Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Give me chocolate….


Prompted by a request from Cali, here’s a choc cake recipe (which I’m still hoping that you will be using to celebrate rather than to muffle your sorrows). Anyway, I’ve eaten a good-sized slice to wish you luck!
And yes, I for one have slipped into a food coma in the last few weeks, as pregnancy-induced food aversions will do that to a gal. Today however, chocolate cake had massive appeal, so hopefully it will satisfy your cravings too.

Chocolate cake with soured cream icing

6oz/175g/1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ oz/40g/ 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp good quality cocoa
pinch salt
1 tsp baking powder
6oz/175g/1 packed cup light muscovado (brown) sugar
175g/6oz/1 ½ sticks soft unsalted butter
4 fl oz/120ml/½ cup low fat natural yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 tbsp ground fresh coffee (optional)
a little milk

Preheat the oven to Gas 4/180C/350F. Grease and line an 8-in/20cm diameter loose-based deep cake tin.
Sift the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and stir in the sugar. Add the butter, yogurt, vanilla and eggs, plus coffee if using, then beat with an electric mixer for about 2 mins until smooth and fluffy. Add a couple of tablespoons milk if needed to get a mixture that drops easily from the spoon. Scoop into the cake tin, level the surface and bake for about 40 minutes. The cake should be firm in the centre, but not dry – just beginning to come away from the edges of the tin. Cover the cake part way through cooking if it is darkening too quickly.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before carefully removing from the tin and transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

For the icing:
4 fl oz/120ml/1/2 cup soured cream or crème fraiche
4oz/110g dark chocolate (preferably around 70% cocoa solids, but at least 50%), chopped

Place the soured cream and chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl, set over a pan of gently simmering water (don’t let the base of the bowl touch the water). Leave to melt for about 5 mins, then stir together until smooth. Spread the icing over the cooled cake, and scatter with chopped nuts if you wish (I used slivered pistachios).