Chocó-Fudge cake

This cake in all its glory serves as the best birthday cake you can make for a loved one. It’s easy to make and is the perfect “starter cake”. This recipe is the slightly fiddled version of a couple of cakes I’ve done before. This is incredibly chocolaty but far from rich. Worry not, Read on!

What you need:

Flour- 1 and a half cups

Sugar (powdered) – 2 cups

Good quality cocoa – Half a cup

Butter (unsalted and softened) – 200gms

Fresh curd – Half a cup

Eggs- 3

Baking powder – 1 spoon

Baking soda- Half a spoon

Good quality Vanilla Extract – 1 spoon

Water – half cup

For the icing

Unsalted butter- 75gms

Best quality dark chocolate – 150gms

Icing sugar- one cup

Sour cream- 100 ml

Good quality vanilla extract- 1 spoon

Golden syrup(thickened sugar syrup) -1 spoon

What to do:

For the Fudge

Heat the water, up to a point where the water is warm, not boiling. Add in half a cup of sugar spoon by spoon dissolving each spoon before adding the other. Once the sugar is done, Add half a cup of cocoa power the same way. After everything is dissolved you’ll find yourself with a smooth slightly runny paste of cocoa. Put this mixture back on the stove at a low heat and keep stirring till the mixture thickens up but doesn’t stiffen.

For the cake

In a cup, add the curd and the baking powder and soda mix and keep aside. This will broth up and become fluffy.

Mix together the one and a half cup of sugar and the butter

Add the eggs one by one to the butter and sugar and mix well using a ladle

Once the eggs are mixed in with the butter and sugar, slowly sift in the flour and mix

To this mixture now, add the vanilla essence and mix well.

Add the curd and baking power mixture and the fudge to this flour batter and beat till you get one smooth paste

Grease your cake tin and pour in the batter

Bake in a preheated oven at 180degree Celsius for about 40-45 mins

Keep an eye on the cake after the first half hour and to check if the cake is cooked poke with a tooth pick, if the toothpick comes out clean it is a sign to look out for.

Remove the cakes from the oven and let it cool for about 15-20 mins before turning them out. Do not worry about any cracks as it can be covered up with the icing

For the Icing

To make this icing, melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water.

While the chocolate and butter are cooling a little, sieve the icing sugar into another bowl.

Add the golden syrup to the cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the sour cream and vanilla and then when all this is combined whisk in the sieved icing sugar. When you are done you might need to add more boiling water, or icing sugar depending on how thick or runny you want the icing to be

Once you are done with the cake and the icing, place the cake on the rack, cake stand or plate and cover with icing, alternatively you might consider cutting the cake horizontally with a very sharp knife and spreading icing in-between. I personally think it is a tedious process and like the thick icing on top. Do not worry about the icing not being completely smooth on the cake once spread. The unevenness of the icing only adds to the personal touch to the cake

Now that the cake is covered in icing, You might want to decorate them with chocolate chips, Chocolate shavings, or nothing at all will do!

Bon appetite!

(This recipe feeds 10-12 people one slice each, or just one very greedy person!!)

Preparation time – 20-30 mins

Baking time- 40- 45 mins