Its not very often that you run across a cake that is truly a dessert cake. Sticky Toffee Pudding would be one, as would Pineapple Upside Down Cake. (I would also consider Boston Cream Pie to be a totally dessert cake, although it is not served warm.)
So what do I mean by a dessert cake? I mean a cake that is meant to be eaten as dessert, with or without ice cream, or cream, or custard. Sometimes served warm, rich and sticky and totally delicious.
This is in opposition to cakes that are totally meant to be served cold and sliced. Cakes like a Coffee and Walnut Cake or a Victoria Sponge cake.
Those are cakes that are meant to be enjoyed with a hot drink or as a celebration cake. You will often see them at tea parties or in tea rooms, especially in the UK.
This is a cake that I used to bake when I worked at the Manor. The Mr. was very fond of yellow layer cake with a chocolate frosting. In fact every year the Mrs. would bring back yellow cake mixes for me to use to make him the yellow cake for special occasions.
This is more of a familial cake, an every day cake. The kind of cake that the whole family will gather around at the weekend, perhaps serves after the Saturday night bake bean supper. Its a family style of cake, rather than a celebration cake.
It is meant to be served warm, cut into sweet chocolate glazed squares, with more chocolate sauce poured over top. Perhaps with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a dollop of whipped cream.
It was a recipe that I had posted over on my now defunct Oak Cottage blog. I can't really remember where it came from. I decided to update it and pop it on here because it certainly is deserving of being here in my English Kitchen.
I strongly suspect that it may have come from one of Mrs. B's many cookbooks, perhaps one of the Foster's Market ones, but I can't say for sure as I don't have any of those.
I only have the recipe printed out onto computer paper, and I have the memories of the Mr. enjoying it and I have to say we enjoyed it at home as well. Its a really great cake. Moist and delicious. (I know people often don't like that word. Who knows why. I have no aversion to it myself.)
One thing that sets this cake apart from other cakes is that it gives you total permission to enjoy it warm, almost right out of the oven.
Another thing which sets it apart is that you dimple the warm cake with a skewer or a fork and pour a delicious chocolate glaze over top, allowing it to soak in. It is then cut into squares and served with more of that chocolate glaze spooned over top.
Totally enjoyable.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SWEET YELLOW CAKE
Simple baking cupboard ingredients. Do use real butter. I don't think it really matters if it is salted or unsalted.
For the cake:
- 6 TBS (86g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1 cup (140g) plain all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- pinch salt
- 1/2 cup (120ml) sour milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 ounces (70g) good unsweetened chocolate, broken into pieces
- 1/4 cup (50g) white sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk
- 2 TBS butter
Because I use salted butter, I usually leave the salt out. It tastes pretty good to me this way. Also this time when I made it I didn't have any cooking chocolate and so I used semi sweet chocolate chips.
In this case I left out the sugar from the glaze because I felt that the chocolate chips would be plenty sweet enough. I was right. It was perfect.
HOW TO MAKE SWEET YELLOW CAKE
Nothing could be easier or quicker. The cake gets mixed in one bowl and while it is baking you make the chocolate glazed ready to be poured over top of the still warm skewer or fork dimpled cake
Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Lightly grease a 9 inch square cake pan. Set aside. (I like to line it with a strip of paper so that I can lift it out easily afterwards.)
Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl, until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well together. Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another bowl and whisk well together. Stir the milk and vanilla together.
Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture in thirds alternating with one third of the milk mixture, mixing until all the ingredients are combined and no flour is visible.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place in the oven to bake. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until cake tests done and either a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or the top springs back when lightly touched with a fingertip.
Make the glaze while the cake is baking.
Place the chocolate, milk and sugar into a small saucepan and cook over medium low heat, cooking and stirring until the chocolate has melted and the sauce thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Stir until the butter has completely melted and amalgamated into the sauce. Keep warm until the cake comes out of the oven.
When the cake is done and out of the oven, poke holes all over the top with a skewer or the tines of a fork. While the cake is still hot and in the pan, pour 1/2 cup of the glaze over the top and let it soak into the cake for 5 to 10 minutes. Cut the cake into squares and serve while still warm, with some more of the chocolate sauce spooned over top. Scrumdiddlyumptious!
Everything about this cake is delicious from the moist yellow cake to that rich chocolate glaze and sauce. It smells to good when it comes out of the oven that you cannot wait to dig right into it.
Normally that would be a problem because you'd have to wait for the cake to cool. Not with this one. You can dig in right away, or as soon as you glaze it anyways!
Quick and easy to make, and even easier to enjoy, this is one very delicious dessert cake!! Store any leftovers in an airtight container. Leftovers can be cut into squares and gently warmed individually in the microwave for a few seconds.
Sweet Yellow Cake
Yield: Makes one 9 inch cakeAuthor: Marie RaynerPrep time: 5 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 35 MinFive minutes in the bowl, 30 minutes in the oven and served warm. The warm chocolate glaze that you spoon over top of the cake as soon as you remove it from the oven is its crowning glory. This is one very delicious dessert cake!Ingredients
For the cake:- 6 TBS (86g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1 cup (140g) plain all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- pinch salt
- 1/2 cup (120ml) sour milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 ounces (70g) good unsweetened chocolate, broken into pieces
- 1/4 cup (50g) white sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk
- 2 TBS butter
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Lightly grease a 9 inch square cake pan. Set aside. (I like to line it with a strip of paper so that I can lift it out easily afterwards.)
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl, until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well together. Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another bowl and whisk well together. Stir the milk and vanilla together.
- Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture in thirds alternating with one third of the milk mixture, mixing until all the ingredients are combined and no flour is visible.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place in the oven to bake. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until cake tests done and either a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or the top springs back when lightly touched with a fingertip.
- Make the glaze while the cake is baking. Place the chocolate, milk and sugar into a small saucepan and cook over medium low heat, cooking and stirring until the chocolate has melted and the sauce thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Stir until the butter has completely melted and amalgamated into the sauce. Keep warm until the cake comes out of the oven.
- When the cake is done and out of the oven, poke holes all over the top with a skewer or the tines of a fork. While the cake is still hot and in the pan, pour 1/2 cup of the glaze over the top and let it soak into the cake for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Cut the cake into squares and serve while still warm, with some more of the chocolate sauce spooned over top. Delicious!
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