While on a baking binge of 'never fail cakes' and in pursuit of making a number of requested chocolate cakes for two significant birthdays and a few dinner parties, I have been very busy trying to find the best chocolate cake recipe ever! It has been a lot of tasty fun and I have solved a mystery or two along the way.
To give you a little background. My 'fall back' for a chocolate cake has always been my 1970's Eggless Chocolate cake but to be honest it really doesn't get even close to the perfect variety nowadays, it is now a very boring cake! Not rich enough and not enough chocolaty flavour.
You will recall I made the Drunken Chocolate Torte and posted my feedback on that beauty. To do a test run on another birthday cake I also made Seagers Chocolate Mud Cake http://joseagar.com/recipes/collection:the-cook-school-recipes/. At the time Deb was overseeing the making of said cake (she was staying with us). Once cooked (during our taste test) we agreed the cake didn't taste quite right. When I checked on this later I discovered there had been an error in the original recipe book and 1 3/4 c sugar was missing from the cake. Mmmmmm... that will explain it. And the ganache should have had 750grams of chocolate instead of 150gms. To be quite honest that error did not matter so much but omitting the sugar from the cake was fairly significant. Mystery of the salty cake solved!
In spite of this 'boo boo' both cakes were more than edible but some of my foodie mates (and dinner guests) found the Torte a bit too sweet. I probably didn't need the drunken syrup bit drizzled on the side! As it turned out, the sweetness in the Mud Cake was more about the chocolate 'filling' and the ganache rather than the cake part.
In my research I found a similar Mud Cake recipe to Jo Seagars on the Chelsea Sugar website. It may be worth a try as it uses low GI sugar. http://www.chelsea.co.nz/baking-and-recipes/23/chocolate-mud-cake-with-chocolate-ganache-icing.aspx.
Unfortunately both of the recipes I tried required quite a bit of time and skill.... which of course I have in abundance when the recipe is correct, but when scheduling baking and allowing plenty of time to focus on the job at hand, time can be a little challenging for me (so much to do, so little time...). I still had not found that perfect chocolate cake....
Deb and I talk a lot about food, that is eating and creating it!! she certainly shares my love for both. This Chocolate Cake recipe came from her cake repertoire, one that has never failed to please and it is so easy to make, that is, it doesn't take the whole day to assemble. As she had no idea where the recipe or the name of the cake came from, my research uncovered it here http://annabellewhite.com/lady-glenorchys-super-simple-chocolate-cake/ My suspicions proved correct, it originally came from the Southland area (or to be precise - Central Otago) and ended up in Canterbury, it is now firmly in the Capital Living baking file of favourites.
As you can see it is a large cake so really great to serve at a large gathering or party. You can do a bit of forward planning as it has the added advantage of freezing well (un-iced of course). I am about to test this tip as I have made it again today to take down to Christchurch for Henry's 5th birthday dinner in a couple of weeks.
Lady Glenorchy Chocolate Cake
Bake 160 C 1 ¼ hrs
To give you a little background. My 'fall back' for a chocolate cake has always been my 1970's Eggless Chocolate cake but to be honest it really doesn't get even close to the perfect variety nowadays, it is now a very boring cake! Not rich enough and not enough chocolaty flavour.
You will recall I made the Drunken Chocolate Torte and posted my feedback on that beauty. To do a test run on another birthday cake I also made Seagers Chocolate Mud Cake http://joseagar.com/recipes/collection:the-cook-school-recipes/. At the time Deb was overseeing the making of said cake (she was staying with us). Once cooked (during our taste test) we agreed the cake didn't taste quite right. When I checked on this later I discovered there had been an error in the original recipe book and 1 3/4 c sugar was missing from the cake. Mmmmmm... that will explain it. And the ganache should have had 750grams of chocolate instead of 150gms. To be quite honest that error did not matter so much but omitting the sugar from the cake was fairly significant. Mystery of the salty cake solved!
In spite of this 'boo boo' both cakes were more than edible but some of my foodie mates (and dinner guests) found the Torte a bit too sweet. I probably didn't need the drunken syrup bit drizzled on the side! As it turned out, the sweetness in the Mud Cake was more about the chocolate 'filling' and the ganache rather than the cake part.
In my research I found a similar Mud Cake recipe to Jo Seagars on the Chelsea Sugar website. It may be worth a try as it uses low GI sugar. http://www.chelsea.co.nz/baking-and-recipes/23/chocolate-mud-cake-with-chocolate-ganache-icing.aspx.
Unfortunately both of the recipes I tried required quite a bit of time and skill.... which of course I have in abundance when the recipe is correct, but when scheduling baking and allowing plenty of time to focus on the job at hand, time can be a little challenging for me (so much to do, so little time...). I still had not found that perfect chocolate cake....
Deb and I talk a lot about food, that is eating and creating it!! she certainly shares my love for both. This Chocolate Cake recipe came from her cake repertoire, one that has never failed to please and it is so easy to make, that is, it doesn't take the whole day to assemble. As she had no idea where the recipe or the name of the cake came from, my research uncovered it here http://annabellewhite.com/lady-glenorchys-super-simple-chocolate-cake/ My suspicions proved correct, it originally came from the Southland area (or to be precise - Central Otago) and ended up in Canterbury, it is now firmly in the Capital Living baking file of favourites.
 |
| cake right way up |
Lady Glenorchy Chocolate Cake
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup plain yoghurt
¾ cup cocoa
200gm melted butter
2 tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
3 cups self-raising flour
1 cup strong black coffee (3 tsp instant) cooled
Place all ingredients in the order listed into the food processor and
process 1 min. Pour mixture into a large greased cake tin.
 |
| cake turned upside down |
I used a greased 23cm round tin (with removable base lined with baking paper), or you could use a large greased cake mould ring tin, do not turn
out until cold.
This is a moist cake and apparently it has never failed. Worked well for me. I find it easier to ice the cake if it is turned upside down, you tend to get a better finish. When it is ready to be eaten I will use the following recipe. This is the correct list of ingredients.
Ganache – Jo Seagar – The Cook School Recipes
180 ml milk
225 ml cream
750 grams chopped dark chocolate (I use Whittakers)
Place all ingredients in a medium sized saucepan,
stir gently over a low heat until it comes to a boil, make sure the chocolate
is melted and the mixture smooth. Cool to a room temperature.
2 comments:
Exactly what I've been looking for, thank you - I'm not a great baker and I love these all-in-the-processor recipes!
I've since discovered a simplier recipe for ganache.
1 cup of chopped dark chocolate and 1 cup of cream, warm through until combined, rest at room temperature until cool, it makes just enough to spread on the top and sides of this cake. Do not do what I did and test if it has 'set', it leaves a little fingerprint of your visit!
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