Cake recipes are among some of the easiest to follow when it comes to desserts, but the chocolate kind can be a grey area.
Some end up too sweet while others are dry and bland from the cocoa powder, with little to enjoy about the sponge itself.
One avid home cook has come up with the perfect recipe for chocolate cake that’s “light and moist” without compromising on the flavour.
Sharing the formula on her blog Marmalade and Me, Rachel Page claimed that the result “tastes wonderful” and it’s “super easy” to make.
What’s more, it will keep well in an airtight tin and make for the tastiest blank canvas to get creative with decorating.
Ingredients
- 275g soft butter or margarine
- 275g caster sugar
- Five eggs
- Two tablespoons of cocoa powder
- 250g self-raising flour
- One tablespoon of golden syrup
Icing recipe (optional)
- 75g 70 percent dark chocolate
- 50g milk chocolate
- 75g unsalted butter
- Two eggs
- 450g icing sugar
- One teaspoon vanilla extract
- One tablespoon cold water
Two 20cm round tins with loose bases are ideal for this recipe along with some baking parchment to line them.
Chocolate cake recipe
A preheated oven is essential for this recipe so set the appliance to 180C before doing anything else. Next, line the baking tins by drawing around the base of each one, then cut out two perfect circles.
Grease the tins slightly with a little butter to make sure the paper rounds stick, then set aside until later.
Weigh the butter and sugar before transferring it into a large mixing bowl ready to be creamed together. An electric mixer is ideal for this but a spoon or whisk will work.
Once light, fluffy and well combined, crack one egg at a time into the bowl. Stir them in gently before weighing out the flour and cocoa powder.
Sieve these dry ingredients into the butter, sugar and egg mixture and stir well to combine. A spatula may come in handy to “clean” the edges of the bowl and ensure nothing goes to waste.
Measure the golden syrup and fold it into the mixture before beating for a little longer, but take care not to overmix the batter.
Divide the raw cake mixture evenly between the two tins and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the centre is “springy to the touch”, as put by Rachel.
Remove the cakes from the oven and leave to cool until the edges have shrunk a little from the tin. Run a sharp knife around the edge to release the sponges and transfer to a cooling rack.
Once cooled the cake can be filled with cream or shop-bought icing, but Rachel has another quick recipe for homemade chocolate frosting.
To make it, melt the dark milk chocolate with the butter in the microwave until it is completely runny. Beat in the eggs, then the icing sugar followed by the vanilla extract and water.
Rachel warned: “The icing will be too runny to work with now so let it chill in the fridge until it has thickened a little.
“I find that using a piping bag works well and gives a very professional finish without any fuss. Scatter with your favourite sprinkles for the finishing touch.”
