This week was a hectic one. I baked two nights in a row and made 4 desserts in total – crazy, I know. The first night I made a Jewish honey cake to gift before Rosh Hashanah on Wednesday. The cake itself is more spices than honey, smells like Christmas and is the most intense cake experience you’ll ever encounter. I wanted an authentic recipe that would be perfect for the holiday so I made a tester cake which was devoured at school. I recommend that this cake be made up to 3 days before consumption so the flavours really soak into the sponge. The recipe is from an oldie but a goodie and can be found here
The same night I also made a Texas spin on a chocolate cake.
My Uncle Marcus is a chocolate fiend. He loves uber rich desserts so what better to make than chocolate cake when uncle comes round for dinner. It was much too late for me to commit to a layered chocolate cake with buttercream of a perfect consistency. But I needed chocolate.
Texas sheet cakes had always been at the back of my mind. They’re a cake as fluffy and delicious as any other – but with half the work. Throw the batter in a sheet or 9″ x 13″ pan and slap on the frosting while the cake is still hot. Done & done. I was worried that cocoa alone wouldn’t be enough to flavour the cake so I crumbled over some huge chunks of milk chocolate – a decision I do not regret.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup cocoa
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ cup single cream
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 bar chocolate (3.5 oz / 100 g , cut into chunks)
Directions
- Set oven to 180°C (350°F) and spray a sheet or 9″ x 13″ pan with non-stick spray
- Melt the butter, water and cocoa together. Leave to cool
- Add the sugar, flour, salt, eggs, soda, cream, juice, vanilla and mix well until incorporated
- Pour batter into pan and sprinkle over chocolate chunks
- Bake for 16-19 minutes
