I used to make this cake for my sister's birthdays. She, like me, is unashamedly addicted to chocolate, so this was always her choice. The chocolate Victoria sandwich made a reappearance year after year. I felt a little sad not to be making it for my sister once again, but her chocolate habit has deepened over the years. I doubted that this light cake would hit the spot quite like it used to!!!
I felt a trip to the park was needed before I made a pig of myself and scoffed too much cake. There seems to be little point in trying to diet whilst carrying out this challenge. I've come to the conclusion that exercise is the key; I can tone up the extra layer of fat!!! My little boy weighs two stone. Add on to this a heavy pushchair and some decent hills and I have myself a workout! By the time we arrived at the park I was overheated and out of breath. There was no chance for a breather as Isaac was keen to escape from the confines of his pushchair and go for a toddle. Although the pace was barely faster than an elderly snail it was still hard work. Trying to steer a small person in a direction they do not wish to go is rather exhausting!! My legs were aching by the time we arrived home and I was in desperate need of a pick me up. Neil came to the rescue and made me a very welcome cup of tea, hooray!
After a brief period of sitting to enjoy my tea it was time to gather up my Baking Bible and get cracking. I wish I'd read through the recipe before Neil had made tea, as I required three tablespoons of boiling water. Apart from a few drips the kettle was empty! I boiled some more water and measured what was needed into my mixing bowl. Now I had to add the crucial cocoa powder. I stirred the hot chocolaty mixture until smooth and well combined. I left it to cool for a few minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients. For a change I'd actually remembered to take the butter out of the fridge, so it was lovely and soft. Normally, using almost a whole packet of butter would have filled me with horror. However, on this occasion I was rather pleased! Several weeks ago I'd been positively ecstatic to find butter on special offer in my local supermarket; I, of course, purchased numerous packets. It was now time to put my bargain to good use! Next, I added the same quantity of sugar and flour to the mixing bowl along with a good amount of baking powder. Thankfully I only needed four eggs as two of the six had cracked tops. They were fine when we bought them, so goodness knows what had happened. I just hoped they weren't trying to hatch!!!! Once all the ingredients were in the bowl, I could move on to mixing it all together with my trusty electric whisk. I noticed that some of the chocolate had stuck to the bottom of the bowl, so I had to pay extra attention to make sure that it incorporated into the rest of the mixture. When it was smooth and chocolaty I divided it between my two lined sandwich tins and then placed them into the hot oven. Once the cakes were showing signs of rising I called Isaac over to take a look. He peered through the oven door for approximately two seconds before he got fed up and looked for trouble elsewhere!!!
The cakes were cooked in just over twenty five minutes and were well risen. They were a very light brown and didn't look very chocolaty. I left them to cool on a wire rack whilst I washed the well licked out bowl, whisk and spoons! This cake has a plain white butter cream, so I had to deal with the dreaded icing sugar. A cloud of sweet dust engulfed me as I sieved it into a mixing bowl. Even though my mouth was shut, I could still taste the sugar! I required a much smaller amount of butter than I expected but I also used a little milk so maybe that would help bring it all together. As I started up my electric whisk yet another layer of icing sugar landed over my clothes and the worktop. I had a white outline of the kettle and toaster!! I kept whisking for a good three minutes to make sure the butter cream was light and fluffy. It appeared that I was somewhat lacking in butter cream; I hoped there would be enough to sandwich the cakes together and cover the top. Thankfully I had just enough but there certainly wasn't any left to spare! The last job was simply to grate some chocolate over the top of the cake. Believe it or not, I still had a bar of chocolate in the fridge from Christmas. I'm glad it was cold as it stopped it from melting in my hands.
The finished cake looked rather pretty with its contrasting colours. I greedily cut myself a large slice and tucked in. The cake was just as I remembered it to be. Light and sweet with a faint taste of chocolate. Richer chocolate cakes might taste more spectacular but, after one or two bites, a wave of queasiness is sure to strike! With this cake you can happily eat the whole slice as it is so light. However, I'm not really sure that's a good thing?!
A yummy and addictive cake!
