Best Chocolate Cake.

Why re-invent when you can use what is already there?  I never thought the best chocolate cake would be so easy - just put in a food processor and go for it but trust Nigella to figure it out!  I never want to loose this recipe, so it's going on the blog. Just follow the link below to Nigella's site for the full domestic goddess version.

 

I have to confess, this is Nigella's Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake, only with the addition of a little coffee.  I love coffee in a chocolate cake as it rounds our the flavour.  But this is definitely the BEST chocolate cake I have found.

 

You can use a teaspoon of instant coffee dissolved in a tiny bit of water if you have no espresso. You can substitute golden syrup in the frosting if you cannot find corn syrup.  You must use the best quality cocoa powder possible.

 

I have cooked this in 3 tins and converted it to a black forest cake by not frosting it - Just sprinkle a bit of cherry brandy on the cake once it is cooled, use cherries and cream for the filling and top with cream and chocolate. It was a great success.

 

Here is a picture of Nigella's cake:

 

Best Chocolate Cake

Rating: Easy.

Ingredients

Cake:

200 grams plain flour

200 grams caster sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

40 grams best-quality cocoa powder

175 grams soft unsalted butter

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 shot of espresso coffee.

2/3 cup sour cream

 Frosting:

75 grams unsalted butter

175 grams best quality dark chocolate (broken into small pieces)

300 grams icing sugar

1 tablespoon golden syrup

125 millilitres sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Method

 Preheat the oven to gas mark 180°C and line and butter two 20cm / 8 inch sandwich tins with removable bases.

 

Put ALL the cake ingredients  into a food processor and process until you have a smooth, thick batter.

 

Divide this batter, 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.

 

Cool 10 minutes before turning out of their tins. Don't worry about any cracks as they will easily be covered by the icing later.

 

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.

 

Put the icing sugar into the food processor and blitz. This is by far and away the least tedious way of removing lumps.

 

Add the golden syrup to the cooled chocolate mixture. Pour this mixture down the funnel of the food processor on to the icing sugar, with the motor running.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Spoon another third of the icing on to the top of the cake and spread it in a swirly, textured way.  Spread the sides of the cake with the remaining icing