This week, Roy had a group of friends coming to help him with a few things around the house and wanted to make something special to share with them as a way to say thank-you. Roy loves to cook, but his favourite recipes are always the ones which are spectacular, tasty but surprisingly easy to make – the ones where people think he might have slaved for hours, but which actually came together in just a few minutes. The cake he decided to make looked remarkably easy, but promised to be luscious and decadent – just perfect! So this week, Roy Creates Decadent Easy Chocolate Cake.
You Will Need:
- 250 grams of self raising flour
- 60 grams of cocoa. Use a good quality cocoa to get the best flavour
- 250 grams of caster sugar
- 150 millilitres of vegetable oil. Do not use olive oil as it has too strong a flavour.
- 2 large eggs
- 150 millilitres of sour cream
For the icing:
- 180 grams of chocolate. Roy used dark, as usual, but use whatever sort you like best
- A few drops of orange oil (if you don’t have orange oil, use orange flavoured chocolate instead)
- 150 millilitres of thick cream - use double cream if you can get it
For adults – you light like to add 1 tablespoon of an orange flavoured liqueur like Grand Marnier.
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius and prepare an 20 centimetre, round cake tin with paper on the base and oiled sides
- Put the flour, cocoa, sugar, oil, eggs and sour cream into a bowl
- Use electric beaters to mix everything together until it is smooth and glossy (2 to 3 minutes)
- Spoon the mix (which will be very thick) into the prepared tin and flatten the top
- Bake for 50 minutes or until it bounces back when gently touched and a cake tester inserted into the centre of it comes out clean
- Leave the cake to cool slightly, then remove from the tin and allow the cake to cool completely on a cooling rack
- Transfer the cake to a serving plate
- Melt the chocolate and cream together. Add a little orange oil (to taste)
- Allow the icing to cool and thicken a little and then pour slowly and gently over the cake
- Use a spatula to spread the icing on the sides and pick any excess off the plate and put it back on the top. You may also need to use a paper towel to clean the plate afterwards!
- Put the cake in the fridge for a few minutes to set the icing
- Serve and enjoy!