Preschooler SSG wanted to bake ‘a chocolate cake with icing on top, please’ this weekend. It was all the excuse I needed to hit the world wide web and find a recipe that we’d both enjoy making and eating. Google lead me to this chocolate cake recipe that Robyn created for her blog Add A Pinch. With a title like The Best Chocolate Cake (Ever), it had a lot to live up to and as I love a good parenthesis in a recipe title, it was the obvious recipe to go with.
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| www.walmart.com |
I know my finished cake looks homely at best but readers, you have to give Robyn’s recipe a go. I don’t know if its the ‘(Ever)’ in the title or the addition of that cup of boiling water to the batter in the final minute of beating but this recipe makes an incredible chocolate cake. It has a deep black brown colour, a perfect crumb that’s fine and moist (sorry if you hate the word but it is what it is) and it has a taste so satisfying it will give you the strength to go onwards and upwards after eating it – even without the equally perfect frosting.
Given my track record of forgetting a major ingredient in my recent baking projects, I didn’t take any chances this time and put every single ingredient out on the kitchen bench.
I used Dutch processed cocoa and Moccona for the espresso powder the recipe calls for.
As I mentioned earlier, this recipe calls for a cup of boiling water to be added near the end. The batter ends up looking very liquid but don’t panic.
I put a sheet of greased baking paper in the base of my spring form tins and it did help reduce batter leakage in the oven.
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| www.bettycrocker.com |
Another tip, Robyn’s Chocolate Buttercream Frosting recipe is pretty special too. Betty’s does not compare, I’m afraid. Don’t be afraid that there’s 5 cups of icing sugar in the recipe and do add the espresso powder. I added a little more and it gave the frosting a bit of a Moccona Moment.
As I warned you earlier, it’s all homely presentation around here when it comes to frosted cakes.
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| When frosting is so good you have a little extra on the side of your plate instead of thickened cream. |
But I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
