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Fancy-schmancy chocolate cake?


Well it tastes like a fancy-schmancy cake but it was definitely a breeze to make it especially if you own a food processor. Nigella Lawson, if I have to sum up what I feel in one sentence- love her recipes, hate her eyes-rolling, up-close camera tricks cooking show!

Ingredients 

Recipe source from Food network

Cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup barley flour + whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 stick Vegan butter + 1/2 stick soft unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup yogurt + 1/3 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped candied orange peel (homemade)

Syrup
1 tsp cocoa 
1/2 cup water 
1/2 cup sugar
1-ounce dark chocolate (from a thick bar if possible), cut into splinters of varying thickness, for garnish

Equipment: 2-pound loaf tin (approximately 9 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 3 inches deep), lined with greased foil, pressed into the corners and with some overhang at the top.

Method

Take whatever you need out of the refrigerator so that all ingredients can come room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, putting in a baking sheet as you do so.

Put the flour, baking soda, cocoa, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and yogurt into the processor and process until a smooth, satiny brown batter. Scrape down with a rubber spatula and process again while pouring the boiling water down the funnel. Turn it off and stir in the chocolate chips and candied orange peel.

Scrape and pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and put into the oven, cooking for about 1 hour. When ready, the loaf will be risen and split down the middle (a toothpick will pretty well come out clean).

Not long before the cake is due out of the oven (when it has had about 45 to 50 minutes), put the syrup ingredients of cocoa, water and sugar into a small saucepan and boil for about 5 minutes (need a fairly thick syrup)

Take the cake out of the oven and sit it on a cooling rack, still in the tin, and pierce here and there with a cake tester. Pour the syrup over the cake.

Let the cake become completely cold and then slip out of its tin, removing the foil as you do so. Sprinkle the chocolate splinters over the top of the sticky surface of the cake.

Judgement

Don't be like me- impatient. Firstly I added the garnish well before the cake cooled down so we had a sauce over a sauce kind of an effect (which was fine, it tasted awesome) and secondly I even tried to cut the cake well before it had a chance to cool and ended up mostly with big crumbs- half way through cutting the warm cake, I realized I was being impatient and managed to salvage the rest of the cake. I made it for Super Bowl and it went quicker than I expected it to- I guess that says something eh? This gooey chocolate cake is off to Maison Cupcakes Forever Nigella #2 Seduced by chocolate.
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Comments

  1. sarahtrivFebruary 20, 2011 at 4:17 PM

    Fancy Schmancy is a brilliant name for a cake, I hope you enjoyed eating it during Superbowl. Thanks for sharing it with Forever Nigella!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AbiFebruary 21, 2011 at 7:25 AM

    Thanks Sarah- love love Maison Cupcake!

    ReplyDelete
  3. PiaFebruary 26, 2011 at 7:36 AM

    cake looks so YUMMM

    I would like to thank you for linking your Lovely and Innovative salad for Innovative salads Event. Round up of the event has been publish. Hoping You will like it

    Innovative salad Event - Cucumber Round up

    ReplyDelete

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