This recipe is over two pages, first how to cook the
chocolate sponge then how to fill it and how to ice the cake.
KEY POINTS
Preparation Time:
Cooking Time:
How Difficult
Medium
Freeze?
No
Servings
1 Cake, 8 Slices
INGREDIENTS The basic ingredients for the chocolate sponge are shown below.
Metric
Imperial
170 g self-raising flour
6 oz self-raising flour
170 g soft butter
6 oz soft butter
170 g light brown sugar
(Demerara)
6 oz light brown sugar
(Demerara)
3 medium eggs (at room
temperature)
3 medium eggs (at room
temperature)
1 heaped tablespoon Cocoa
powder
1 heaped tablespoon Cocoa
powder
1 heaped teaspoon baking
powder
1 heaped teaspoon baking
powder
WHAT SPECIAL KITCHEN EQUIPMENT FOR CHOCOLATE CAKE
You will need the following for the chocolate sponge:
1 large bowl to mix the ingredients
1 sieve
2 18cm (7 inch) cake tins approximately 4 cm (11/2
inch deep)
Small amount of greaseproof paper
You will need the following for the fudge icing:
Medium bowl to mix ingredients
CLICK ANY PICTURE BELOW TO ENLARGE IT
The butter for the sponge must be soft. The best way to achieve this
is to measure out the butter an hour or so before it is needed and leave
it at room temperature. If this is not possible, break up the butter with
a fork and beat it for a minute or so.
Turn the oven on, setting it to 170 C / 325 F / Gas Mark 3.
Next, grease both of the baking trays with margarine or butter, cut
out 2 circles of greaseproof paper and line the base of both baking
trays.
Place the flour in a bowl,
take out one heaped tablespoon full of flour and use 1 heaped tablespoon
full of the Cocoa powder to replace it. Add the baking powder.
Sieve the mixture into another large bowl.
Add the butter, sugar and
eggs to the flour mixture and mix well using a fork - this should take
around 3 minutes. The resulting mixture should fall off the spoon but
reluctantly.
If the mixture is too
thick, add a little water and mix it in well.
NOTE: If you follow the recipe and use the correct sized cake tins then you
will have no problem. However, if you use smaller cake tins then only fill
to around two thirds full. If you fill up the cake tins completely the
mixture will overflow into your oven as it cooks.
Put half the mixture in each
of the baking tray, smooth the surface over so that it is relatively flat.
Place the baking trays in the centre of the pre-heated oven and cook for
30 minutes. DO NOT open the oven door until the 30 minutes are up!
Test
if the sponge is cooked by gently pressing the centre with your finger. If
it fully springs back to shape it's cooked. If not put it back in the oven
for 5 minutes.
Leave the cakes in the tin
for a minute to cool. Turn them out of the tins onto a wire rack. This is
to let the air circulate around them as they cool.
Remove the greaseproof
paper and admire your cooking skills!