Easy Chocolate Cake

Here's another recipe from my upcoming new book "Simply Delicious One Dish Recipes", it's at the binders now and I hope to see the first copy next week. Exciting times!

This is the latest chapter in my search for the perfect chocolate cake. In fact, the deeper I delve into this quest for a chocolaty ‘El Dorado’ the more apparent it is that there is no one perfect solution, rather a number of different cakes for different situations. But if you’re looking for an easy-to-mix, delicious, moist chocolate cake, this one is hard to beat! For an everyday or snacking cake, sandwich the two tiers together with raspberry jam and dust with icing sugar, or ice with your favourite chocolate icing. If you want something a little more luxurious and decadent, try it with my version of chocolate ganache.

For a 2-tier 23cm round cake (12–16 servings):
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup boiling water

Easy Ganache:
125–150g dark chocolate
1/4 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Spray two 23cm round cake tins with non-stick spray and line the bases with baking paper.

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir to combine.

Whisk the eggs, milk, canola oil and vanilla together in a small bowl. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients, then add the boiling water and whisk the mix until smooth and evenly combined.

Divide the mixture equally between the two prepared tins. Place them on a rack just below the middle of the oven and bake at for 25–30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Remove the cakes from the oven, allow them to cool in the tins for about 5 minutes, then turn on to a rack to cool completely.

Once cool, sandwich the two tiers together with raspberry jam or the icing of your choice. Dust with icing sugar or ice with your favourite chocolate icing or chocolate ganache. Serve as is or with yoghurt or lightly whipped cream.
To make the ganache, gently heat the chocolate in the sour cream until just melted, then stir until smooth and glossy. Leave to cool a little until spreadable, then spread it over the cooled cake. Leave to stand until the icing has firmed a little (ganache will never set completely).

Photography: Lindsay Keats Photography