First Prize Chocolate Cake {Recipe}

Everybody needs a good basic chocolate cake recipe and they certainly don't get any easier than this.

Put all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix it together for 3 minutes. That’s it.

No fancy baking super powers required (and certainly a lot easier than a packet mix!)

Better still it tastes great, cuts like a dream, and it makes two loaf cakes so you can serve one up for morning tea and pop the other one in the freezer for a rainy day.

Did I mention that it's a prize winning recipe too? This darling little cake won me first prize in the Chocolate Cake category at the 2013 Mornington Peninsula Group CWA Competition. Just sayin.....

Recipe: 1st Prize Chocolate Cake

Recipe adapted from Merle Parish’s two chocolate cake recipes in Merle’s Kitchen (2012)

Ingredients
1¾ cups self raising flour, sifted
1¼ cups caster sugar
½ cup cocoa, sifted
2 tsp bicarbonate soda, sifted
pinch salt
125g unsalted butter, softened and chopped up
2 eggs, room temperature, lightly whisked
1 tsp vanilla extract/essence
1 cup milk, blood temperature.

ICING (enough for one cake)
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp cocoa, sifted
10g butter
1½ – 2 Tblsp boiling water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 170 C.
Grease and line base of two medium loaf baking tins (mine measure 21.5cm x 11.5cm x 5.5cm)
Place the flour, sugar, cocoa, bicarbonate soda and salt into your mixing bowl and mix them together so everything is evenly mixed through.
Add the butter, eggs, vanilla and milk and mix on low speed until everything has combined.
Increase mixer speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes.
Using a scraper, check that no lumpy unmixed bits are stuck at the bottom of the bowl. If there is, dislodge with the scraper and mix again at medium speed for 30 seconds.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared baking tins and bake for 40-45 minutes (or until your kitchen smells like chocolate cake and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean).
Allow the cakes to cool completely in their tins, resting on a cake rack or trivet.
If not using straight away (or freezing), wrap the cooled cakes well with cling wrap. Store on the bench top overnight.

To make icing

Unwrap your cake and put it on a serving platter.
Put butter and 1½ tablespoons of boiling water into a cup and mix so that the butter melts (this gives you a shinier icing).
Mix sifted icing sugar and cocoa in a roomy bowl.
Pour over hot melted butter water and mix together to achieve a smooth, lump free icing.
If the icing is too thick, add half a teaspoon more of boiling water and mix through.
Ice cake straight away (otherwise the icing will start to form a crust in your bowl).
Enjoy!

Comments

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