DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE

April First being a significant day for our family, what else would make it a memorable day than baking and presenting a Devil’s Food Cake to my darling Dad on his birthday.

Forget what the title says, the cake  turned out into a lip-smacking delight.  Chocolate lovers simply love this cake.

TO PREPARE THE DEVILS FOOD CAKE:

INGREDIENTS:

For the cake:

• 50gms cocoa powder, sifted
• 100gms dark brown/demerara sugar
• 250ml boiling water
• 125 gms soft unsalted butter
• 150gms castor sugar
• 225gms plain flour
• 1⁄2 tspn baking powder
• 1⁄2 tspn bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tspns vanilla essence
• 2 eggs

For the frosting:

• 125ml water
• 30g brown sugar
• 100g unsalted butter cubed
• 300g dark chocolate finely chopped
• 2 x 9 inch baking tins

METHOD :

• Line the bottoms of both the tins with butter paper and grease the sides.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and soda bicarbonate in a bowl and keep  aside.
• Put the cocoa and 100g dark brown/demerara sugar into a bowl and pour in the boiling water. 
• Whisk to mix, then set aside.
• Cream the butter and castor sugar together, beating well until fluffy.
• Dribble the vanilla extract into the creamed butter and sugar – mixing all the while
• Drop in 1 egg, quickly followed by a scoopful of flour mixture, then the second egg.
• Keep mixing and add in the rest of the dried ingredients for the cake.
• Then finally mix and fold in the cocoa mixture, scraping the bowl well with a spoon.
• Divide the chocolate batter between the 2 prepared tins.
• Pre-heat the oven to 180°C
• Place the tins in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
• Take the tins out and leave them on a wire rack for 5–10 minutes, before turning the cakes out to cool.

• To make the frosting: put the water, 30g brown sugar and 100g butter in a pan over a low heat to melt.
• When this mixture begins to bubble, take the pan off the heat and add the chopped chocolate, swirling the pan so that all the chocolate is hit with heat, then leave for a minute to melt before whisking till smooth and glossy.
• Leave for about 1 hour, whisking now and again – when you’re passing the pan – by which time the cakes will be cooled, and ready for the frosting.
• Set one of the cooled cakes, with its top side down, on a cake stand or plate, and spread with about a third of the frosting, then top that with the second cake, and spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides, swirling away with your spatula. Smoothen the top of the cake as much as possible.

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