Easiest Chocolate Birthday Cake

My little food blog turns 2 this month so I thought it was the perfect time to post a recipe for a birthday cake. I love the story behind the development of this recipe. It is from the Bon Appetit “basically” website and was developed by Chris Morocco. He tells the story that every birthday his wife would make him a chocolate birthday cake. And every year he would come home from work to “Sh.t” all over the kitchen, the kids hadn’t had dinner and the place was a mess. So, he decided to develop a simple recipe she could make. Not only is this recipe easy it is also delicious, actually the frosting is probably more difficult than the cake itself.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more for the tin
• 1 1/3 cups plain flour
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp bi-carb soda
• 3/4 tsp salt, divided
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 3/4 tsp vanilla extract, divided
• 115 gm dark chocolate (50 – 60% cacao) chips, or chopped
• 1/2 cup cream
• 115 gm cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup icing sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 160°C. Using a brush, grease the bottom and sides of a 23cm cake tin with vegetable oil. Line the bottom of the tin with non stick baking paper.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, bi-carb soda and the salt (reserving heaped 1/8 tsp for the frosting) in a large bowl. Sift the 1/2 cup cocoa powder into the bowl. Then whisk to combine.

Whisk the eggs, oil and 1 tsp vanilla extract in a medium bowl until well combined and creamy, about 30 seconds. Using a spatula, mix egg mixture into dry ingredients until fully incorporated. It will be pasty.

Warm the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until it come to a bare simmer, small bubbles will appear around the outside, you don’t want it to boil. Whisk the warm milk into the batter until lump-free and just combined, don’t over mix.

Transfer the batter to the prepared tin. Tap pan a few times on the bench top to encourage some of the bubbles to escape. Bake cake, turning halfway through, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean, 40 – 50 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let the cake cool in the tin.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. Fill a saucepan with 2 – 3 cm of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Combine the chocolate and cream in a heatproof medium bowl, place over saucepan, and reduce heat to low (make sure the bowl isn’t touching the water). Stir occasionally with a spatula until chocolate is melted and mixture is homogenous and thick. Remove from the heat and let the mixture come to room temperature, stirring occasionally with the spatular.

Using an electric mixer on medium – high speed, whisk the cream cheese, icing sugar, 3/4 tsp vanilla extract and remaining salt in a large bowl until very smooth.

Beat in the cooled chocolate mixture on medium speed, scraping down the sides as needed, until frosting holds a soft peak, is well combined and a little thicker. Don’t over beat or the frosting will be to stiff to ice the cake easily.

Loosen the cake from the tin by running a butter knife around the edge and invert onto a plate. Remove the baking paper and invert onto a platter or cake stand. Top the cake with the frosting, spreading evenly across the surface. Making some decorative swooshes with a spoon if desired.

Slice and serve.

Thank you to everyone who has made the time to read my blog these past 2 years and make a comment. I hope you make this recipe next time you need a chocolate cake and if you do, please leave me a comment letting me know how you got on. Enjoy. Sheryl x