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!
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