Chocolate Sponge cake with Chocolate Cream
Chocolate Sponge Cake with Chocolate Cream
On a completely unrelated note. According to the Oxford Companion to Food-English Dictionary Jane Austen wrote in a letter in 1808 that she apparently liked sponge cakes. So keep in mind if you are ever famous one day, any food you mention that you like will be documented and kept for all of eternity to read about!
Back to the cooking! This is a light chocolate sponge cake recipe. So if you are looking for a dark chocolate hit, this is probably not the ideal choice. However, if you are looking for a chocolate mid-afternoon treat then this is right up your alley. You can’t go past the chocolate cream! It really complements the sponge cake! Sweet and chocolatey and it doesn’t even taste too creamy! Surprising I know, considering it is after all 95% cream. And candy hearts! They not only make the cake look prettier, they make the world a sweeter place!
Chocolate Sponge cake with Chocolate Cream
Ingredients:
Chocolate Sponge cake: 4 eggs, 1 cup caster sugar, 1½ tbsp butter softened, 2 ½ tbsp cocoa, 4 tbsp boiling water, 1 cup cornflour, ¼ cup self-raising flour
Chocolate Cream: 1 cup fresh cream, 1 heaped tbsp cocoa powder, 1 heaped tbsp icing sugar
Additional: Finely grated dark chocolate, Maltesers & candy hearts for decorating
Steps: To make Chocolate Sponge Cake: Beat the eggs until yolks and whites are combined, gradually beat in the sugar continue beating on HIGH for about 15 minutes or until very thick and creamy (should have lots of bubbles).
Add the softened butter and cocoa to the boiling water and stir until combined. Fold in. Sift the flour three times onto a sheet of baking paper and then sift again over egg mixture and fold in lightly and evenly. Pour into a greased round 25cm cake tin and bake in a moderate oven for 25-30 minutes or until elastic to touch and slightly shrinking from sides of the tin. A skewer poked through the centre should comes out clean. Leave to cool.
To make Chocolate cream: In a small bowl put the cream, cocoa powder and icing sugar and whip until thick. Once cake is cool, decorate with the Chocolate cream, sprinkle with the finely grated dark chocolate and arrange Maltesers and Candy hearts on the top.
Tip! Be sure to beat the eggs well and fold in the ingredients (NOT stir them in) as this traps air in the mixture making it lighter. Also using cornflour instead of just self-raising flour makes the cake much lighter.
