: 1.Take everything out of the fridge so that all the ingredients can come to room temperature.
2.Preheat the oven to 180°C and line and butter two 20cm sandwich tins with removable bases.
3.Put all the cake ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarb, cocoa, butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream – into a food processor and process until you have a smooth, thick batter.
5.Divide this batter, using a rubber spatula to help you scrape and spread, into the prepared tins and bake until a skewer comes out clean. About 35 minutes (start checking at 25 minutes). Switch the two cakes around in the oven halfway through cooking time.
6.Remove the cakes, in their tins, to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before turning out of their tins.
7.To make this icing, melt the butter and chocolate in a good-sized bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water.
8.While the chocolate and butter are cooling a little, sieve the icing sugar into another bowl.
9.Add the golden syrup to the cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the sour cream and vanilla and then when all this is combined whisk in the sieved icing sugar.
10.When you’re done check the consistency, It should be liquid enough to coat easily, but thick enough not to drip off. you may need to add a little boiling water – say a teaspoon or so – or indeed some more icing sugar:
11.Choose your cake stand or plate and cut out four strips of baking parchment to form a square outline on it (this stops the icing running on to the plate). Then sit one of the cakes, upside down.
12.Spoon about a third of the icing on to the centre of the cake half and spread with a knife or spatula until you cover the top of it evenly. Sit the other cake on top, right way up, pressing gently to sandwich the two together.
13.Spoon another third of the icing on to the top of the cake and spread it in a swirly, textured way (though you can go for a smooth finish if you prefer, and have the patience). Spread the sides of the cake with the remaining icing and leave a few minutes till set, then carefully pull away the paper strips.
14.I love to dot the top of this with sugar pansies – and you must admit, they do look enchanting – but there really is no need to make a shopping expedition out of it. Anything, or indeed nothing, will do.
(Serves: mmm, depend how gluttonous you feel)
It looks complicated, but really insn't. You can do the whole thing in the food processor - too easy!
I am literally salivating waiting to try this. But in a rare display of self restraint, as it is already 4:30pm I am going to wait until after dinner . . . must wait . . . . must . . . not . . . be. . . . tempted!
