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I have to say right at the start that I'm MOST excited about this cake. It's a simple chocolate cake, but the texture and crumb were SO perfect that I'm going to use only this recipe for any future chocolate cakes. It would be absolutely stunning with chocolate or vanilla frosting, as a layered cake.
The recipe came from a yahoo food group into my inbox. The original recipe, according to the sender's note, is from the Myrecipes.com website. I shall have to look it up to see if there are more recipes like this one.
I have to admit that I thought it wouldnt turn out well, because the batter was so runny. I did have to bake it for much longer than the 25 minutes specified in the recipe - I think it was closer to 45 minutes, but I cant be absolutely certain. It definitely wasnt just 25 minutes though.
I could have frosted the cake, but I felt too lazy to do so. Besides, the recipe said to merely sift some powdered sugar over it. No powdered sugar here, so I sprinkled vanilla sugar on it (after first brushing the top of the cake with maple syrup to make the sugar stick!). The cake was gorgeous - beautifully chocolatey with a deeper note from the instant coffee... it really would be perfect for making a layered chocolate cake with frosting. Next time!
Recipe for: Devil's food cake
Ingredients:
Cooking spray
5 tbsp butter/margarine
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup packed dark brown sugar (I used light brown)
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup hot water
2 tsp instant coffee granules
2 tbsp maple syrup
3-4 tbsp vanilla sugar
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350° (180°C). Coat a 6-inch square pan with cooking spray.
2. Place butter/margarine in a large microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave for 30 seconds or until butter melts.
3. Add cocoa, stirring well with a whisk.
Add brown sugar, stirring well until mixture pulls away from sides of bowl.
4. Add eggs, 1 at a time, stirring with a whisk until smooth.
5. Stir in baking soda, vanilla, and salt.
6. Gradually add flour, stirring just until blended (do not overstir).
7. Combine hot water and espresso. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until blended.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake at 350° till done (a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the centre should come out clean). Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack.
9. Brush the top of the cake with the maple syrup and sprinkle with vanilla sugar. Cut into squares; serve warm or at room temperature.
Yesterday evening I was sorting out some of the hundreds of pages of dessert and baking recipes that I've printed out over the years - and yeah, only a fraction of them have been tried and posted. The others were printed out at various moments when I was feeling energetic and optimistic (not to mention, overenthusiastic) about trying complicated gateaux or gourmet dessert recipes...
But in the end, all I've ever done is read through them with just two thoughts running through my head over and over during the reading process.
The first thought: "Wow, that sounds so fantastic, too bad it's so complicated". And the next one: "Too bad I dont know anybody who would make it..." - and most important, this - "...and call me over to taste it!... followed by the first thought, followed yet again by the second thought (ofc with the all-important second part of the second thought)... and so on. You get the idea. I could probably go on like this all evening, so the expedient thing would be to agree that yes, you get the idea. :)
Anyway, I came across this recipe that had the intriguing title of "Amazon cake". Amazon cake? I thought. Why Amazon cake? So I quickly read through the recipe, which was ridiculously simple and, better yet, didnt require eggs. Ah-HA. The printout said that the recipe was from The New York Times, adapted from Cafe Beaujolais by Margaret Fox and John S Bear. That's all I know about it. (It never got around to explaining why Amazon, so I remain intrigued. And ignorant.)
So of course, since chocolate cake is the all-time favourite of my family, I made it. Easy as easy as can be and the cake was quite lovely. You wouldnt have known that it didnt contain eggs. I cut down on the sugar in the cake from 1 cup to slightly less than 3/4 cup, but that's because I was planning to frost it. If you dont want to frost it, use 1 heaping cup sugar for the cake.
The crumb was moist but not dense, and the end product disappeared like magic.
The Amazin' Amazon cake is here to stay!
Recipe for: Amazin' Amazon eggless chocolate cake
1-1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp oil (corn oil, canola, vegetable or sunflower oil)
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 cup cold water
Method:
1. Heat the oven to 350F (180C). Grease a round 9" baking pan.
2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, sugar and salt in a medium bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, vanilla and vinegar with 1 cup cold water.
4. Then add the dry ingredients (flour mix) and whisk it all together, until the batter is lump free.
5. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or till the cake tests done.
6. Cool before removing from the pan. Frost the cake when it is completely cool (any frosting is fine), or just sift icing sugar over the top before serving.
I did it! I actually made a cake with courgettes - otherwise known as zucchini. It's a boring vegetable if you ask me, with no real taste of its own. I guess that's a good thing in SOME ways, but if I come across any mushy pieces of courgette in anything I'm eating, I generally set them to one side under the "ick" category, to be avoided. That said, courgettes dont gross me out the way eggplant/brinjals/aubergines do.
I had a surfeit of courgettes thanks to one of the guys in the office who has a smallholding and grows his own vegetables. He must be a pretty good farmer, because he brought enough courgettes for everybody in the office to have at least 3-4 each. It must be nice growing your own veg... but it needs time and effort. Lucky for my colleague that he only works part-time, so I guess he's got both.
Anyway, after ratatouille one day (forgot to take pix) and courgette-tomato pasta the next, I still had 2 courgettes left and, frankly, I was getting a bit tired of the darn things.
Then while going through my favourite food blogs (as usual), I suddenly remembered "Chocolate & Zucchini"... and that led me to wonder if courgette cake could really be edible. Well, the only way to find out was to make it - and I stuck by my decision despite the barrage of "bleahs" and yarking noises from my colleagues and family. It was a good decision, as it turned out, because the cake was worth it.
I guess the blandness of the courgettes worked in the cake's favour, because it totally took on the flavours of the cocoa and chocolate chunks - so much so, it was easy to forget that there was actual vegetable matter in the cake. All in all, the best way to use up any extra courgettes, in my opinion.
I didnt frost the cake this time, because I used a nut topping. But next time I make this cake, I think I will split it in two (or bake it in two tins) and sandwich it together with chocolate icing - that would be just perfect, methinks.
Recipe for: Courgette chocolate cake
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup plain cocoa powder (I used Cadbury's)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2-1/4 cups brown sugar (I substituted 1 cup Splenda)
1/2 cup soft butter (I used margarine)
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups finely grated courgette (I left the skin on)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks
For the topping:
1/2 cup mix of chopped nuts (I used hazelnuts, brazil nuts and pecans)
1/4 cup brown sugar - (I prefer not to use Splenda here)
Method:
1. Heat the oven to 180C (350F). Grease a 9" round cake tin and dust with cocoa powder.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
3. In a bowl, beat the butter/margarine with the sugar/Splenda until fluffy and light. Add the vanilla extract.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between additions.
5. Reserving 1/2 cup of the flour-cocoa mix, fold in the rest with the egg mixture. The batter will be very thick and difficult to handle, but dont be tempted to add any extra moisture.
6. Once the flour has been incorporated well, toss the grated courgettes and the chocolate chunks with the reserved 1/2 cup flour, then fold it all in. The moisture from the courgettes will make the batter easier to handle.
7. Transfer the batter to the greased and floured baking tin and smooth the top.
8. Mix the topping ingredients together and sprinkle evenly over the top of the cake.
9. Bake for 40-50 minutes or till done (check by inserting a tester or toothpick in 2-3 places to make sure).
10. Take the cake out of the oven but leave it in the tin for 20 minutes. Then unmould and cool completely on a wire rack.
This cake can be split and iced, if desired, and it's also lovely served with chocolate or vanilla icecream.
