I have a confession to make. I'm a food magazine addict. What's worse is stores ENABLE me by putting these things at the checkout line so while I'm waiting for the checker to scan all my items, I thumb through them. Sometimes a magazine can lure me to buy it from simply the cover. You know what I'm talking about, right?
I have stacks of food magazines in my house. They clutter my cookbook shelf, they clutter my bedroom. I don't want to pack them away because I won't have easy access to them. I really need to go through and pull the recipes I continue to go to time and time again and put them in my family cookbook. (mental note: make a blog entry in the near future about the family cookbook.)
A few years ago, one of the magazines I picked up had an amazingly simple, MOIST, and delicious recipe for a chocolate fudge cake. I can whip this cake together in 5 minutes - no joke. That's about how long it takes to open and mix a box of perservatives we like to call a "cake mix". I thought I'd share this recipe because when I go to reach for a chocolate cake recipe, this is the one I go to first.
This only makes 1 cake but can easily be doubled to make two. Enjoy!
1 cup flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. baking cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 stick butter (if you use unsalted butter, add 1/4 tsp salt to the recipe), melted
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup hot water
Preheat oven to 350* F. In a bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt (if you used unsalted butter). Set aside.
In another bowl, mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and water. Pour into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir just until it's incorporated and the batter is smooth. Don't overmix.
Pour batter into a greased 8" or 9" round cake pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack. Once this cake is cool, you can wrap with foil and put in a Ziploc freezer bag and store for future use.
When the cake has cooled, make the ganache.
Heat 2 cups cream in a saucepan on medium heat until the tops forms a slight skin. (this is called scalding) Do NOT let the cream boil. Immediately remove from heat and pour over 1 12-oz bag of chocolate chips in a bowl. Let it sit for a minute or two and then stir until the chocolate is completely melted and it makes a nice smooth sauce. If it's too runny, add more chocolate chips, and put on top of a pot filled with an inch of water. Using this double boiler method, heat it so the added chocolate melts.
Put the cooled cake (still on the rack) over a baking sheet. Pour the warm ganache over the cake and smooth with an icing spatula over the top and sides until it is well coated. Place the cake (still on the baking sheet) in the fridge and chill until ganache sets.
When I serve this, I slice and put a hefty dollop of chocolate whipped cream on each serving. To make the whipped cream, start with a pint of cold cream. Using a mixer, whip until the cream begins to form soft peaks. Add 1/4 cup sugar gradually, while still mixing. When firm peaks form, add 1 tsp vanilla and 2 Tbsp cocoa. Mix well.
Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_4dwsrzrkf
I have stacks of food magazines in my house. They clutter my cookbook shelf, they clutter my bedroom. I don't want to pack them away because I won't have easy access to them. I really need to go through and pull the recipes I continue to go to time and time again and put them in my family cookbook. (mental note: make a blog entry in the near future about the family cookbook.)
A few years ago, one of the magazines I picked up had an amazingly simple, MOIST, and delicious recipe for a chocolate fudge cake. I can whip this cake together in 5 minutes - no joke. That's about how long it takes to open and mix a box of perservatives we like to call a "cake mix". I thought I'd share this recipe because when I go to reach for a chocolate cake recipe, this is the one I go to first.
This only makes 1 cake but can easily be doubled to make two. Enjoy!
1 cup flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. baking cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 stick butter (if you use unsalted butter, add 1/4 tsp salt to the recipe), melted
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup hot water
Preheat oven to 350* F. In a bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt (if you used unsalted butter). Set aside.
In another bowl, mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and water. Pour into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir just until it's incorporated and the batter is smooth. Don't overmix.
Pour batter into a greased 8" or 9" round cake pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack. Once this cake is cool, you can wrap with foil and put in a Ziploc freezer bag and store for future use.
When the cake has cooled, make the ganache.
[(gə-näsh') n. A rich icing made of chocolate and cream heated and stirred together, used also as a filling, as for cakes or pastry. ]
Heat 2 cups cream in a saucepan on medium heat until the tops forms a slight skin. (this is called scalding) Do NOT let the cream boil. Immediately remove from heat and pour over 1 12-oz bag of chocolate chips in a bowl. Let it sit for a minute or two and then stir until the chocolate is completely melted and it makes a nice smooth sauce. If it's too runny, add more chocolate chips, and put on top of a pot filled with an inch of water. Using this double boiler method, heat it so the added chocolate melts.
Put the cooled cake (still on the rack) over a baking sheet. Pour the warm ganache over the cake and smooth with an icing spatula over the top and sides until it is well coated. Place the cake (still on the baking sheet) in the fridge and chill until ganache sets.
When I serve this, I slice and put a hefty dollop of chocolate whipped cream on each serving. To make the whipped cream, start with a pint of cold cream. Using a mixer, whip until the cream begins to form soft peaks. Add 1/4 cup sugar gradually, while still mixing. When firm peaks form, add 1 tsp vanilla and 2 Tbsp cocoa. Mix well.
Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_4dwsrzrkf
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2 comments:
Have you ever done this cake in a square pan? and is this like a thinner type cake? dense?
I would love to make it.
Any pictures?
gee, I sound demanding! LOL
thanks for the recipe!
cindy
It can be made in a 9" square pan. I do have a picture! I'll add soon so check back.
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