Week 6 - Chocolate Cake

Drum roll please...

...well I'm sorry to say we didn't win the award last week :-( It was a tough category & unfortunately we lost out to a tea brand, but we were one of only 5 finalists so that in itself was an achievement to be proud of. If you're curious to find out more about the nominated product then click here. Never mind there's always next year...

So I realise this weeks recipe isn't particularly Lent friendly, but we're back on the sweet stuff with a good old traditional Chocolate Cake! This recipe is one my Mum has had for years, I think it originally came from a freebie cookbook Be-ro gave away years ago. I've tried & tested many different types of chocolate cake recipes, but always come back to this one, the evaporated milk gives the cake a lovely, moist, rich texture. I like to sandwich it together with chocolate butter cream & top it off with a thick coating of chocolate. For me, it's ultimate decadence! I'm taking this cake to a meeting this week, so I'll have a brand new set of tasters, we'll see what they think!

100g butter
200g caster sugar
2 eggs
100ml evaporated milk mixed with 50ml water
Few drops vanilla essence
175g self raising flour
25g cocoa powder

For the butter cream filling
50g butter
100g icing sugar
2 tsp cocoa
2 tsp evaporated milk

For the topping
150g milk chocolate
2 tbsp evaporated milk

1. Cream together the butter & sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then finally beat in the evaporated milk, water & vanilla essence

2. Sift in the flour & cocoa powder, then fold together until combined

3. Grease 2 sandwich tins approx 18cm across & divide the mixture between them. Bake in the oven at 190c/GM5 for about 20 minutes until they feel soft & springy to the touch

4. Leave to rest in the tin for 5-10 minutes, then tip out on a rack to cool thoroughly

5. To make the filling, cream together the butter & icing sugar, then add the cocoa powder & a couple of teaspoons of the left over evaporated milk to help it combine. Use this to sandwich together the 2 cakes

6. To make the topping, melt the chocolate in a bowl over a simmering pan of water. Then add a couple of tablespoons of the evaporated milk & quickly give it a good stir. The texture will turn quite thick, almost like fudge! Using a table knife warmed in hot water, spread a thick layer of the chocolate fudge over the top of the cake.

I love a generous slice of this cake with a big mug of tea, alternatively it makes a fab dessert if you warm it gently in the microwave & serve it with vanilla ice cream...yum!

Hope you enjoy this weeks recipe, see you in 7 days for the next creation. I'll also tell you about the other challenge I've taken on for 2010! Rebecca.