Chocolate Fudge Cake
My childhood chocolate cake with the softest, fudgiest frosting - it's still the taste of birthdays for me now!
Ingredients
For the chocolate fudge cake
- 175 g dark chocolate
- 175 g softened unsalted butter
- 175 g sugar
- 4 eggs separated
- 90 g ground almonds
- 90 g plain flour
For the chocolate fudge icing
- 90 g sugar
- 45 g butter
- 125 g dark chocolate
- 75 ml evaporated milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F/Gas Mark 4
- Grease and line two 20cm/8in sandwich tins with oil and baking parchment
- Break up the chocolate into a heat-proof bowl and stand it over a pan of simmering water. Ensure the water doesn’t boil or the bottom of the bowl touches the water. Stir occasionally as it melts. Leave to cool slightly.
- Cream the butter and sugar together for about 5 minutes until pale and fluffy. The longer you beat the mixture the lighter the cake will be!
- Lightly beat the yolks together and add a tablespoon to the creamed mixture and beat well. Gradually add the rest of the yolks, a tablespoon at a time.
- Stir in the ground almonds and melted chocolate.
- Put the egg whites into a clean, grease-free bowl. Whisk with electric beaters until soft peaks form. Start slowly and increase speed, every now and then stopping the power and lifting out the beaters to check the consistency – if you hold your beaters upside down the egg whites should fall back on themselves.
- Add a tablespoon of egg white to the chocolate mixture and stir together to loosen.
- Sift the plain flour into a separate bowl.
- Using a metal spoon fold in a tablespoon of flour, then a tablespoon of egg white, continuing until all is used. Fold gently to prevent knocking out air and don’t over mix.
- Spread the mixture into the cake tins and bake for 20 minutes. Check after 15 minutes as it will probably be done (depending on the ferocity of your oven).
- As the cake bakes, make the icing. Break up the chocolate and cut the butter into chunks. Add the evaporated milk and sugar to a pan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and leave for 5 minutes, allowing it to froth without stirring.
- Turn off the heat and add the chocolate, stirring to mix and melt. Once incorporated and thick add the butter and stir to melt. If thick and greasy add a splash of milk to reach your desired consistency.
- Pour into a bowl and closely cover the icing with cling film – push the cling film against the surface of the icing and bunch around the edge. Without the cling film a crust will form. Put in the fridge to chill and thicken.
- Once the cakes are cooked – springy to the touch and coming away from the sides of the tin – leave to cool slightly then run a knife around the edge of the tin before inverting onto a cooling rack. Peel off the baking parchment.
- When the cakes and icing are cool spread the icing on top of both sandwiches and layer one on top of the other.