Our family has developed the Lenten tradition of baking for Sundays. No baked treats are to be had during the week, so the excitement builds as the week progresses and ideas fly around for exactly what will be baked on Saturday to be consumed on Sunday.
This has to be my favourite chocolate cake recipe because it's simple enough, but a great deal tastier than your every day, run of the mill recipe. The recipe makes quite a large cake, so it would be suitable for dividing into round pans and sandwiching with cream or pour into a large square fruit cake tin.
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup plain yoghurt
3/4 cup cocoa
200g soft butter
1 & 1/2 tspn vanilla extract
1 tspn bicarb soda
1/4 tspn salt
3 cups SR flour
1 cup of hot, strong espresso OR 1 cup hot water with 3 heaped tspns instant coffee
Cook at 160 degrees (C) for about 1 hour, use a skewer in the middle to test for readiness.
This goes really well in the freezer.
Tastes great with or without icing.
Buttercream icing:
I usually beat a couple of tablespoons of butter until creamy, then gradually beat in icing sugar (and cocoa if you want chocolate icing- food colouring if you want it coloured) until it starts to get very thick. You can also add a small dash of milk to make it more creamy or to make a larger quantity so you can add more icing sugar without it being too dry.
Enjoy!
Kelly @ The Handmaden.
