One-bowl Chocolate Cake

One-bowl Chocolate Cake

The greatest accompaniment to good food is great people to share it with!

Once a week my closest group of friends catch up to make sure we remain sane during the crazy uni semester. The night is usually filled with junk food and gossip, but this week I decided to mix it up a little and make a one-bowl wonder. 

It looks incredible and hopefully all the critics will think it tastes just as great. I’m a sucker for desserts with chocolate and whipped cream and this recipe adds a little something extra special, honeycomb!  

Wish me luck!

(Hopefully it looks as yummy as this!)

Ingredients

125g Butter, chopped

1 cup Brown sugar

2 tsp Vanilla extract

1 cup Water

3 Eggs

1 cup Self-raising flour

½ cup Plain flour

½ cup Cocoa powder

½ tsp Bicarb soda

200ml Thickened cream

200g Dark Chocolate, chopped

400ml Thickened cream

1 cup Malted honeycomb, roughly chopped

Method

1.  Preheat oven to 160C. Grease a 20cm cake tin and line with baking paper. Put 125g chopped butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 tsp vanilla extract and 1 cup water in a microwave bowl. Cook on high/100% for 3 mins, stirring every minute, or until smooth. Cool for 10 mins. 
2. Add 3 eggs to butter mixture and whisk. Sift 1 cup self-raising flour, ½ cup plain flour, ½ cup cocoa powder and ½ tsp bicarb over mixture. Stir. Pour into prepared tin. Bake for 50 mins, or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
3. Put 200ml thickened cream in a microwave jug. Heat on high/100% for 40-50 seconds or until hot. Stir in 200g chopped dark chocolate until smooth. Whisk 400ml thickened cream until firm peaks form. Fold in 1 cup roughly chopped chocolate-coated malted honeycomb. Cut cake in half horizontally. Put base on a cake stand. Spread over cream. Sandwich with cake top. Pour over chocolate sauce. Serve.

Recipe and image from: Better Homes and Gardens September 2013 Magazine, Page 12. 

Review

This recipe was definitely EASY and best part of all there is only a handful of things to wash up afterwards! Everyone loved the cakes simplicity and my best friend (who is also lactose intolerant) said “this is the best cake I've ever had.” That’s a pretty big compliment from Katherine because she’s not the biggest cake fan. I really enjoyed the cake and the whipped cream in-between kept the cake light and the honeycomb added that surprise crunch. Out of all the desserts I've made this one definitely tastes the best! However it didn't end up looking too delicious...

Recipe Amendments/ Recommendations  

The only amendments/recommendations I have are:

• If the oven is too hot or has been preheated for a long time the cakes centre will rise more than the rest of the cake. (This is what happened to my cake and a high temperature is the only reason I can come up with as to why.)

• The chocolate sauce sets really quickly so get it on the cake as soon as it has been made.

• Do not crush the honeycomb too much. That way there are still large chunks in the cream.

Whilst this recipe was a delicious success it was a disaster when it came to presentation!

- Adelaide

(Not as pretty but definitely delicious!)