Foolproof chocolate cake recipe anyone?

[ViciousSquirrelSpotter]

I'd like a delicious chocolate cake recipe please - you know like that Marks adn Spencers chocolate cake? (The £1.99 ones)

How d'you make one as delish as that?

All the ones I've ever tried are shite. DS keeps complaining that "everyone else" in his school gets chocolate in their lunchboxes (to which I reply htat their parents are breaking school rules and are very inconsiderate and a Bad Lot ) so I got sick of it and this morning said if he's prepared to make his own chocolate cake, he's allowed to have some in his lunch box. And the little sod's agreed. So now I have to do it, and I can't... help!!!

I'm not a great cook but have found Delia Smith's all-in-one sponge cake is virtually always guaranteed to work (there is a chocolate version) and should be easy for a child to make. It's not super rich but is lovely and light (probably better for a lunchbox not to be too sqidgy). I find you need to increase the quantities or the cake is too small (or maybe my sandwich tins too big). Do you have the Delia Complete Cookery Course book?- if not I could find the recipe for you.

No haven't got it, I wonder if it will be online

Will google, thanks

Not sure if this hits the mark but Nigel Slater's (modest) "My Very Good Chocolate Brownie Recipe" is very easy and also very very tasty. I'm allergic to nuts and he doesn't bother to include any which is perfect for me. I'm also a terrible cook and have managed this happily on several occasions. It lasts quite well - though it doesn't get much chance to in my house.

You should be able to find it through Googling it. Hope that helps!

do oyu mean some kind of sponge cake?

for perect choc victoria sponge have 2 9" circle tins, or 9" x 8" rectangle tin

7oz self raising flour
8oz margerine
8oz castor sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
2tbsp cocoa
splsh of milk

whisk togetehr using an electric mixer all in one, split between two tins, or one tin and put in oven 25mins at 180 degrees

icing

4oz light brown sugar
170f evaporated milk
4oz dark chocolate broken up
2oz butter
2 drops vanilla

heat evaporated milk and stir in sugar til it dissolves
wehn mix has dissolved bring to bil and simmer for 6 minutes
remove fron heat and whisk in chocolate and then vanilla and butter

leave mix to cool and spread on cake

Nigel Slater's Chocolate Brownie Recipe

I am lazy and when choclate cake is demanded just make a normal Victoria sponge with added cocoa

but the easiest one is the Nigella Jam Cake (as it is known chez Badger) - she uses marmalade but it is better and less tart (hence more acceptable to kids) using raspberry jam. Do use plain chocolate though else it turns out a bit bland:

125g butter.
100g dark chocolate
300g jam or fine cut marmalade.
150g caster sugar.
2 large beaten eggs.
150g self-raising flour.

Preheat oven to 180C.
Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan and add the chocolate.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir until chocolate is melted.
Add the marmalade, sugar, salt and eggs. Give it a good stir with a wooden spoon and then beat in the flour bit by bit.
Put it all in a buttered and floured 20cm Springform tin.

Bake 50 minutes (or till a knife comes out clean)

Jamie Olivers Party Cake (I leave out the almonds and just make normal choc icing instead of his fancy one!
We make it all the time and you don't have to whisk things separately - it's excellent, very quick and people are always asking me to make them for others....
I'll do recipe for you if you can't find it anywhere x

Party Cake by Jamie Oliver

Ingredients.

3 rounded tbs cocoa powder
7 oz caster sugar
7 oz butter
7 oz self raising flour
3 large eggs
1 rounded tsp baking powder
7 fl oz double cream
strawbs/flaked almonds (optional)

Preheat oven to 180c/350F/gas 4.

Grease and flour (or line) two 8 inch cake tins.

Mix cocoa powder with 4 tbs of hot water into a thick gooey consistancy.

Grab a bowl, beat sugar and butter to a pulp...add cocoa mixture, eggs, flour and baking powder. give it a good beating.
Fold in the flaked almonds if using.

Divide mixture between your cake tins. Bung in oven for about 25 mins.

When done, leave to cool on a wire rack and get on with the really tasty bit.

I just use normal choc butter cream for middle and milk choc icing from the Bero book for top and sides

2:11

(oh, realised the Nigella recipe says salt where it's not in the ingredients - if you use unslated butter add a pinch of salt but if you use anything else don't bother)

HIJACK ALERT

Mrs B, my nigella choc fudge cake with no corn oil and no sour cream was DELICIOUS! Thanks

HIJACK OVER

hurrah!

Thanks for these will try one of them tomorrow

what makes a better cake? cocoa powder or real chocolate?

depends on cake

cocoa will work in an ordinary sponge, but cakes using other methods and/or proportions of ingredients may need chocolate to work properly.

if it's only lunchbox cake, cocoa's fine

(I mean, if it's only lunchbox cake then use a recipe that needs cocoa, don't bankrupt yourself buying choc etc)

"only" lunchbox cake?

"only"

Do you not understand the power of the lunchbox?

Tarquin has lobster thermidor sandwiches in his lunchbox, thank you, the cake should be of commensurate quality.

(I'm intending to eat bits of it while he's at school)

I was differentiating between Everyday Cake and Occasion Cake
but to be fair any time I bother to make cake is an Occasion...

Every cake time should be an occasion, imo

No point having it if it's not an occasion

so for an extra special cake real chocolate tastes better than cocoa?

Oh one more question - is bicarbonate of soda exactly the same as baking powder?

Or do they do something different to baking powder?

(Can I use BofS or should I buy something specifically labelled baking powder?)

bicrab is different to baking powder

nappyaddict, what I meant was, for someone's birthday I'm more likely to do an elaborate recipe that calls for real butter, expensive chocolate, a pint of cream, a whole tin of syrup, fresh raspberries and 6 eggs and then ice it as well.

If it's only for scoffing in lunchboxes or with cups of tea I am more likely to use a basic simple 1950s-type recipe where the only chocolate present is a tablespoon of cocoa powder and is less likely to be iced. Actually the laziest 'chocolate' cake I make is absolutely plain vi

The Nigella Jam Cake I describe below falls somehwere between the two ie I make it for pudding if people are coming for lunch.

yy to mrs b

same here

ctoria sponge, sandwiched toegther with Nutella, so contains no chocolate at all.