“Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get.”   – Forrest Gump

 Who doesn’t like chocolate cake- it may not fix everything but it’s a darn good substitute. Chocolate to the world today is a sign of romance and is an integral part of people’s everyday routine. It’s hard to imagine a world without chocolate and on those days when you feel tired – atleast for me – I just buy a bar of chocolate, eat it all by myself and I feel so good and pleased with myself, no wonder it’s called the elixir of life. That’s what chocolate does to me. It has become one of the most popular foods, and with the number of food stuffs that involve chocolate today -it’s no surprise at all. It’s all over the place – from cakes to desserts to puddings, mousses, brownies etc.- the list is endless. At home all of us love chocolate, my father is especially fond of plain, good old milk chocolate, my brother Alex and I have to mention two nephews of mine – Joey and Marc- they are serious chocolate addicts. Before you blink -the slab is over and the expression on their faces – sheer delight!  Pure joy! Well, the rest of my huge wonderful family is not too far behind.

The following recipe is tried and tested a zillion times over and the flavor – just too good! It’s the buttermilk and the cooking of the cocoa that makes this recipe stand out from the others. It’s moist and its chocolatey- just the way you like it.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients:

• Butter-1/2 cup
• Sugar-1 cup
• Eggs-2
• Flour-2 cups & baking soda-1 tsp (level) & baking powder 1 tsp (level)-sifted together
• Vanilla essence- 1 tsp
• Buttermilk-2/3 cup

To cook together:

• Water-1/2 cup
• Cocoa-1/2 cup (Hershey’s or cadbury )
• Sugar-1/2 cup

Method:

• Heat 1/2 cup of water (do not boil) remove from flame and add cocoa  and sugar and stir well.
• Cream soft butter and powdered sugar till light in colour.
• Add eggs and beat well after each addition.
• Add vanilla essence and mix well.
• Add cooled cocoa mixture.
• Add buttermilk alternating with sifted flour mixture.
• Bake in a preheated oven 180 deg c for 35-40 minutes.

Chefs tips:

• Measure out 1 cup of sugar and then powder.
• I specifically  use Amul butter.
• All ingredients to be at room temperature.
• If buttermilk is not available, measure out 2/3 cup of milk and pour on top of 1 tbsp of vinegar taken in a cup.
• Do not place a freshly baked cake directly under a moving fan. Cover the top with a butter paper and let the cake cool down, as the cake could dry out on exposure.

CHOCOLATE ICING

• Cream-1/2 cup -100ml
• Sugar-3/4 cup
• Cocoa-1/4 cup heaped
• Butter-1 tsp
• V.essence-1/2 tsp (optional)

Method:

• Mix cream, sugar and cocoa and cook till thick.
• Remove and add 1 tbsp of butter and stir.
• Add vanilla essence and keep to cool.
• On cooling, the mixture will thicken.
• Pour on top of the cake and smoothen with palette knife dipped in water.
• The weight of the cake is around a kilogram.

You can sprinkle roasted walnuts or cashewnuts on top.

 If there’s no chocolate in heaven, I’m not going!

Till my next post

Cheers,

Rose