Picture: Unsplash
YIELD
8
COOKING TIME
50 mins
PREPARATION TIME
10 mins
There are few things more tempting in life than a slice of chocolate cake mid-morning, mid-afternoon or even at midnight. Baking this chocolate cake recipe is easy, but the trick is to make sure you don't over-bake it so it stays gooey and rich; the frosting is also key here, so make sure you use a chocolate with a high cocoa percentage (70% works well), for that intensely moreish flavour. There's just not a time when you can turn down chocolate cake, so why not master it now?
Once you're ready for a new challenge, try a banana bread recipe or the classic Victoria sponge or our classic vanilla cake recipe.
Ingredients
175g (6oz) margarine or softened butter
175g (6oz) caster sugar
3 large eggs
150g (5oz) self-raising flour, sifted
50g (1¾oz) of cocoa, sifted
1tsp baking powder
1tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
For the simple chocolate icing
100g (3½oz) of dark chocolate
100g (3½oz) of chopped butter
Method
Heat the oven to 180°C (gas mark 4). Lightly grease an 18cm (7in) round cake tin with a little extra butter or margarine and cut a piece of greaseproof paper or non-stick baking parchment to fit the base of the tin.
Put all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or a hand-held mixer for 1 minute, or until just combined. It's important not to beat the batter too much - just long enough to make it smooth.
Pour or spoon the mixture into the tin, smooth the top and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for about 45-50 minutes. The cake is cooked when it looks well risen and golden; the top should spring back when lightly touched with a fingertip. Another test is to insert a skewer into the centre of the cake - it should come out clean.
Let the cake sit in the tin for 5 minutes, then gently run a knife around the edge and turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool.
For the icing, place the dark chocolate and chopped butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of very hot water until melted. Cool for 15 minutes, then spread over the top of the cooled cake.
This originally appeared on House & Garden UK.
