Send me the perfect excuse to bake this again!

I’m neither a cake fan nor a sweets fiend but today all I can think of is the chocolate cake I trained yesterday. I am blaming my hormones for this mess, as no other cake will do. I am feeling overwhelming compelled to bake it again, for myself this time… I have been trying to find a good excuses… who’s birthday is it, who is feeling down and needs cheering up… I can’t bake an entire cake for a two person household just on a whim, can I?

If you live in Cape Town and can give me a perfect excuse to bake it, I’ll personally deliver you a slice tomorrow. Promise.

One of the things which I think may have made the difference to this cake it that I used only the best ingredients I could find. Lindt 70% chocolate, NoMU cocoa and vanilla paste, Lurpak butter. The chocolate flavour is crazy intense but the texture is still so light and fluffy. Man, that’s some good cake.

Devil’s food cake
Serves 8 - 10

125g of dark or milk chocolate, broken up
¼ cup of cocoa powder
1 cup of boiling water
¾ cup of all white bread flour
¾ cup plain cake flour
1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp of salt
250g of butter
1 cup of dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
½ cup of sour cream or crème fraiche
1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate fudge icing
¼ cup of sugar
½ cup of milk
50ml of cream
125ml of dark or milk chocolate, broken up

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees. Combine the chopped chocolate and cocoa in a bowl, pour over the boiling water and whisk until smooth. Sift your dry ingredients together.

Beat the butter until soft and then add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs to the mixture one by one beating in between to combine. Add the cream and vanilla. 


Then add half the dry ingredients followed by half the chocolate mixture and then repeat until all is just combined. Don’t over beat.

Pour into a greased cake tin scrapping the batter more towards the sides of the cake tin and bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until a skewer placed in the centre of the cake comes out clean.


Allow to cool before turning the cake out and allow the cake to be completely cool before icing.

For the icing, simmer the sugar and milk in a small sauce pan until it reduces to half and is thickening slightly. Then remove it from the heat, add the cream and chocolate and allow it to melt. Stir it with a whisk until smooth and silky. Pour the icing in the centre of the cooled cake and smoothed it with the back of a spoon until it just starts oozing over the edges of the cake.