Got a message from a friend asking links to recipes for a good, moist chocolate cake. I then immediately got into chocolate mode and searched for whose else but the Domestic Goddess herself i.e Nigella's rich, creamy ooooozing (imagine her saying it!) chocolate cake and found the recipe below:
OLD FASHIONED CHOCOLATE CAKE-NIGELLA LAWSON
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE CAKE:
200g plain flour
200g caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
40g best-quality cocoa
175g soft unsalted butter
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
150ml sour cream
FOR THE ICING:
75g unsalted butter
175g best quality dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
300g icing sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
125ml sour cream
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
Sugar flowers, optional
METHOD Serves: Makes about 8 slices
Take everything out of the fridge so that all the ingredients can come to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C and line and butter two 20cm sandwich tins with removable bases.
Now all you have to do is put all the cake ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarb, cocoa, butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream - into a food processor and process until you have a smooth, thick batter. If you want to go the long way around, just mix the flour, sugar and leavening agents in a large bowl and beat in the soft butter until you have a combined and creamy mixture. Now whisk together the cocoa, sour cream, vanilla and eggs and beat this into your bowl of mixture.
Divide this batter, using a rubber spatula to help you scrape and spread, into the prepared tins and bake until a cake tester, or a thin skewer, comes out clean, which should be about 35 minutes, but it is wise to start checking at 25. Also, it might make sense to switch the two cakes around in the oven halfway through cooking time.
Remove the cakes, in their tins, to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before turning out of their tins. Don't worry about any cracks as they will easily be covered by the icing later.
To make this icing, melt the butter and chocolate in a good-sized bowl either in the microwave or suspended over a pan of simmering water. Go slowly either way: you don't want any burning or seizing.
While the chocolate and butter are cooling a little, sieve the icing sugar into another bowl. Or, easier still, put the icing sugar into the food processor and blitz. This is by far and away the least tedious way of removing lumps.
Add the golden syrup to the cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the sour cream and vanilla and then when all this is combined whisk in the sieved icing sugar. Or just pour this mixture down the funnel of the food processor on to the icing sugar, with the motor running.
When you've done, you may need to add a little boiling water - say a teaspoon or so - or indeed some more icing sugar: it depends on whether you need the icing to be runnier or thicker; or indeed it may be right as it is. It should be liquid enough to coat easily, but thick enough not to drip off.
Choose your cake stand or plate and cut out four strips of baking parchment to form a square outline on it (this stops the icing running on to the plate). Then sit one of the cakes, uppermost (ie slightly domed) side down.
Spoon about a third of the icing on to the centre of the cake half and spread with a knife or spatula until you cover the top of it evenly. Sit the other cake on top, normal way up, pressing gently to sandwich the two together.
Spoon another third of the icing on to the top of the cake and spread it in a swirly, textured way (though you can go for a smooth finish if you prefer, and have the patience). Spread the sides of the cake with the remaining icing and leave a few minutes till set, then carefully pull away the paper strips.
I love to dot the top of this with sugar pansies - and you must admit, they do look enchanting - but there really is no need to make a shopping expedition out of it. Anything, or indeed nothing, will do.
Then, I decide, the heck with it...I'll bake one for myself and the hubby too! So I got out my baking tools and ingredients and got to doing the cake. I halved the entire recipe and used a loaf tin separated into 2 halves (to get 2 squares of cakes to be sandwiched) using parchment paper...I also had to modify the recipe a little to get the batter to the right consistency...As the kitchen is not equipped with a food processor as yet, this was done the traditional way i.e creaming the sugar and butter etc etc... After about 30 mins, the cake was in the oven and I got to doing the dreaded, sugary, high calorie choc icing...
(I omitted the golden syrup though)
Once done, I left the cake to cool before assembling it and before you know it, a friend came over with some Malaysian visitors after touring the city (opera hse, harbour bridge, china town etc) for some hot tea and coffee...Pity them, it was raining the whole time...
Well, it was a blessing in disguise for me as everyone got a slice and I did not have leftovers!
Hubby and the rest said it was good...After baking so many times, thank god this turned out right and now, it will be my signature cake when I go visiting!
Taaa Daaaa! The end result!
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