'January' Food Challenge: Chocolate Cake

So, back at the start of January, Jenna laid down some monthly challenges: food, lifestyle & photography. Somehow I managed to not sign up for the photography one, to complete the lifestyle one by default and go skiing without doing the cooking challenge. Some start to 2009.

Luckily Jenna agreed to overlook the fact it is technically February and allow me to submit my chocolate cake to the January Food Challenge. Without further ado then I present to you my cake: Nigella's Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake.

{Image by the Author}

And here's how to make it:

FOR THE CAKE:

200g plain flour

200g caster sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

40g best-quality cocoa

175g soft unsalted butter

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons real vanilla extract

150ml sour cream

FOR THE ICING:

75g unsalted butter

175g best quality dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

300g icing sugar

1 tablespoon golden syrup

125ml sour cream

1 teaspoon real vanilla extract METHOD {My additions to the recipe} 1. Take everything out of the fridge so that all the ingredients can come to room temperature. 2. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C and line and butter two 20cm sandwich tins with removable bases {I used one round cake tin with a removable base and then sliced the cake in two horizontally after cooling}. 3. Now all you have to do is put all the cake ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarb, cocoa, butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream – into a food processor and process until you have a smooth, thick batter. If you want to go the long way around, just mix the flour, sugar and leavening agents in a large bowl and beat in the soft butter until you have a combined and creamy mixture. Now whisk together the cocoa, sour cream, vanilla and eggs and beat this into your bowl of mixture. 4. Divide this batter, using a rubber spatula to help you scrape and spread, into the prepared tins and bake until a cake tester, or a thin skewer, comes out clean, which should be about 35 minutes, but it is wise to start checking at 25. Also, it might make sense to switch the two cakes around in the oven halfway through cooking time.{As I only used one tin I just dumped all the mixture into one tin and put it on the top shelf of the oven. It also took about another 15 minutes longer to cook than Nigella suggests but that might just be our oven.} 5. Remove the cakes, in their tins, to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before turning out of their tins. Don't worry about any cracks as they will easily be covered by the icing later. 6. To make this icing, melt the butter and chocolate in a good-sized bowl either in the microwave or suspended over a pan of simmering water. Go slowly either way: you don't want any burning or seizing. 7. While the chocolate and butter are cooling a little, sieve the icing sugar into another bowl. Or, easier still, put the icing sugar into the food processor and blitz. This is by far and away the least tedious way of removing lumps. 8. Add the golden syrup to the cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the sour cream and vanilla and then when all this is combined whisk in the sieved icing sugar. Or just pour this mixture down the funnel of the food processor on to the icing sugar, with the motor running. 9. When you've done, you may need to add a little boiling water – say a teaspoon or so – or indeed some more icing sugar: it depends on whether you need the icing to be runnier or thicker; or indeed it may be right as it is. It should be liquid enough to coat easily, but thick enough not to drip off. {I had to add extra sugar to make it stiff enough to use as icing.} 10. Choose your cake stand or plate and cut out four strips of baking parchment to form a square outline on it (this stops the icing running on to the plate). Then sit one of the cakes, uppermost (i.e. slightly domed) side down. 11. Spoon about a third of the icing on to the centre of the cake half and spread with a knife or spatula until you cover the top of it evenly. Sit the other cake on top, normal way up, pressing gently to sandwich the two together. 12. Spoon another third of the icing on to the top of the cake and spread it in a swirly, textured way (though you can go for a smooth finish if you prefer, and have the patience). Spread the sides of the cake with the remaining icing and leave a few minutes till set, then carefully pull away the paper strips.

PS. American readers - if you need any explanations of ingredients or weights/measures please leave me a comment and I shall endeavour to find the translation.