Ingredients
CAKES
- 2 oz (50g) cocoa
- 6 tablespoons boiling water
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 6 oz (175g) self raising flour
- 1 rounded teaspoon baking powder
- 4oz (100g) soft butter
- 10 oz (300g) sugar
ICING AND FILLING
- 5oz (150g) Bournville chocolate broken into small pieces
- 5 floz (150ml) pouring double cream
- 3 tablespoons apricot jam
- Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/160fan/Gas 4
- Grease 2 x 20cm (8”) push or springform sandwich tins.
- First measure the cocoa and boiling water into a large bowl, and mix well to make a paste. Add the remaining ingredients and beat again until combined.
- Divide the cake mixture between the prepared tins. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes until well risen, firm to the touch and shrinking away from the sides of the tin. Cool for ten minutes. To turn out loosen the sides of the tin with a palette knife if needs be, then stand the tin on a mug or baked bean tin, hold the sides firmly and press down to release.
- For the icing and filling, pour the double cream into a saucepan and place over a medium heat until just simmering, remove from the heat, then add the chocolate and stir well until the chocolate is melted and the mixture smooth. Set aside and allow to become cold and almost set.
- Spread the tops of each cake with apricot jam (if using). Sandwich the cakes with half the icing and spread the remainder on top. Take a small palette knife and draw large “S” shapes to give a swirl effect. Decorate as you wish.
Method
Another baking recipe. I am not quite sure what is going on, because I don't usually bake (apart from bread) that often. But since Christmas I have been on a bit of a roll, and here is another. This chocolate cake is an absolute banker. It is (of course) from a Mary Berry book (the Baking Bible) and all the better for that. It works, and is intensely chocolatey and moist. The filling can be a bit too rich for the Offspring (especially the Youngest) but is a hit with the grown-ups.
I made this for the same Birthday/Deathday tea party that I talked about in the Scones recipe and decorated it with some coloured sprinkles over the ganache topping - it looked very cool and it tasted great.
This cake uses plain chocolate for the filling - in fact it specifies Bournville, which is a 39% cocoa solid plain chocolate. My problem with that is I find Bournville to sweet and so I substituted a higher cocoa solids/lass sugar chocolate instead. It makes the ganache taste darker but also more bitter, which balances the sweetness of the cake better I think. Up to you though. Mary also specifies a layer of apricot jam over the sponge to isolate it rom the ganache - I guess to stop it making the sponge too wet. I left the jam layer out though and it does not appear to have suffered at all. Again Mary (in common with a lot of people) specifies caster sugar for most baking and I invariably use granulated and I have not noticed any difference. Again, up to you but do not use not having the "right" ingredients as an excuse not to try it.