Allegedly Easy Chocolate Fudge Cake

Taking a step away from reading to my other go-to pastime: baking. It is the half term and Hallowe’en and we have birthdays coming up. The weather is fairly rubbish so I’ve ended up doing a lot of baking. In addition to this birthday cake, I am also intending to do two – possibly three – Christmas cakes.

What prompted me to add this to the blog, is that the cake batter was, as advertised, very easy and managed from store cupboard ingredients – which is a budgetting bonus! But it was very very wet pouring it into the cake tin! Very wet. When compared to the usual texture of the fairy cakes the the little one – under supervision – made on Saturday, it felt like the consistency of a milkshake – a thin watery milkshake!

Anyway, credit time: the original recipe was from Cafe Delites – which is a website I have used in the past with good results so I have faith. I thought I’d throw the recipe onto here in case it is a complete disaster for comedy effect! Or, if it works, as a useful recipe to return to.

It should look like this:

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Mine won’t: it was so wet I needed a proper cake tin, without a loose bottom, and I only have one which is square! And possibly bigger than the 8 inch round tin suggested!

Ingredients

CHOCOLATE CAKE:

• 7 oz / 200 g all-purpose or plain flour
• 11 oz / 310 g white granulated sugar 
• 1.7 oz / 50 g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder*
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 80 ml vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon (20 ml) pure vanilla extract
• 190 ml milk
• 190 ml boiling water mixed with 2 teaspoons instant coffee powder

CHOCOLATE GANACHE:

• 1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream or thickened cream
• 8 ounces (250 grams) semi sweet or dark chocolate chips

Method

• Preheat oven to 350º F (175°C). Lightly grease an 8-inch round cake pan with non stick cooking oil spraying.

CHOCOLATE CAKE:

• Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk thoroughly to combine well.
• Add oil, egg, vanilla and milk to the flour mixture and beat well to combine. Pour in the boiling water (with the coffee), and mix until glossy.
• Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 40 – 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the chocolate cake comes out semi-clean with small amount of cake (not runny batter) on it due to the fudgy texture.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Transfer cake from the pan to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE:

• Pour the cream into a small saucepan and heat over low heat for a few minutes. Watch that it doesn’t boil or simmer it. Once the cream is hot, turn stove off and take the saucepan off the heat.
• Add in the chocolate chips; cover saucepan with a lid and let sit for a good 5 minutes to soften and melt the chocolate. 
• Uncover, and stir slowly first, with a spatula or wooden spoon, gradually mixing faster until ganache is smooth, creamy and glossy. Refrigerate for one hour or hour and a half until thick enough to spread (similar consistency to Nutella).
• Spread evenly over the cake.

Update

The cake cooked and is solid! Now cooling in the tin. It seems a little flat and I don’t think it caught at all. A slight stickiness on the skewer. But it is coming away from the edge of the tin alright. Perhaps a slightly cooler oven maybe…