Chocolate cake with strawberries and cream recipe
This is a very indulgent cake for a special occasion, very moist and rich and a little goes a long way. It looks amazing but is surprisingly simple to make. The mixture itself is quite thin so it is important to use old-fashioned sandwich tins rather than springform tins which will probably leak.
Ingredients
For the cake- 225 g plain (all-purpose) flour
- 350 g caster (superfine) sugar
- 85 g cocoa powder
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 eggs
- 250 ml milk
- 125 ml vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 250 ml boiling water
- 200 ml double (heavy) cream
- 1 punnet strawberries, plus extra to decorate the top of the cake
- 200 g plain chocolate
- 200 ml double (heavy) cream
Details
- Cuisine: British
- Recipe Type: Cake
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 30 mins
- Cooking Time: 60 mins
- Serves: 6
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease and line two 20cm (8 inch) diameter sandwich tins.
- For the cake, place all of the cake ingredients, except the boiling water, into a large mixing bowl. Beat the mixture until smooth.
- Add the boiling water, a little at a time, until the mixture is smooth and sloppy.
- Divide the mixture between the sandwich tins and bake in the oven for 25–35 minutes or until the top is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and leave them in their tins to cool completely.
- For the filling, whip the cream until it is reasonably stiff but be careful not to over beat it.
- Cut the strawberries into quarters or reasonably small bits and gently stir into the cream. This will stiffen the cream a bit so be careful.
- Remove the cold cakes from their tins and place one on a serving plate. Gently spread the cream and strawberry mix over the plated cake and position the other cake on top.
- For the icing, break up the chocolate and heat it and the cream in a saucepan over a low heat until the chocolate melts. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk the mixture until smooth, glossy and thickened. Set aside to cool for 1–2 hours, or until thick enough to spread over the cake.
- Carefully spread the icing over the top and sides of the cake and decorate with a few more strawberries or slice them thinly and arrange over the top of the cake.
This recipe is from Seasons at Highclere: Gardening, Growing, and Cooking through the Year at the Real Downton Abbey, out now. Published by Century in hardback, £30.
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