Chocolate cake tips and recipes please! (merged)

rosie383

Pookie Quick question if you don't mind. I'm just making your choc cake now.
Now that I have started, I'm realising that it is going to be quite big and rich.
Can I freeze it easily? I don't trust myself to be alone in the house with it!!! Can I freeze maybe half of it un-iced? Or should I slice it up and freeze? I want some for this week for visitors, and want some for Eid next week.

rosie383

I made the cake yesterday and it got great reviews from the kids and the visitors. It was the one Pookie uses.

However, I cut it in 2 so as to have 2 layers, but it is quite a dense cake. Very nice, but after sitting in the fridge for a couple of hours I had a wee slice ( twas the cake sittin' in the fridge, not me!). It was pretty solid. I didn't have any choc left for frosting, so just used whipped cream.

Ah! Penny just dropped as to why the bloomin thing was so solid! There was 250g choc in it!

Not sure if maybe I should do something a bit lighter and softer?

So, help me out here. Of all the recipes that you guys have posted, which one will make me a big, square, moist, rich, but soft chocolate cake?

I don't want one that goes in 2 8" tins, for example.

pookiewn

Hi Rosie383, Just seen your message. I guess you could freeze it, can't say it's ever lasted long enough in this house to try, if you do I would freeze without the icing. Keeping it in the fridge would make it very solid, at room temperature its more moist I also cut the cake into three slices so there is loads of the icing in the middle, I think somehow this lightens it up a touch. It's possibly why it's stretched to feed so many people! Hope this helps

rosie383

Oh, thanks Pookie.
So, if it was in the fridge, then left out again at room temp, it would soften a bit again? Maybe that's why mine was nice, but didn't have the wow factor that the others got.

3 layers is good. I was thinking to maybe make 2 for a very spectacular 4 layered cake, but if you get 3 layers out of it, then I may just do that. Doing it the way I did, it gave 12 decent slices. I will ask my friend and see how many she needs it to feed. I did end up freezing half of it, plain.

I used my piping bag to pipe the fresh cream on top and then sprinkled it with flake. It looked gorgeous!

BTW, should it be quite dense? It was maybe 2 and a bit inches high once it was cooled. (It was a bit risen and cracked on top, but I cooled it upside down on the rack to flatten it a bit).

pookiewn

Ooo, that sounds lovely. Did you go with the strawberries too? Please put pics of the real one up when it's done!

Sounds about right, did it rise up to the top of the tin? I cant see my tin to give you an answer, the last time I did it I got three inch-ish sized slices but doesn't sound far off I cheat and put the top pointy risen bit as the middle to keep it flat, lol!

It should become less dense, it will probably be a lot richer when it's at room temp too.

rosie383

pookiewn wrote: »

I cheat and put the top pointy risen bit as the middle to keep it flat, lol

Sorry, can't do pics as can't get them from phone to pc!

I love that tip!!!!! It is great and something I would never have thought of!

Grimbal

Halfway through my bake-a-thon for a charity do tomorrrow & I've just realised that I can't find my T&T choccy cake recipe

Do any of you kind souls have an easy & cheap chocolate cake recipe to share with me please ? It can only use cocoa, not proper chocolate, and can't have any obscure ingredients in it as I don't have time to leave the house today !

TIA,
Liz

daisiegg

Just do a basic Victoria sponge recipe and replace some of the flour with cocoa powder! Something like this... http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/17558/chocolate-victoria-sponge.aspx

Grimbal

d'Oh ! why on _earth_ did I not think of that?! Thankyou so much

horsechestnut

4oz Marg/Butter
4oz Sugar
3oz Self Raising Flour
1oz Cocoa Mixed with 2 Tablespoons Water
2 Eggs
Oven 180o/ gas 4
This is enough for a 6inch round cake tin.
Usual Victoria Sponge creaming method/ or put it all in the mixer at once until nice and creamy.
Usually divided into 2 sponge cake tins.
It will take about 15/20 mins, depending on your oven and tins. Or longer if you put it into just one tin.
Hope that all makes sense!