I just celebrated my birthday 2 days ago (May 29th), I had a fabulous time with my friends. My friends treated me to a wonderful merienda (afternoon snacks). My family and I will be celebrating my birthday on Sunday, when my sister and her hubby got back from a business trip.
As you know, during my birthday I don't usually make a birthday cake, but this year I thought what a heck? I'll just make one. The problem is I don't know what kind I want and another thing is my pantry is low on basic ingredients like all purpose flour & walnuts, which are my favorite things to use. So I went in search for recipes that uses cake flour instead. I finally decided on 2 cakes a Red Velvet Cake from Buttercup Bakery which I've been drying to dry for a few months now and a Quadruple Chocolate Cake adapted from Nigella. With a name like quadruple chocolate cake, me being a bona-fide chocolate fiend, I just have to try it. It has 4 types of chocolate in it. First goes in the batter as cocoa powder, second as chocolate chip morsels, third as chocolate syrup, and lastly chocolate shards goes on top of the baked bake. What could be more satisfying than that?
The recipe originally calls for all purpose flour, which I currently so low on, couldn't use that, I substitute it with cake flour. I believe that cake flour makes cake more tender so I didn't hesitate to substitute that for this recipe. I was a bit impatient yesterday that I couldn't ... yes COULDN'T! wait for the butter to soften. I just dump it in will all the dry ingredients in the food processor. Err...it turned into like coarse sand mixture! Oh oh I'm in big trouble...then I remember that I haven't put in wet ingredients phew! that's a relief. Now its a smooth very thick batter kind of like a dough actually. Then as you pour in the hot water, the magic begins it melts the batter turning into a smoooooth chocolate batter hmmm...I could eat it as is. Please self control people this is cake is so worth it.
The chocolate morsels are then folded into to this thick and creamy chocolate batter and pour into a greased and lined loaf pan to be bake. While waiting tried to do two things at once. make the chocolate syrup and wash the dishes. That turned out to be a big mistake and I mean BIG! The chocolate syrup overflowed and I was left with a measly 1/4 cup of syrup! It made a HUGE mess in my microwave. Now I've learned my lesson, never leave boiling stuff in the microwave, it might overflow, duh! It also took me more than 45 minutes to bake the cake, it's such a thick cake anyway so it's okey. I just love making chocolate cakes because it when the house started to smelling like hot chocolate cake, it smells so homey. That is also a good indication that the cake is about to be finished so get ready.
When it got out from the oven, I quickly drizzled in the chocolate syrup, for what's left it isn't enough but to lazy to make another one. Roughly chopped the chocolates into shards and quickly scatter it on top of the chocolate cake while still hot so the shards will stick on it. It will turn out like a huge chocolate mountain with rough terrain (picture below) and when you slice into it you can see the chocolate morsels suspended in the batter (picture above).
For those Chocolate Addicts like me, give this recipe a try it sure is a good chocolate fix nicely paired with a glass of cold milk. Gotta go and get my chocolate fix!
QUADRUPLE CHOCOLATE CAKE
by: Nigella Lawson from Feast:Food to Celebrate Life
- 200 g plain flour (I used cake flour)
- 1/2 tsp bicarb aka baking soda
- 50 g cocoa
- 275 caster sugar
- 175 g softened butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tbsp real vanilla extract
- 80 ml sour cream
- 125 ml boiling water
- 175 g chocolate morsels
- 125 ml water
- 1 tsp cocoa powder (I used 2-3 tsp to give it a oomph!)
- 100 g caster sugar
- 25 g chocolate, roughly chopped
In the food processor add, flour, bacarb, cocoa, sugar, butter, eggs, cream and vanilla, blitz until smooth and sandy batter. Scrape down and blitz again while gradually adding the boiling water down the funnel. Fold in the chocolate morsels and pour the batter into a prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour in a preheated 170C/gas mark 3 or until set and toothpick inserted is not totally clean but still has some gooey crumbs that clings.
While the cake is baking make the syrup, put cocoa, sugar and water in a saucepan and boil for 5 minutes or until the liquid reduces and turn dark and syrupy. Take the cake out of the oven, pouring in the syrup as evenly as possible. Don't worry the cake will absorb all the syrup.
When the cake becomes completely cold, take it out of the pan and scatter the chocolate shards, with all the chocolate syrup put in earlier, the shards will stick to the cake (but since I had a syrup accident I put my shards on while hot). Slice in whatever thickness you want, grab a glass of cold milk and enjoy!
Oh! I'm gonna have to remember that you're Filipino. I don't know how I could have missed that detail!
ReplyDeleteI just love these dense chocolate cakes. I have a different mixing method because I don't have a food processor, though :/ Delicious!
Hehehehe..yup I'm Filipino born and raised :D
ReplyDeleteI think mixer would be just fine, I'm just feeling lazy.
Interesting blog you got here. I'd like to read something more about that topic. Thnx for sharing this material.
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