Ultimate Chocolate Cake

I had intended to update this a little more frequently, but it seems time has run away with me. I might aim for at least one post a week from now on though. There's always more cake to be made. I think I need a cake shop soon so that I can share them with the world. I'd definitely have a 'cake of the week' so I could carry on trying new and exciting recipes!

I have two fabulous recipes to share. The first is a chocolate cake. The recipe describes it as the ultimate chocolate cake, and I am quite happy to accept that bold claim. I am on an eternal search for the perfect chocolate cake, and with this recipe I have got several steps closer. It's also happily very straightforward. I forgot to take photos (I'll try to next time I make it and then I'll add them), but it happily just works as the recipe says, go Angela Nilsen!
This is the original recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3092/ultimate-chocolate-cake

Ingredients:
200g dark chocolate (60%+)
200g butter, cut into pieces
1 tbsp coffee granules (I didn't have any so brewed some coffee and used 75ml)
85g self raising flour
85g plain flour
1/4 tsp bicarb of soda
200g light muscavado sugar
200g golden caster sugar
25g cocoa powder
3 eggs
75ml buttermilk (I used milk and added a tsp of lemon juice as I heard that had the same effect!)

1. Use a 8"/9" cake tin and line with greaseproof. Preheat oven to 140C if fan, of 160C for normal.

2. Break chocolate into piece in a saucepan and add butter. Mix the coffee granules into 125ml cold water and pour into the pan. Warm through until everything is melted. Or, melt in microwave for 5 mins, stirring half way through

3. While chocolate is melting, mix tother the flours, bicarb, sugars and cocoa, use your hands to get rid of the lumps in the sugar.

4. Beat the eggs in a bowl and stir in the buttermilk

5. Pour the melted choc mix and the egg mix into the flour mix, stirring until everything is well blended and you have a smooth, quite running consistency. Pour into tin and bake for 1 hour 25 mins- 1 hour 30 mins. Leave to cool in the tin

6. When cool, cut the cake into three layers. The recipe calls for chocolate ganache, but I just melted chocolate and butter together in an indeterminate quantity (sorry!) and added icing sugar until it tasted nice!

The ganache would probably be easier though as the cake was very squidgy and liable to come apart a bit!

This is a very, very tasty cake though! I could only eat about half a slice before being completely full. In fact, I made this on Friday night and I still have half a cake to eat..... Need to find some friends to eat it. Mostly I've been sharing around cinnamon rolls.

Speaking of cinnamon rolls. It's a recipe from The Pioneer Woman, and here's the link.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/

I had an idea, which I'm presuming she won't mind, which is that I will 'translate' the recipe into English next time I do it, to save anyone else having to buy any cup measuring thingys. They are totally worth it, though, they taste AMAZING. A fact backed up by everyone who ate them. I've decided to throw a brunch as I also have a new waffle recipe to share. Though I work Saturday mornings, so maybe a 'brunch-type-afternoon-tea?'