Every good meal deserves to be finished off with a great dessert. And what can be better than a delicious cake, especially if it’s chocolate? Chocolate does, after all, make everything better. At least that’s what LIANA REINERSbelieves.
Yes, I know. These easy recipes are meant to be the outdoorsy kind… things that can be braai-ed or can be served with a braai. Let’s just say I had a sign. It all started on a recent new model launch in the Karoo. I was tired and irritated and hungry… never a good combination. In fact, I was ‘hangry’ – a dangerous combination of hungry and angry. I also needed to use the bathroom badly, so I forced my driving partner to stop at a small little building resembling a farmstall in the middle of nowhere. As I walked closer to enquire about their ablution facilities, I noticed bold black lettering painted on either side of the entrance. It spoke to me in more ways than one. I’m not going to explain. The photograph speaks for itself.
Of course, I instantly developed a craving for cake so when I got back home the following day, I dug out my favourite recipe for chocolate cake. It’s not too complicated and I promise you it’s simply delicious! You’ll never use another recipe again.
CHOCOLATE CAKE
Ingredients
1 ½ cup of cake flower
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 heaped tablespoons cocoa
1 ½ cup sugar
6 eggs
¾ cup oil
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Method
Sift the cake flour, baking powder, sugar and cocoa together. Separate the eggs and beat the yolks and sugar together in another bowl. Add the oil, warm water and vanilla essence and beat together. Add to the dry ingredients and mix together. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into the mixture. Grease two round cake tins and divide the batter between the two. Bake at 180°C for 45 minutes. Allow to cool down before removing from the tin and decorate.
ICING
Ingredients
½ cup butter or margarine
3 to 4 cups icing sugar
3 heaped tablespoons cocoa
Method
Beat the butter/margarine until soft. Add the icing sugar and cocoa and mix together. Milk can be added if the mixture is too thick.
