Friday 13 March 2015

The Chocolate Cake.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

This is it.
The chocolate cake.


I'm not going to ramble too much here today because I know that you only want to know one thing.

How do I get the above goodness from the screen to a cake stand near me?

It's simple. A buttery, moist chocolate sponge (using ingredients you probably already have) covered with a one-pot chocolate frosting that is whipped up (literally) in a food processor. Yes, a food processor. Just trust me. Finally, a sprinkling of sprinkles (they make this cake) and it's ready. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. (Which is make it twice and maybe a third time?)

Chocolate Cake, previously: Eggless chocolate cakeDouble chocolate flourless cakeHeavenly chocolate cakeChocolate fudge cakeRaspberry and chocolate ganache cake.

A Simple List of Ingredients:
For the Chocolate Cake:

1. Cocoa Powder
2. Plain Flour
3. Bicarbonate of Soda
4. Baking Powder
5. Salt
6. Soft Dark Brown Sugar
7. Granulated Sugar
8. Eggs
9. Vanilla Essence 
10. Buttermilk (equal parts yoghurt and water)

For the Chocolate Frosting:

1. Dark Chocolate
2. Icing Sugar
3. Unsalted Butter
4. Salt
5. Milk
6. Vanilla Essence
7. Sprinkles

Bismillah, let's begin!

Note: When I say cups in this recipe, I mean American measuring cups not any old mug.

First, to make the chocolate cake. Take a square tin measuring 8 inch by 8 inch.


Grease and line it with baking paper. Set aside.


Get the oven pre-heated to 180C or Gas Mark 4.


First, I want to show you how I make buttermilk at home. Of course you can buy it but I never bother. All you need is plain yoghurt and water.


For this recipe, we will need 180ml Buttermilk. So, in a jug, measure 90ml Water.


And, 90ml Plain Yoghurt.
Yes, my scales say 91 but what difference does 1ml make?


And, then just stir together and voila! Buttermilk! Set aside to use later.


Next, grab a bowl and a sieve. We are going mix together the dry ingredients. It just makes things way easier later on.


Measure out 55 grams (1/2 cup) Cocoa Powder.


Sieve it into the bowl.


A random look at how messy I can get when baking. 


Anyhoo, onto the flour. Measure out 125 grams (1 cup) Plain Flour.


Get it sifted!


And, into the bowl.


Next, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder to make the cake rise. And, salt. Do not miss the salt out - it helps the cake taste even more chocolatey!


So, sift in 1/4 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda.


1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder


1/2 teaspoon Salt. Normal table salt will do.


Once everything is in ...


.. give it a stir and set aside.


Next, we will beat together the butter and sugars. I used an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (my favourite attachment!) but feel free to do it by hand!


The next ingredients are unsalted butter, soft dark brown sugar and granulated sugar.


And, the mess continues!


Measure out 134 grams (3/4 cup) Soft Dark Brown Sugar.


Pop it into the bowl.


Next, granulated sugar.


Measure out 2 tablespoons (28 grams) Granulated Sugar.


And, add it in.


Next, butter! I've seen plenty of chocolate cake recipes use vegetable oil to help keep them moist but this one is all-butter, and tbh, it was epic.


Slice off the block, 85 grams Unsalted Butter, softened.


Add it to the sugars.


Plug in the machine.


And, give it a good beat until smooth and really well combined - about 2 minutes.


Be sure to scrape down the sides and give it a good beat again.


Next, the eggs and vanilla.

Crack 1 large Egg and 1 large Egg Yolk.


Add the egg and egg yolk to the butter and sugars.


Measure out 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence.


And, add to the bowl.


Beat again until well combined.


Now, all we need is the buttermilk we made earlier and the dry ingredient bowl.


Pour in 180ml Buttermilk.


Give it a good beat until well combined. It will look really gunky at this point, but don't panic. Everything will be fine.


Finally, add in the dry ingredient mix.


Now, beat together until just combined. You do not want to over-mix this. Give it a final stir by hand and we're done!


Put the batter into the prepared cake tin.


Smooth it out and it's time to bake!


Bake for 26 minutes in the oven at Gas Mark 4 or 180C. Bake until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean and the cake has just cracked.



Let the cake cool for 20 minutes in the tin, and then remove onto a cake stand to cool completely.


Once the cake has cooled, whip up the chocolate frosting.


Take 58 grams (2 ounces) Dark Chocolate. Now, you might be tempted to switch the dark for milk chocolate, thinking it to be too bitter but don't! The icing sugar will give this frosting enough sweetness.


Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave and let it cool.


Next, grab your food processor. 


And, some icing sugar.


Measure out 215 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) Icing Sugar. You can sift it, if you want to but I found that the food processor got rid of any lumps.


Put the icing sugar into the processor.


Then, take 114 grams (4 ounces)Unsalted Butter, softened.


And, add to the bowl.


Then, a pinch (about 1/8 teaspoon) Salt.


Don't miss out the salt - it makes this frosting!


Next, milk. Any will do.


Add 1 tablespoon Milk.


Next, for a little sweetness, vanilla essence.


Measure out and add 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Essence.


Now, this would make an excellent vanilla frosting.

But it's a chocolate day for us.


Add in the melted and cooled dark chocolate.


Pop on the lid.


And, blitz!


Blend until well combined, creamy and smooth.


If you feel it's a little too thick, add another tablespoon of milk.


A final blend and we're done!


Grab your cake and sprinkles.


Get all the frosting out of the processor.


Leaving a little behind for yourself, of course.


Resist the temptation to spread this over a piece of a toast or even better, a digestive.


Get your palette knife out and let's go!


To decorate, I put all the chocolate frosting goodness into the middle of the cake.

Spread it evenly over the entire top.

Then, hand the palette knife to my Mother.


And, let her do the swirling. She's an expert.


Me? I just don't know when to stop. Like, I'll just keep playing with the frosting and not getting anywhere!


Now, the cake would be just as epic as it is. But it needs a little something.


Sprinkles! Use any you like and sprinkle on as much as you like. But don't leave them out - they make this cake, don't you think?


Once you've sprinkled to your hearts content, slice the cake into 16 squares. 


And, watch it disappear!

Full Written Recipe:


The Chocolate Cake.

Prep Time: About 20 minutes
Bake Time: About 26 minutes
Serves: Can be cut into 16 small squares

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Cake
55 grams (1/2 cup) Cocoa Powder
125 grams (1 cup) Plain Flour
¼ teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
½ teaspoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoon Table Salt
134 grams (3/4 cup) Soft Dark Brown Sugar
28 grams (2 tablespoons) Granulated Sugar
85 grams Unsalted Butter, softened
1 large Egg
1 large Egg Yolk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
180ml Buttermilk (simply mix together 90ml plain yoghurt with 90ml water)

For the Chocolate Frosting
58 grams (2 ounces) Dark Chocolate, melted and cooled
215 grams (1 and ½ cups) Icing Sugar, sifted if lumpy (but I didn’t bother)
114 grams (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter, softened
Pinch (1/8 teaspoon) Table Salt
1 tablespoon Milk
½ teaspoon Vanilla Essence

To Decorate
Sprinkles!

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180C or Gas Mark 4.
Grease and line an 8x8 inch square cake tin.

For the cake, sift the cocoa powder, plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Stir and set aside.

Into the bowl of an electric mixer (or by hand), place the dark brown sugar, granulated sugar and softened butter. Beat until well combined and creamy.

Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Beat again until combined.

Pour in the buttermilk. Mix until combined.

Add the cocoa powder mixture. Mix until just combined.

Put the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 26 minutes or until the cake has just cracked. A skewer inserted to the centre should come out clean.

Let the cake cool for 20 minutes in the tin, and then remove onto a cake stand to cool completely.

For the chocolate frosting, simply place all the ingredients into a food processor. Blend until creamy, smooth and combined. Add another tablespoon of milk, if you feel it’s too thick.

Once the cake is completely cool, spread the frosting over the top. Swirl with a palette knife, and sprinkle on the sprinkles. Cut and enjoy!

(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

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Wasalaam!


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