Winter’s solstice was spent at a charming little cabin – stilted, wooden, dimly lit – in the jungle. With her glass of red, on a large terrace pulling her jacket closer, she sat on the cold garden furniture gazing at an inspiring panoramic view. The view of mountains from here – amongst tall mountain foliage – was breathtaking. A smidgen of chocolate cake would complete the perfect moment.
She entered the sparsely equipped kitchen. A single low wattage bulb that hung in the center, a humble stove, a small oven, single cold water faucet in a crude sink and a white porcelain topped kitchen table with crockery and cutlery for two. The lack of basic ingredients only strengthened her resolve. Coat and gloves off, she lit the fireplace and readied to embark on her baking escapade.
A moist, dark cocoa cake flirting with bittersweet chocolate and kahula buttercream frosting strewn with deep dark chocolate morsels and cocoa nibs. With a promise of the first bite making you fall in love all over again with chocolate.
Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake
Author: Cake Recipe: Adapted from Plaxy Locatelli | Frosting: Baker Street
Recipe type: Dessert, Cake
Ingredients
- 450 grams flour
- 35 grams cocoa powder
- 6 grams baking powder
- 6 grams bicarbonate of soda
- 300 grams caster sugar
- 125 ml sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing
- 300 ml water
- 75 grams dark chocolate chips
- 20 ml vinegar
- 150 ml heavy cream
- 200 grams dark chocolate; chopped roughly
- 2 tablespoons Kahlua or any other Coffee Flavored Liqueur
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170C/gas 3. Grease a large cake tin, or 2 smaller tins, with a little sunflower oil.
- Sieve the flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and caster sugar into a large bowl.
- Mix the liquids together and add them to the solids, whisking very well.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and fold gently
- Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin (or tins) and bake for 20 minutes, until springy to the touch.
- Place the chocolate in a heat proof bowl over simmering water and gently stir till the chocolate melts.
- Beat the heavy cream and kahula till soft peaks form.
- Fold in the melted chocolate and frost the cake as desired.
Happy Baking!
I’d definitely love a slice of that after lunch! Looks soooo rich!
Ooh slice of that along side tea this afternoon will be super cool! Good job girlie now getting your posts on regular schedule Yay!!
I know, right! Thanks Shulie.
Oh how I love the words and like the icing on a cake this cake finishes this post of scrumptiously. Lovely An! I especially like the Kahlua.
Thank you, Meeta. That’s a big compliment coming from a plate2page instructor.
this cake looks so delicious. lovely pictures and thank you for sharing the recipe.
Thanks so much for this recipe!! It sounds so delicious! I can’t wait to make it myself! Too bad it won’t be as good as yours though :)
XOXO
MM
Forgot to rate it ;-)
oh wow An – this is really, really beautiful!! the writing, the photography, the recipe – perfect!
Thanks Deb! :)
Would love to indulge in this gorgeous beauty over and over again! Eggless and classic…what great combo. Lovely frosting An.
When I saw the photo of this on twitter last night my time I knew it was going to be a winner. What a beautiful cake! You should be really proud of yourself – this is definitely professional quality.
Thanks Maureen.
Thank you for this! I’m itching to try it out. Finally an eggless cake that looks (and tastes) so good. Super Baker Street! And now for some questions:
– If I use melted butter instead of oil, will it be richer/heavier? And how much of butter should I use?
– Does one need to use vanilla essence to mask out the peculiar vinegar smell? Or does it go away with the baking?
– I’ve been using yogurt as a substitute in eggless cakes. Do you think it has the same effect as vinegar? Do you think vinegar a better substitute?
That’s all. Over to the expert :)
Hi G. Thanks for stopping by. I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake.
A few quick pointers:
– I would suggest you stick to regular vegetable oil or olive oil as butter would make it heavier. The cake would be richer if you used butter as the quantity of the butter would be more than the oil.
– If using butter, you’d use 160 ml in place of 125ml of oil. This would also impact the method as you’d have to start off by creaming the butter and sugar.
* The best part about this cake is it doesn’t really require much whipping. Its just a gentle mix till everything is incorporated.
– Using good quality vanilla essence makes all the difference. You will never be able to tell vinegar was used.
– And yes, i have baked several cakes with yogurt as well. however, this one is a classic and one you will keep going back to.
great, thank you :) can’t wait to try it out.
Love chocolate. Love Kahlua. Love Cake. Love this post!!
That looks heavenly!! The whole family would flip over that!! Yum =)
@alanecooke
And Annapet runs to the refrigerator to check for coffee liqueur! ;-) You are on a roll, girlfriend!
Thanks for sending me this link. Beautiful writing and what a stunning cake! Oh yes please share. Now I am going to make chocolate cake this afternoon. You have inspired me!
Aww… thanks Jamie! A recipe that will not disappoint you :)
There nothing quite like a good old fashioned chocolate cake, it’s one of those classics that delights every time.
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Yeah, I’d fall in love all over again with this! And again, and again!
Wow i Will try this
That cake is wonderful! It looks really irresistible.
Cheers,
Rosa
My Great Grandma made cakes that looked just like this. We saw her so little and she passed before I was 8, but I remember the little jolt of joy when she’d carry this cake out on a plate and set it on the game table where we ate when we were at her house. GREG
chocolate cake looks so good. I love the story too
THIS RECIPE IS A KEEPER :)
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Kahlua in cake… is genius. <3 it!
This cake sounds and looks absolutely delicious!! I love the kahlua frosting, yummm!!
Red wine + chocolate cake = food happiness. Or, as we say in our house, “mmmmm…. CHOCOLATE!!!”
Thanks for posting!
I love everything about this cake! I would love a slice this afternoon!
I love a good chocolate cake….. Great blog post.
looks wonderful deliciously done
Oh this looks like it would be such a comforting slice of cake!
Wow – this looks absolutely fabulous! Great post! Check us out sometime @ BloomEveryday.wordpress.com. :) Would love for you to check out some of our recipes.
This is soooo sinfully lovely!It actually makes me tipsy to think of me taking a greedy bite and enjoying all the gooey chocolate – lovely presentation,lovely clicks and a marvelous cake!Thanks for the recipe:)
Ok! Now this is chocolate!
Would love to have a slice of this cake.
Remarkable issues here. I’m very satisfied to look your article. Thanks a lot and I’m having a look ahead to touch you. Will you kindly drop me a e-mail?
That cake is a masterpiece! Gorgeous!
it’s a beautiful cake ; beautifully penned too.