Moist Chocolate Cake

For those who crave for chocolate cakes, I strongly feel that this recipe is worth a keeper.  I found it in one of the leading food magazine in Malaysia - Flavours. Well, it was back in 2009 when I gave a shot making my first ever chocolate cake.

By some strokes of luck, surprisingly, I managed to find my way and pull it through.  There it was, a good-looking, soft, fluffy, moist, dark-colored 'thing' standing elegantly on my white ceramic dessert plate.  For days, the cake accompanied me, satisfying my taste buds when I was alone resting leisurely on my couch in front of the telly enjoying my evenings.  

Then, disaster struck when I found out that I had misplaced my magazine.  After a futile search, I caught hold of my maid and made a baseless accusation that she must have mistakenly placed it somewhere in the piles of old newspapers which I had just sold them for recycling.  Arrggh!

I tried to search through the net for another similar ones but in vain.  Finally, I gave up and somehow managed to come to terms with the loss.

Approximately three weeks ago, my eleven-year-old boy, Bryan came running to me saying that he had found the magazine, hidden under the drawer of the coffee table. Thank God! Phew!

Barely a week after my rekindling with the magazine, I whipped out another cake and the following week, another one.  Well,  two in a row is definitely enough and it could turn out to be a bit cloying eating it every day.  So, I thought it is high time that I share it out here especially for those chocolate cake lovers who want to try your hands at making one yourself.  Trust me, your can't go wrong with it!

One thing I like about this recipe is that it calls for coffee powder in both its cake and icing, giving it a tinge of bitterness and making the whole cake taste flavourful.

This recipe is shared by Arlene Diego, who teaches cake baking and Filipino cuisine in Damansara Jaya.  The cake is based on the American Chocolate Cake, made popular in the Klang Valley by the La Manila Cake House in the 80s.

                                                                      Arlene Diego

The Recipe:

Chocolate cake
330ml   fresh milk or water
60g       cocoa powder
1 tsp     vanilla extract
1 tbsp   instant coffee powder
180g     butter, softened
330g     caster sugar
3           eggs, grade B
190g     superfine flour, sifted
1 tsp     bicarbonate of soda, sifted
2 tsp     baking powder, sifted

Chocolate icing
700ml   fresh milk
300ml   condensed milk
2 tbsp    instant coffee powder
2 tsp     vanilla extract
85g       cocoa powder, sifted
6 tbsp   all-purpose flour, sifted
3 tbsp   cornflour, sifted
3 tbsp     cold butter


To prepare cake:
Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius.
Line two 9" round cake pans with parchment paper.
In a bowl, combine milk, cocoa powder, vanilla and coffee.  Mix and set aside.

In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, beating to combine

Add sifted mixture alternately with the liquid mixture,  beginning and ending with flour.
beat until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Divide batter equally among the prepared pans.
Bake for 18-20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely in the pan.

To prepare the chocolate icing:
In a heavy-based saucepan, place all the ingredients except the butter.
Cook over medium heat, whisking continuously until smooth and thick.
Add butter, stir to combine.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.

To spread icing: 

Remove the cake from the pans.
Spread a layer of the cake evenly with half the chocolate icing, top with the remaining layer of the cake.
Spread top and sides of cake with remaining chocolate icing.
Use a cake comb or fork to form a decorative pattern.

HAPPY TRYING!!