chocolate cake

This is an easy to make chocolate cake and it is also moist and yummy; the coffee and vanilla help to enhance its chocolaty flavour. By itself, the cake is not very sweet. The added sweetness is in the chocolate frosting. So if you don't fancy a very sweet cake, omit the frosting and either way, enjoy it with a hot cup of tea. You can use the same recipe for making cupcakes too.

Ingredients:

(A) for the cake

1 3/4 measuring cup all-purpose flour (superfine flour is preferable)

2 measuring cup caster sugar

3/4 measuring cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 measuring cup milk

1/2 measuring cup corn oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 measuring cup hot coffee (it is your choice to use either instant or brewed coffee)

(B) for the frosting

1/2 measuring cup cocoa powder

3/4 measuring cup sweetened condensed milk

1 measuring cup cream

Method:

1) Mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, soda, and salt in a large bowl

2) In another large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, corn oil, and vanilla extract

3) Add the flour mixture (in portions) into the egg mixture and beat well.  Lastly, stir in hot coffee into the batter and mix thoroughly

4) Grease and flour a medium size baking tin and pour the runny batter in

5) Bake in an oven preheated to 170 degrees celcius (with only the bottom heat on) for 40 minutes or when a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out dry with a few moist crumbs attached

6) Allow cake to cool completely before frosting

7) To make the frosting - Mix cocoa powder and condensed milk in a metal bowl and cook over a pan of boiling water. This is called double boiler method.Once cooked, cool the paste in the refrigerator. Next, add cream to the paste and whisk at high speed until thickened. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, before frosting the chocolate cake.