Chocolate Fudge Cake
First of the offerings from our get together at the beach is a delicious chocolate fudge cake.
We had such a laugh; it was one of those days that leaves you smiling for ages afterwards, I keep giggling at the memory. Just perfect.
So, to the cake. This is very loosely ( hardly at all) adapted from a favourite book of mine – ‘Diner Desserts’ by Tish Boyle.
The usual gig. Preheat your oven to GM4/180C/350F and grease and line 2 x 8″ cake pans.
* I should add here a quick note about cups. The US cup measures 250ml – you can get them pretty much anywhere, including Sainsburys. It’s worth getting a set because the online cups to grams/oz calculators don’t always give you the correct proportions. Having said that, using cups is always going to be inaccurate compared with weighing ingredients.
When measuring dry ingredients, like flour, spoon the flour into the cup until it overflows, then scrape the excess off with a knife. Ingredients like brown sugar will be ‘lightly’ or ‘firmly packed’ – firmly packed is just that – spoon it in and press down firmly, so when you empty the cup into the bowl you have a sugar sand castle. It’s a bit like cooking with yeast, the more you use cups, the more you get used to them and can start to estimate how many grams of something you need to buy to get ‘a cup’ of it. Remember 1 cup is 250ml. that induces some impressive maths at the sour cream carton section. Just a heads up. *
More prep. You’ll feel like you rule the world with this lot prepared in front of you. You could pretend to be Ina Garten – Auntie Ina as Alex calls her. Why not do the accent too? We do. Frequently. Especially when something is unexpectedly easy.
In a medium bowl, sift together 2 2/3 cups plain flour, 1 1/2 cups caster sugar, 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, 2 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda.
Melt 6oz unsalted butter and leave it to cool.
In another bowl, using a hand whisk, blend together 3 eggs, 2/3 cup sour cream (at room temperature) and 1 tblsp vanilla extract.
Now, you may begin. in the bowl of a food mixer (or do it using an electric hand mixer),blend on low speed the melted, cooled butter with 1/2 cup vegetable oil. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. No Alex, you may not have the spatula now.
Fling the dry ingredients in to the bowl in one go and mix on low speed until pretty much incorporated. Scrape down the bowl. No Alex, you may not have the spatula now.
Pour the egg mixture in and mix until blended in. No Alex, you may not have the spatula now.
Pour evenly into the 2 pans. Yes Alex, you may have the spatula now.
Bake for about 50 mins or until an unused toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. I said ‘unused’ to make you feel bilious.
Leave to cool in the tin for 15 mins, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
The icing. Sugar coma anyone? This way.
Prep first. Melt and leave to cool 6 oz dark chocolate. I have some spankingly gorgeous French stuff that’s about 50% cocoa solids. I think this is perfect – milk chocolate would be too sickly and you don’t need the bitterness of a darker chocolate here.
Put 8 oz unsalted butter (softened) in the bowl of the mixer and beat for about a minute until it’s creamy.
Add 2 cups icing sugar, that you have then sifted, to the butter and mix for a couple of minuted until it’s creamy and incorporated. Scrape the bowl down.
Pour in a tblsp of vanilla extract, beat that in and then add your melted chocolate.
Beat that for another couple of minutes until looking gorgeous.
Now, Ms Boyle (who calls ‘the Brits’ ‘not so culinary’. Seriously, I could pull her hair for that. Hard.) suggests that you cut the domed tops off the cakes and reduced the scraps to crumbs, using it to pat around the sides of the cake once iced. I didn’t have any domes, so I skipped this part…obviously.
I used about 1/4 of the icing to sandwich the two together and slapped the rest of the icing all over the cake.
You can take more time and effort than me.
But if you are also schlepping it to the beach, then frankly, I wouldn’t bother too much.
Never knowingly pass up the chance to strew chocolate stars over something.
See? It was so moist and delicious that it made Hollie squeal with laughter…as we sheltered under the Pier from the rain.
Don’t worry, it brightened up! The magic super powers of Chocolate Fudge cake can do that, you know. Try it. You’ll see.
Chocolate Fudge Cake
PRINT THIS RECIPE (opens in a new window)
(Not very adapted from Diner Desserts by Tish Boyle)
2 2/3 cup plain flour
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs (room temp – I don’t refrigerate mine, but you might)
2/3 cup sour cream (room temp)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
6 oz unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups iced water
Icing
6 oz dark chocolate (I used 50% cocoa solids, any darker might be a bit much)
8 oz unsalted butter, softened
2 cups icing sugar, sieved
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to GM4/180C/350F
2 x 8″ cake pans, greased and lined
Cake.
In a medium bowl, sift together the sugars, flour, cocoa, baking powder,bicarb and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla to blend.
In the bowl of a food mixer, or using an electric hand whisk, beat the melted butter and oil on a low speed to combine. Beat in the ice water.
Add the dry ingredients in one go and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Scrape down the bowl.
Add the egg, vanilla and sour cream mix and mix until blended.
Pour evenly into the two pans.
Bake for about 50 mins, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean.
Cool in the pans for 15 mins, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
Icing.
Melt the chocolate and leave to cool.
Beat the butter on a medium high speed in a food mixer, until creamy.
Add the icing sugar and beat for about 2 mins, until blended and lightened. Scrape the bowl.
Add the vanilla extract and beat in.
Add the cooled, melted chocolate, beat in, then increse the speed and beat until perfectly smooth and glossy – another minute or so.
Put together.
The original recipe instructs you to cut the domed top off each cake and use the scraps as decoration for the sides of the cake by reducing them to crumbs and patting them round. I didn’t have a dome on my cake, but if you do, you could consider that.
I used about a quarter of the icing to sandwich the two together, then used the rest to ice the cake on top and around the edges. Pretty the top as you wish.
It got very melty at the beach, and it was NOT a very hot day, so I would keep it in the fridge, but return it to room temperature before serving. If it’s Winter, then that’s different. This is a nice cake. Very nice.
very yummy cake, i love it!
Anna is fab at cooking/baking i may hire her hehehe
LOL @ hiring me! There’s still some cake left – can you believe our self-control?
Post it to me immediately, I need another fix!!