EASY NAKED CHOCOLATE CAKE
“I’ve always loved baking and my passion for it has been reignited by my children – we often cook and bake together over weekends. I created a version of this recipe for the Australian Baking Festival I attended late last year. I love using candy floss as a topping, but when I have a bit more time I make an easy spun sugar to crown my cake. It looks incredible.”
Serves 12
A LITTLE EFFORT
GREAT VALUE Preparation: 30 minutes Baking: 30 minutes
cake flour 410 g sugar 600 g cocoa 150 g baking powder 2t salt 1t free-range eggs 4 canola oil 1 cup coconut oil 1 cup buttermilk 3 cups vanilla extract 4t spun sugar and Easter eggs, to decorate
For the frosting: cream cheese 3 x 250 g tubs, at room temperature butter 100 g icing sugar 500 g, sifted lemon, juiced
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C and lightly grease and line the bottom of 4 x 20 cm cake tins. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl and create a well in the middle. 2 Place all the wet ingredients in a jug and whisk until combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix gently. Do not overmix. 3 Divide the mixture between the pans. Tap the pans to release any air bubbles and place on a baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
4 Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting by beating all the ingredients together until smooth. Transfer into a piping bag with a nozzle. Use the icing to sandwich the cakes together and to decorate the sides. Top with spun sugar and Easter eggs.
Siba’s tip: Visit taste.co.za to see how to make spun sugar. If I don't have time to make spun sugar, I use candy floss. Halve the cake recipe to make two layers. WINE: Woolworths Diemersfontein Coffee Pinotage 2017