This recipe for “always moist chocolate cake” was given to me by Darla many, many years ago and has been a favourite at many events since. It’s easy to make, lends itself to many variations and is always a hit. This one is topped with a chocolate, coffee and sour cream frosting.
Preheat your oven to 180ºC (375ºF). In a small saucepan combine 6 tablespoons of good cocoa powder, 1 cup of boiling water and 150g (5¼ oz) of butter and heat until the mixture is melted and glossy. Remove from the heat and place in a mixing bowl, the bowl of a stand mixer is ideal if you have one. Measure ½ a cup of milk and pour in 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice or cider vinegar and set aside to sour. To the mixing bowl add 2 cups of sugar and ¼ of a teaspoon of salt (don’t add this if your butter is salted) and mix to combine. Next add 2 cups of sifted flour and 1½ teaspoons of sifted baking soda and mix again. Now add the soured milk then 2 lightly beaten eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Beat the batter vigorously for at least 2 minutes. The resulting batter will be quite thin. Pour it into a greased cake pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin before turning out and allow the cake to cool completely before frosting. To make the frosting, melt 70g (2½ oz) of dark chocolate then add 60ml (2 fl oz) of sour cream, 30ml (1 fl oz) of strong coffee and 1 cup of pure icing sugar. Mix well until there are no lumps and adjust with extra sour cream if the mixture is too thick or extra icing sugar if too thin.
michelle picker cooks 