Super Rich Chocolate Cake with Dark Fudge Frosting

Well I feel like I should probably re-introduce myself it's been so long... I'm Kate, it's nice to meet ya etc etc yada yada. I do apologize but I have my reasons, I promise! Hannah and I have been busy moving stuff out of our current place and back to the 'rents homes for the next six weeks, before once again returning to Liverpool, only this time we will have our own cosy little apartment - counting the days down already, the kitchen has little yellow tiles and everything.

The last few weeks in Liverpool have been well spent with friends from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, some of whom will return for uni in September and others who, to see again, would set me back £1000. The endless farewell shenanigans left very little time to update the blog, however, it gave me the perfect excuse to bake a monstrous, rich, lavishly iced chocolate cake. The added pressure of satisfying twelve plus people gave me little time to photograph, so these picture do NOT do this cake justice in any way shape or form!

Also, who knew libraries had cook books?! I found Dan Lepard's Short and Sweet in Liverpool's swanky newly refurbished Central Library a few months ago and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to try out his treacle fudge frosting, this cake was that opportunity, my oh my did the cake and the frosting go together well.

 

I personally think the frosting is nicest straight out of the fridge when it really is like fudge, but if you like hot chocolate fudge sauce, you can't go far wrong zapping a slice in the microwave for twenty seconds and adding a dollop of vanilla bean ice cream.

The cake itself is rich without being sickly - I usually find this delightful quality to be the case when I use a combination of brown sugar and white sugar - and moist whilst being dry enough to create a nice contrast between the cake and the frosting. I am not keen on any chocolate fudge type cake that disappears into one big chocolatey mess the second it is exposed to the elements *cough* British chain pubs *cough*.

Anywho terrible photos and bad blog time management aside meus amigos really enjoyed the cake and declared me the 'best baker' (hehe blushing, they are just being nice) as Hannah licked the remaining frosting off the baking tray (a classic sign of a job well done!).

Another good thing about this cake other than guaranteed brownie point amongst friends? It keeps forever! I made another batch in a mini loaf pan to bring back to Yorkshire at the same time and they were still going strong in their little cake tins when I got here a week post-bake yeyyyy!

Ingredients

For the cake:

80 g unsalted butter, softened
150 g caster sugar
90 g light brown soft sugar
240 g self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
60 g cocoa powder
2 large free-range eggs
240 ml milk (semi-skimmed)
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

For the frosting:

(Adapted from Dan Lepard's Short and Sweet)

1.5 tbsp black treacle
150 g light brown soft sugar
4 tbsp cocoa powder
3.5 tbsp cornflour
300 ml semi-skimmed milk
250 g dark chocolate, finely chopped
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
60 g unsalted butter, softened

Directions

1. Pre heat the oven to 170 degrees C and line a loaf tin. To make the cake cream together the butter and sugars then whisk in the two eggs.
2. Sift in the cocoa powder and half the flour, followed by the vanilla bean paste and mix.
3. Add the milk, the remaining flour and the baking powder. Mix until just combined.
4. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. I had more mixture than my loaf tin required so I made three mini loaves as well. Cupcake cases would work fine too, just to use up the left over mixture.
5. To make the frosting, finely chop the dark chocolate and set aside. Add the black treacle, sugar, cornflour, cocoa powder and milk to a medium saucepan and stir over a medium heat until the mixture boils.
6. Once the mixture has reached boiling point, take it off the heat and add the chopped chocolate, whisking well until smooth.
7. When the mixture is only a little warm to the touch (yes, dip you finger in several times and taste it, but obviously only for the purpose of temperature testing...) chop the butter into cubes and stir them in a few at a time. Stir the mixture well until it is thick and creamy. The frosting is easier to apply when still warm, but if you find it isn't thick enough feel free to leave it in the fridge for a few hours or overnight to firm up. I found it has a shiny texture when applied warm and a matte texture when applied cold.
8. Spread the frosting GENEROUSLY (like really really really generously, so thick you could give it a poke and lose your finger in it.) all over the cake. Leave to set then serve, share, eat and ENJOY :D