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Ruchik Randhap

Food & Memories of Mangalore

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Traditional Chocolate Cake ~ Very Rich & Chocolatey!

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My first attempt at making two cakes in one go and then sandwiching them together! All thanks to my new oven which is huge and can easily accommodate two cake tins side by side – a privilege I missed when I was in Mumbai. I made this cake for Baby Z’s 1st Birthday, for the little celebration we had at home. I found the recipe in a lovely cookbook gifted to me by my brother just a few days before the birthday and I spent days on end flipping through its pages going crazy over which recipe I should try first.

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Eventually I tried this cake which is so decadent and chocolately that you’ll want to wallop it down in one go, but uh-oh! unless you are a die hard chocolate lover you will find it extremely rich and may want to skip dinner if you’ve had a large slice. This cake is meant for celebrations, it is meant to be shared with a good number of people who are not calorie conscious. It is meant to be generously served to children at birthday parties or to your guests for your Christmas party.
A perfect chocolate cake that is very moist and divine when eaten warm. I couldn’t help layer it when it was still warm out of the oven. This resulted in the ganache dripping a little from all sides – a bit like thick sludge but who cared? The kids couldn’t wait to have it cut, so we rushed through the cake cutting ceremony just to dive into it. Half of it was gone in a few minutes so I didn’t get to click any pictures of the whole cake perched on a stand, sitting pretty and glamorous for a photo shoot. Maybe next time I’ll do the honours, but for now, I hope these pictures give you a fair idea of how yummy this cake will look on your dinner table this Christmas!
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Traditional Chocolate Cake
Adapted from: The Complete Creative Cookbook
Prep time: 15 mins | Bake time: 35 mins | Serves 10

Ingredients:

  • 115 grams (4 oz) plain chocolate (I used dark chocolate) *see notes
  • 275ml (9 oz) milk
  • 200 grams (7 oz) light brown sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 260 grams (9 oz) plain flour (maida)
  • 1 teaspoon soda bi carb (baking soda)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 140 grams (5 oz) butter at room temperature
  • 260 (9 oz) grams caster sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the icing:

  • 225 grams (8 oz) plain chocolate * see notes
  • 175 ml sour cream*see notes
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F. Grease and line two 8 or 9 inch round cake tins with baking parchment and keep aside. Sift the flour, baking soda & salt a couple of times and keep aside.
2. Place a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (or a double boiler) and melt the chocolate along with one third of the milk, brown sugar and egg yolk * see note. Stir continuously until its smooth, thick & lump free. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
3. In a large bowl beat the butter and caster sugar till it is light & fluffy. Add one egg at a time beating between each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
4. Add the flour in three parts into the butter mixture, alternating between flour and milk, beginning & ending with flour. Pour in the chocolate mixture and gently whisk till everything is just combined.
5. Divide the batter into both the cake tins equally and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the skewer inserted comes out clean. Once done, remove the tins from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
6. Unmould the cakes from the tins and let them cool completely.
7. To prepare the icing, place a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water and melt the chocolate. Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit. Stir in the salt & soured cream.
8. Place one cake on a serving plate/cake stand and spread one-third of the icing over it. Stack the second cake over it and spread the remaining icing all over the top and sides of the cake swirling to make a decorative finish.

Notes:
1. For the cake you may use good quality cooking chocolate or simply, your favourite bar of chocolate. I liked my cake to be dark & rich so I used dark (bitter sweet) chocolate for the cake and for the icing as well. However, it is recommended to use dark chocolate for the cake and plain milk chocolate for the icing or else it will taste a tad bitter through & through. If you are using dark chocolate for the icing as well, do a taste check when the icing is ready and add about 1/3rd to 2/3rd cups of icing sugar or adjust it to taste. The sour cream in the icing will balance out any extra sweetness that your regular milk chocolate may provide.
2. Since I didn’t find any sour cream at the store I used creme fraiche instead for the icing. Creme fraiche is thicker and less tart than sour cream and I felt it was the perfect substitute.
3. Note for step#2: Add all the ingredients together in the double boiler. If you add the egg yolk when the chocolate mixture is boiling chances are that it will turn into a lumpy omelette!

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Comments

  8. Sahitya says

    Made this for my husband’s birthday at his folks’ place. The whole family (parents-in-law, and his relatives) loved it. Such a deliciously decadent cake this was.
    I’m married to a Mangy Catholic, so you can imagine how happy the family was with this cake.

    Reply

    • Shireen Sequeira says

      Thank you so much for the feedback Sahitya!! So glad to know that your family enjoyed this cake so much. It is my favourite too!

      Reply

  9. Rajsmita Bhattacharjee says

    This recipe is a keeper. The batter turns out so silky, smooth and creamy, and the cake moist and perfectly delicious. There is just something about Shireen’s recipes that is magical.. I work with these ingredients all the time, but the texture of the batter and the cake with her recipes is just something else!

    Reply