Chocolate for the ladies

.. and the men.

It’s our last NCT session today, it runs into lunch time so we were asked to bring some food – my contribution being cake of course – I’m sure no one will mind.

This recipe is from a women’s weekly chocolate cake book, some very indulgent recipes in there. It requires melting and then simmering the sugar (mountain), butter and cocoa before allowing it to cool and adding eggs and flour. It was so liquidy I was worried for a moment but it baked well and evenly. I then smothered it with butter icing – outrageous.
The measurements sound a bit odd as they’re converted from Australian cups.

500ml water
660g caster sugar (oh yes, that much)
250g butter
35g cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
450g self-raising flour
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Icing
170g icing sugar
114g butter
1 tbps cocoa powder

Oven at 180, grease and line a 26.5 x 33 cm baking dish (or there abouts). Put water, sugar, butter and combined cocoa and bicarb in a saucepan and heat without boiling until sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer to a mixing bowl and cool to room temperature.

Add the flour and egg to the bowl and beat (with an electric mixer) until combined and paler in colour. Transfer to prepared tin and bake for about 50 minutes. Allow to stand in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out. Mix the icing with an electric mixer and spread over the cold cake.