Super Moist and Rich Chocolate Cake

There are very few things in this life as delicious as chocolate cake, especially when that chocolate cake is super dark, dense, moist, and rich. This weekend I researched a lot to find recipes for a lovely moist chocolate cake, and adapted my already existing one-step sponge recipe to something a little more decadent.

A lot of American style dense chocolate cakes are old fashioned hand-me-down recipes, and as such rely on the combination of baking soda and buttermilk to rise them. Baking powder is about four times more powerful than baking powder, but takes longer to act, which makes it a more suitable for wet cakes mixtures that need a long time in the oven. Cakes containing baking soda rise slowly but consistently, rarely having big domes.

Of course, baking soda alone doesn't leaven anything, it needs an acid to react off: enter sour dairy products! Traditionally, buttermilk is used as the other reactive ingredient, as it gives extra moistness and richness while providing acidity. I personally have always avoided using buttermilk recipes, as I don't want unused buttermilk hanging around in my fridge getting sourer and sourer, so I use yoghurt.

Yoghurt is also a sour dairy product which is much thicker than buttermilk, so I water it down. It means that I can use an ingredient which I already have in my fridge without worrying about having unused ingredients going wrong in my fridge.

Now. This is some seriously rich chocolate cake going on here: it used quarter of a pound (115 grammes) of good dark chocolate and a good dose of dairy. This is serious break-up or PMS medicine.I slather it in dark chocolate fudge icing, and I've included the recipe, You can use your favourite icing though, too.

FREE FROM

☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat
☑ Nuts
☑ Eggs

CONTAINS
☒ Dairy
☒ Gluten
☒ Refined sugar products

INGREDIMENTS
For one standard loaf (1 lb; 455 grammes), or one 7 inch (18 centimetre) round cake,

• 3 ounces (85 grammes) white spelt flour
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) cornflour
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• Pinch of salt
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) brown sugar
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) dark chocolate, melted
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) sunflower oil
• 2 medium eggs
• 4 fluid ounces (120 millilitres) natural or greek yoghurt
• 4 fluid ounces (120 millilitres) water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

For the icing:

• 2 ounces (55 grammes) dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) milk chocolate, broken into pieces
• Alternatively, you can use all dark or all milk chocolate, or even white if you like
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
• 2 fluid ounces (60 millilitres) milk

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 170ºC (325ºF/Gas Mk. 3), and grease your chosen tin.
• In a jug or small mixing bowl, melt together the chocolate and oil. You can to this in the microwave on the 'Defrost' setting in one minute intervals, or in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Once melted, leave aside to cool.
• In a large mixing bowl, mix together the spelt flour, cornflour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, caster sugar, and brown sugar together, making sure to break up the sugar clumps. Use a spoonful of this mixture to dust your cake tin, returning the excess to the bowl.
• Beat the eggs into the chocolate and oil mixture, one at a time, and then add the yoghurt and the water. Beat until smooth and well combined.
• Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix thoroughly until completely smooth.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and put in the centre of your preheated oven. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, and DO NOT open the oven before at least 45 minutes have elapsed.
• After 50 minutes of cooking, start testing. It is done when a cocktail stick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out mostly clean, maybe with one or two crumbs attached.
• Once cooked, remove from the oven and loosen the edges with a palette or table knife. Cool in the tin for 10 to 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the icing,

• Heat the sugar and milk in a saucepan over low heat until all the sugar has dissolved. Once dissolved, bring to the boil and cook for about a minute or so.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and chocolate, mixing thoroughly until completely melted.
• Allow to cool to a spreadable consistency, stirring once every so often to prevent crusting.
• Spread on top of the cake, or you could even split and fill the cake instead. Decorate the icing however you please.

This, like I said earlier, is serious stuff. Enjoy in moderation!

THIS TIME IN 2014: No blog due to family difficulties
THIS TIME IN 2013: Coconut Custard Creams (Wheat Free)