Easy Chocolate sponge cake recipe please..

[zmandaz]

Can anyone give me an easy but tasty recipe for a Chocolate sponge cake. I decided to be brave and try to make me DD's 1st birthday cake but realised I've never actually made a chocolate cake! Thanks.

4 eggs
7 0z self raising flour
1 oz cocoa
8 oz caster sugar
8 oz butter/marg (I use Stork marg)

Put all ingredients into a largish bowl. Sift flour/cocoa in to it. Use an electric mixer to mix it all up. Tip equally into 2 baking tins. 20/25 mins at about 190 c.

I second yours Cece, but for a really dark colour I would use 6 oz flour and 2 of cocoa - coz I iz a ponce.

Thanks very much

I should have added the bit about adjusting cocoa/flour ratio to suit tastes

If you're doing an all in one (ie lob the lot in and mix together) you need a bit of baking powder in there too to make it rise. Not sure of quantities with a 8/8/8/4, check on the BBC web site. (prob a tbsp)

Alternatively you can use the ingredients that cece has given you, but cream the butter and sugar together first until pale, slowly add the eggs, then fold in the flour & cocoa together.

OK just checked with Delia, with a 6/6/6/3 ckake you need a rounded teaspoon of baking powder, so with 8oz maybe 1 and a half teaspoons.

Oh with that quantity of cake mix zmandaz make sure you are using 8 inch sandwich tins

Oh Cece, don't blush, I was being up my own arse

I always get a good result with this all in one recipe and never add baking powder Perhaps I should...

Thanks for all the messages. I have no idea what size tins we have. All I know is it's going to be a circular cake! I think I need to do a bit of research and hope for the best that it works. Otherwise there'll be a mad dash to Sainsburys on the day! Thanks again.

How did you get on?

Any ideas for icing the chocolate cake apart from chocolate buttercream. That's my usual...

I haven't made it yet. I probably should do a trial run but as time seems to be flying, I'll probably just hope for the best the night before the party! My idea is to do a round chocolate sponge, use choc swiss roll for the ears and nose then cover the whole lot in chocolate buttercream for icing as I don't know of anything better. I've got some tiny chocolate teddy-shaped sprinkles to go on top and I'll use chocolate buttons for eyes/nose. It'll be very chocolaty and very messy!

Sounds yummy

Chocolate recipe sounds much like the one I've always done, but I never bother with making icing. I melt a 200g bar of Cadbury's dairy milk and put that on, then decorate liberally with smarties. Now have the urge to go and make chocolate cake...

The best rich dark choc cake I have made (can use as a gatueaux base) is as foillows:

2teaspoons sunflower oil
250g (9oz) SR flour (McDougalls supremem sponge flour v good)
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
2teaspoons baking powder
300g (10oz) sunflower marg
300g soft brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
6 lrg eggs

Frosting
150g dark choc
150ml double cream

2 8" tins

1. Grease tins with sunflower oil and line with greasproof
2. Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add vanilla
3. sieve flour and cocoa & baking poweder into a clean bowl
4. Add eggs one at a time, each with a tblspoon of the flour mix. Beat well with each addition. Gently stir in rest of flour
5. Into cake tins and bake for 40-45 mins (170C GM 3) turn out etc. and allow to cool.

The best choc frosting ever and dead easy:

Break choc into a bowl and add cream. Heat over a pan of boiling water until choc melted. Mix thoroughly and transfer to firdge. Stir frequently (every 5 mins) until you get the consistency of butter at which point it is read to sprean on cake. This should be enough to do top, middle & sides but I normaly just do top and middle. You could decorate top with grated choc/white choc.

Should ideally be eaten same day as it has fresh cream in - but I have left it in a cool kitchen for 3-4 days with no probs.

Appologies for typos it is lat and I am tired.

Choc frosting is sooo much better than choc buttercream

Ooh, might have to try that frosting though!

Tis devine.........

And actually teh cake is very rich. I think the bron sugar makes a difference along with the great big pile of coco powder...

I could never eat a cake that big. Oh who am I kidding?!