manna kids cake
Local produce, Recipes and events by Holly and David Jones, of Manna from Devon
Delicious Chocolate Cake for Easter
At the time of writing, winter is still upon us, the snowdrops and daffodils are just peeking out, there’s a chill in the air and Lent is about to start. By the time you read this, it will be getting on for Easter, spring will hopefully have sprung and the shops will be laden with Easter eggs; well to be honest they are already and we’ll be thinking of some delicious things to eat during Easter weekend.
Over the winter, the nation has continued its baking frenzy, cupcakes are still the new black and silver fox Paul Hollywood, celebrity baker, sends shivers down the culinary spine of the nation. Mary Berry has the answer for every home-baking query and years of experience to call on. Our copy of her Baking Bible is so spattered with cake mix that it’s a testament to the fact that her recipes really work. A lower key baker is another of our favourites, Dan Lepard whose own book on home baking “Short and Sweet” is a fount of knowledge and fantastic recipes. Dan writes weekly for the Saturday Guardian and for the Twitterati amongst you, is always posting pictures of his cakes and international baking adventures.
Purely for research we decided we’d set aside a day or so to track down delicious chocolate cakes for Easter; and to add a little pressure, we invited 14 of our biggest critics to try them out – friends and their children.
Chocolate cakes can be fabulous and enticing to look at, yet disappointingly dry once you tuck into them. A cake with ground almonds or ground hazelnuts can stay nice and moist as can one based on the carrot cake idea. There is a great courgette and chocolate cake recipe from Mary Berry (who else) which is luscious to eat because of the veggies involved. Just make sure you peel them first otherwise people can be rather disconcerted by the little green flecks running through the crumb. I visited the renowned Petersham nurseries in Richmond once; they were serving a delicious chocolate cake which on closer inspection was full of grated beetroot so had a dark pink tinge but a great way to get some of your 5 a day!
Cocoa definitely adds a real depth of flavour, richness and chocolate-iness to a cake, much more so than drinking chocolate. It seems, however, to be the major culprit in drying out a normal sponge mix bringing disappointment instead of delight. We tried 3 chocolate cakes for you, all of them with added moisture, and after much deliberation decided all would make a good Easter cake. However the winner, with the classic combination of chocolate and orange as well as an added nutty crunch was the Chocolate, Hazelnut and Orange Cake. None of them are tricky so do try them at home and see what you think.
Chocolate and Pear Cake
Chocolate and pears are a good combination but you can also try this cake with other tinned fruit such as raspberries, peaches or apricots. The tinned fruit really helps keep the cake moist and serving it with a hot chocolate sauce turns it into a delicious pud.
• 1 x 410g tin pears, drained but keep the juice
• 75g cocoa
• 120g caster sugar
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 2tbsp sunflower oil
• 3 medium free range eggs
• 225g plain flour
• 1 heaped tsp baking powder
1. Heat the oven to 150C fan/170C regular/Gas 3. Line a deep 20cm round cake tin with baking parchment.
2. Measure out 150ml of the pear juice and put it into a saucepan with the cocoa and the sugar. Bring to the boil, stirring as you do so and then turn into a large bowl to cool along with the tinned pears for 15 minutes.
3. Using a hand blender or food processor, whizz this cooled mixture with the oil, eggs and vanilla extract until smooth.
4. Sift the flour and baking powder together over the chocolate mixture and fold in with a large metal spoon until just combined.
5. Turn into the cake tin and bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out just clean.
6. Take the tin out of the oven and leave the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Turn it out of the tin and let it finish cooling on a wire rack.
7. Serve the cake dusted with icing sugar with hot chocolate sauce, cream or crème fraiche.
Chocolate and beer cake
• 250g butter
• 250ml ale of your choice –
stout works well or a lighter beer
• 250g plain flour
• 1heaped tsp baking powder
• 30g cocoa powder
• 300g dark Muscavado sugar
• 125ml milk
• 2 medium free-range eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Icing:
• 100g butter, soften
• 200g icing sugar
• 1-2tbsp hot water
• Cocoa powder or grated chocolate
1. Preheat the oven 170C fan/190C regular/Gas 5.
2. Line the base of 25cm round cake tin with baking parchment.
3. Gently heat the butter and the 250ml ale together in a pan until the butter has melted. Cool slightly.
4. Sift together the flour, baking powder and cocoa together and add the sugar. Whisk the butter and ale mixture into the flour mixture, along with the milk, eggs and vanilla. This will make a very wet batter.
5. Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 40-50 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
6. To make the icing: beat the softened butter, gradually adding the icing sugar a spoonful at a time. Once all the icing sugar has been added, whisk the icing for about 5 minutes on a high speed with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Then add the water and beat in.
7. Spread the icing over the cake. Finish with a dusting of cocoa powder or lots of grated chocolate.
Chocolate, Orange and Hazelnut Cake
• 100ml milk
• 2tbsp cocoa
• 180g butter, softened
• 200g light Muscavado sugar
• 3 medium free range eggs
• 200g spelt flour
• 1 heaped tsp baking powder
• 100g toasted ground hazelnuts
• Finely grated zest 1 orange
1. Heat the oven to 150C Fan/170C regular/Gas 4. Line a deep 20cm cake tin with baking parchment.
2. Heat the milk with the cocoa until just boiling and leave to cool until just warm.
3. Beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy - best to do it with an electric mixer. Beat in the eggs one at a time and gently mix in the cocoa and milk mixture.
4. Fold in the spelt flour and the baking powder with the hazelnuts and orange zest.
5. Turn the mixture into the cake tin and bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out just clean.
6. Take the tin out of the oven and leave the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Turn it out of the tin and let it finish cooling on a wire rack.
7. Make an icing with 100g sifted icing sugar and 1-2tbsp orange juice and when the cake is cold, decorate it with the icing. Sprinkle over a few extra ground hazelnuts and allow to set before serving.
First published March/April 2013 By The Dart