The crowd pleaser {chocolate cake}

How can you go wrong with a chocolate cake it is a delight to the senses. The look, the smell, the taste if you can achieve that you're on to a winner. 

Well I have such a cake to share with you today. It has taken a few years to perfect it but after making it a gazzilion times I am proud to say it's ready.

For this recipe you will need:

1 cup of soft real butter

2 1/2 cups of sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups of buttermilk

1 cup of cocoa

3 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of baking soda

40g of butter 

500g(1 box) of icing sugar

1/4 cup of cocoa

Begin by pre heating your oven to 160'c

In your food mixer cream the butter and sugar together until light a creamy in texture.

Next in a bowl whisk your eggs together then pour slowly into the butter mixture and combine for another few minutes.

While that's mixing away sieve all your dry ingredients together.

Turn off the food mixer and add in half the dry ingredients combine it either with a spatula or on a slow speed on the mixer.

Next add in the buttermilk, then last but not least add the remainder of your dry ingredients and combine.

For this cake I used 2 8" round silicone cake moulds, you can either line the base with baking parchment or spray them with cake release spray both are widely available in most supermarkets.

Dollop in the gooey cake mix evenly into your tins spread the tops of the batter with a spatula to make sure it's even going into the oven.

Bake for 45mins 

While that's baking away and filling your kitchen with the most amazing chocolate aromas prepare to make the buttercream.

Begin by creaming the butter until very pale in colour.

Sieve the icing sugar and cocoa together turn off the mixer then add the sugar in and on a slow setting on the food mixer let them combine. {don't be ballsy and flick the mixer to high speed it ALWAYS turns out bad, trust me} once combine turn it to a med/high speed.

When the cakes are baked check the center of them with a tooth pick if it comes out clean your ready to rock.

Let them cool completely before you divide the cakes into four layers.

Using your spatula dollop a generous amount of buttercream onto your first layer, spread it out evenly then stack the next layer on top then begin again.

When the four layers are on use the remaining buttercream to completely cover the top and sides of the cake using your metal spatula glide it over the surface. Take your time and enjoy, it has to be one of my favourite parts of building a cake.

I finished off this particular cake with flake crumbs sprinkled on the edge of the cake and then adorned the top with flowers .

Perfect for every occasion, like Tuesday morning for breakfast 

Enjoy

Rebecca

One word...DOUGHNUTS

I have yet to meet someone that doesn't like some variation of the glorious Doughnut. But the conventional doughnut is fried in oil and either rolled in shiny sugar or dipped in a neon glaze. 

So for today's request from lottie I decided to bake her doughnuts and accompany them with a dark chocolate sauce.

For this recipe you will need

3/4 cup of flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

40g of soft unsalted butter

1 egg

1/3 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/2 cup of milk

75g of 70% dark chocolate

1 tablespoon of butter

Pre heat your oven to 160'c

This recipe is a one pot wonder all you need to do is add all the ingrediants into a big bowl and mix frantically until the batter is smooth and lump free.

Pour the batter into a pipping bag and slowly but surely squeeze it into the doughnut pan, this recipe makes 6 doughnuts which is perfect as most doughnut pans have 6 doughnuts spaces.

While your doughnuts are baking away prepare a Bain Marie then add the chocolate and butter stirring occasionally until it has melted fully. I also poured this oozy combination into a piping bag.

When the buzzer goes on your oven take out the doughnuts and put on the cooling rack. When cooled snip the tip of your piping bag and decorate how you please.

Enjoy Rebecca x