LET THEM EAT CAKE chocolate
You can cut the tension with a knife as the clock ticks down to Saturday’s bake-off
In our search for the best-tasting chocolate cake in SA, we were overwhelmed by the hundreds of entries we received.
Elinor Storkey, Food Weekly recipe tester and cake expert, was given the job of sifting through the entries and the chocolate cake aficionado was in seventh heaven. Elinor and Nancy Kinyua, chef/lecturer at HTA in Randburg, put the top 20 cakes to the test. Once baked and decorated according to the submitted recipes, the cakes were presented to a panel of chocolate lovers who put them to the ultimate test — the taste test.
Each cake was judged on taste (10 points), appearance (5 points) and originality of recipe (5 points) for a total out of 20. The scores were collated and panel members were unanimous in their choice of the six finalists. The live bake-off takes place on September 14 (see below right) and the winner and runners-up will be announced in Food Weekly on September 22. THE FINALISTS (numbered according to pictures on the right) 1. SINFUL CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY CAKE Simone Vos, Alberton 2. THE ONE AND ONLY Gabriella Esposito, Cape Town 3. BRANDY AND COLA CHOCOLATE CAKE Thobeka Shangase, Amanzimtoti, KZNl 4. HOWIE’S CHOCOLATE PASSION FRUIT CAKE Howard Shenker, Auckland Park, Johannesburg 5. THE VERY BEST CHOCOLATE MUD CAKE Emma van Zyl, Darling, Western Cape 6. RICH DARK ORANGE CHOCOLATE CAKE Kate Bosazza, East London THE PRIZES FIRST PRIZE: A top-of-the-range Elba gas/electric stove and Whirlpool Jet Chef microwave oven from Hirsch’s plus R10 000 cash. SECOND PRIZE: A 60cm Whirlpool induction hob and Whirlpool Jet Chef microwave oven from Hirsch’s plus R5 000 cash. THIRD PRIZE: A Kenwood appliance to the value of R5 000, a Whirlpool Jet Chef microwave oven from Hirsch’s and R2 500 in cash. The three runners-up will each receive a Whirlpool Jet Chef microwave oven.
THE JUDGES
Kahn Morbee, The Parlotones; Hilary Biller, Editor Food Weekly; chef Heinz Brunner; chef Fritz Flatscher; chef Manfred Reinhart; Alan Hirsch of Hirsch’s Homestore; Ramola Makan, Elba; Megan Meas, Sandton City; Garth Tiltmann, Whirlpool
JOIN US FOR THE LIVE BAKE-OFF
Join us on Saturday September 14 at 11am in Sandton City’s Checkers Court, where the six finalists will bake their cakes. Celebrity judges include Parlotones frontman Kahn Morbee and veteran chefs Heinz Brunner, Fritz Flatscher and Manfred Reinhart, who recently made it to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in an expedition to raise money for the Word Chefs Tour Against Hunger. They will be making Africa’s tallest Sachertorte for all to enjoy.