Tag: Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Orange Cake – 3

  • This is based on my Chocolate Orange Cake – 2 with the addition of small chunks of chocolate to the cake mixture.
  • Sunflower oil and Greek style yoghurt help to make this a moist cake with a great texture.

INGREDIENTS

  • 200g of plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 200g granulated sugar
  • Zest of 1 large orange
  • 190ml of Greek style yoghurt
  • 3 eggs
  • 125ml of sunflower oil
  • 100g of dark chocolate
  • Large pinch of salt

METHOD

  • Add the zest to the sugar and leave for about 30 minutes.
  • Chop the chocolate into small chunks.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM4 – 180°C
  • Use a loaf liner to line a 2lb loaf tin.
  • Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together.
  • Add the yoghurt, eggs and oil to the sugar mixture.
  • Gradually add the flour mixture and mix well.
  • Stir in the chopped chocolate.
  • Pour the batter into the loaf tin and smooth the top.
  • Bake for around 45 minutes.
  • Check a little earlier and cover with greaseproof paper if it is starting to burn.
  • Leave to cool in the tin.

Chocolate Orange Icing – Ingredients

  • 50g dark or milk chocolate
  • Grated rind of 1 orange
  • 25g butter
  • 2 tablespoons of icing sugar

Method

  • Put the chocolate into a bowl over a pan of hot water.
  • Add the orange rind and butter.
  • Stir whilst the chocolate melts.
  • Add the icing sugar until you have a thick icing.
  • Use this to cover the top of the cake.

Colclough Stardust tea plate

Chocolate Orange Tort

  • This is a chocolate cake with orange butter cream.
  • I adapted a chocolate cake recipe from a BeRo cook book.
  • Use a chocolate or chocolate orange glaze on the top.
  • You could double the ingredients – use bigger diameter tins or make a 4 layer tort.

Chocolate Cake – Ingredients

  • 200g plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 225g caster sugar
  • ½ teaspoon of salt
  • 25g cocoa powder
  • 100g butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 5 tablespoons of evaporated milk
  • 5 tablespoons of water
  • Grated rind of 1 orange* 
  • * save the juice for later

Method

  • Pre-heat the oven to GM4 – 180°C.
  • Grease and line the base of 2 x 20cm tins.
  • Rub the butter into the flour.
  • Add the baking powder, salt and cocoa.
  • Mix well together.
  • Mix the eggs, milk, water and orange rind together.
  • Mix the liquid into the dry ingredients.
  • Beat well.
  • Divide the mixture between the 2 tins.
  • Smooth the tops level.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes.
  • Allow to cool completely before assembling. 

Orange Butter Cream – Ingredients

  • 100g butter (unsalted is best)
  • 200g icing sugar
  • Grated rind of 1 orange
  • 3 tablespoon of orange juice

Orange Butter Cream – Method

  • Cream the butter and icing sugar.
  • Add the rind and juice and mix well.

Chocolate Glaze

  • Melt 80g of dark chocolate (or dark chocolate with orange) with 40g of butter in a bowl over hot water.
  • You could add grated orange rind to the dark chocolate. 
  • You would need to use another orange and will have some juice left.

Assembling the Cake

  • Place one round of cake onto a serving plate.
  • Spoon half of the orange juice over the top of the cake.
  • Spread the orange butter cream over the cake.
  • Place the second round of the cake on top.
  • Spoon the rest of the orange juice over the top of the cake.
  • Leave for a few minutes.
  • Make the chocolate glaze.
  • Spread the chocolate glaze over the top of the cake.

Kefirowe

My Polish friend who lives in Leeds sent me a copy of a recipe from an old Polish cookbook for kefirowe – this is a cake made with kefir.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • I tried it out and it is super – a soft moist cake made with sunflower oil and cocoa as well as kefir.
  • I made it twice, once with a darker chocolate icing and the second time with a milkier chocolate icing.
  • It would be good with a wide range of different flavoured icings.

Ingredients

  • 350g plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda
  • 200g granulated sugar
  • 5 tablespoons of cocoa
  • *
  • 2 eggs – beaten
  • 500ml of kefir
  • 250ml sunflower oil

Method

  • Grease and line with one piece of greaseproof a 32x22cm baking tray.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM4 – 180°C
  • Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
  • In another bowl mix the eggs, oil and kefir together.
  • Pour the kefir mixture into the dry mixture.
  • With a wooden spoon mix well together until you have an even thick batter.
  • Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin.
  • Bake for 30 – 35 minutes.
  • Leave to cool in the tin on a wire cake rack.
  • *
  • Ice with the icing of your choice.
  • Cut into squares, rectangles or lozenges to serve.

 

Coffee set and tea plates – Greenway by John Russell 1960s

Chocolate Icing Ingredients

  • 100g butter
  • 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon of water
  • 200g icing sugar

Method

  • Melt the butter gently in a small saucepan.
  • Stir in the cocoa powder and the water.
  • Mix and cook gently for a couple of minutes.
  • Remove from the heat.
  • Mix in the icing sugar, bit by bit until you have a thick icing.
  • Ice the top of the cake.

Milk Chocolate Icing Ingredients

  • 60g butter
  • 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
  • 3 tablespoons of hot milk
  • 250g icing sugar
  • 1-2 drops of vanilla essence

Method

  • Heat up some milk in a small pan (I use a bit more than is needed and measure it out after heating).
  • Melt the butter in a pan.
  • Blend in the cocoa powder.
  • Stir in the icing sugar, milk and essence (I add the sugar in stages -aiming  for a slightly runny icing) and beat until it is thick and smooth – adjusting with icing sugar and extra milk as necessary.
  • Ice the top of the cake.

 

 

Tea plates are Las Palmas – Aynsley from the 1960s

Jug by Buchan Pottery, Portobello near Edinburgh from the early 1960s.

What if you cannot get kefir?

  • Should you not be able to get any kefir you can use 3 parts yoghurt to 1 part milk instead.
  • I tried this out in the recipe and used 375ml of yoghurt mixed with 125ml of milk.
  • It worked very well.

I used a white chocolate icing on this cake.

White Chocolate Icing

  • 100g of white chocolate (I like Green & Black best)
  • 3-4 tablespoons of hot milk
  • 200g icing sugar (you might not need it all)

Method

  • Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl over a pan of hot water.
  • Heat up some milk in a small pan (I use a bit more than is needed and measure it out after heating).
  • Mix 3 tablespoons of the hot milk into the heated chocolate.
  • Stir in the icing sugar (I add the sugar in stages – aiming  for a slightly runny icing) and beat until it is thick and smooth – adjusting with icing sugar and extra milk as necessary.
  • Ice the top of the cake.

Tea set by Royal Doulton – Carnation 1982 – 1998

Chocolate & Raspberry Cake

I decided to make a chocolate cake I had not made for a while. Raspberry jam is used in the cake and in the butter cream. The best results are with a jam that is not too sweet – a slight tartness is best.

I used raspberry jam that was made by my friend in Leeds from raspberries that  were grown on her allotment.

Ingredients

  • 150g plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 30g cocoa
  • 90g caster sugar
  • 120g butter
  • 4 level tablespoons of raspberry jam
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 2 tablespoons of milk

Method

  • Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 5 – 190°C.
  • Grease and line the bottoms of 2 – 18cm diameter baking tins.
  • Mix the flour, baking powder and cocoa together.
  • Cream the butter, sugar and jam together.
  • Add the eggs bit by bit .
  • Fold in the flour mixture with the milk to make a soft dropping consistency.
  • Divide the mixture between the two tins.
  • Bake for 25 minutes.
  • When cold, sandwich together with the raspberry butter icing.
  • Dust the top with icing sugar to serve.

Raspberry Butter Icing

Ingredients

  • 60g butter
  • 2 tablespoons of raspberry jam.
  • 120g icing sugar.

Method

  • Cream together the butter, jam and around ¾of  of the icing sugar.
  • Add more icing sugar until the required consistency is achieved.

 

 

  • Coffee set – Greenway – by Hostess Tableware – 1960 – 1979
  • Designed by John Russell