Chocolate Archives - Page 3 of 24

Eggless Chocolate and Coconut Cake

26|11|2019

An eggless chocolate and coconut cake that can be easily made vegan and dairy- free by swapping with vegan chocolate. Easy to make and delicious.

I get a lot of requests for egg-less and dairy free recipes so I was really keen to come up with one. Well, if you’re able to swap the chocolate with dairy free chocolate in this recipe, then this cake can be made entirely dairy free as well.

It has a soft, moist crumb and subtle taste of coconut. Very delicious if I can say so! The ganache is simple too and I don’t recommend you skip it because it gives the otherwise light cake a rich finish which is what we all want in a chocolate cake. Or is it just me?
Top it with the freshest berries and you have a perfect summer treat!

If you like cakes like these you can also check out my eggless chocolate ricotta cake.

Chocolate Coconut Cake
Makes an 8 inch round cake

150 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
2 and 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup brown sugar
2 and 1/4 cups self raising flour
1/4 cup fine desiccated coconut
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp cocoa powder

For the ganache frosting
100 g dark chocolate
1/4 cup coconut milk

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Grease the base and sides of an 8 inch baking pan and line the base with baking paper.
In a medium saucepan over low heat melt the chocolate with coconut milk and vanilla extract. Continue to stir until smooth. Remove from heat and leave aside. When the mixture cools slightly (just warm to touch) add the sugar and mix,
In a separate bowl, mix together flour, coconut, baking powder and cocoa powder. Add the dry ingredients to the saucepan and mix well until batter is smooth.
Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 40-50 mins or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven. Lightly loosened the edges with a blunt knife, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Once cooled, drizzle with chocolate ganache. Top with fresh raspberries. Add an extra drizzle of icing sugar.
To make the ganache, in a microwaveable cup or bowl, place the chocolate and coconut milk and cook in short bursts until chocolate starts to melt. Stir until smooth.

Chocolate and Strawberry Cake with Aeroplane Jelly Chocolate Dessert Mix

4|08|2019

Disclaimer –This post is brought to you by Aeroplane Jelly. As always, all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

The last few weeks of winter! It’s funny how our seasons are diagonally opposite to the rest of the world. The great thing though is that it gives us the chance to whip up cosy, indulgent treats while the rest of the world is enjoying a berry smoothie. Now, would you rather drink a berry smoothie or eat a slice of this indulgent tower of chocolatey deliciousness?

I’m always looking for creative, new desserts with chocolate. It’s especially fun to experiment with different flavour and filling combinations when you have a trusty, go-to chocolate cake recipe. I decided to enhance my layered chocolate mud cake with another level of decadence. Sandwiched between the layers of chocolate cake, is a Chocolate flavoured Dessert Mix that not only makes life easier as it is so easy to make and use, but it gives the cake a more decadent finish. Oozy layers of pudding like chocolate accompanied by fresh winter strawberries and rich mud cake. Need I say more?

If you live in Australia, you already know the quintessentially Aussie favourite, Aeroplane Jelly. I mean, hasn’t every Aussie kid grown up with Aeroplane Jelly and have their favourite memories of brightly coloured birthday treats involving their favourite flavour of jelly? But then is it really just kids? I can vouch for the number of jelly fans simply by the way people react when my desserts involve a jelly component in them. So when I discovered the Chocolate flavoured Dessert Mix, I already knew it was going to be a life changing find. Think, trifles, tarts, and fillings for eclairs, toppings for pancakes and waffles, dip for your churros or just by itself with your choice of fruit. Such a handy mix to have in your pantry.

Coming to this cake, it is as simple to put together as it looks. No fancy ingredients or equipment, just a showstopper that can easily turn your celebrations into a memorable one.
If you’d like your chocolate filling to be sweeter, add a few tablespoons of castor sugar or honey according to taste.
If you do not have 6 inch pans, you could go for larger pans and two layers instead of three. However, please keep in mind the baking time would increase in that scenario.

Chocolate and Strawberry Cake
Makes a 6 inch, 3-layered round cake

1 Aeroplane Jelly Chocolate flavoured Dessert Mix
250 g unsalted butter
200 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
100 ml milk
1 and 2/3 cup self-raising flour
¼ cup Dutch processed cocoa
1 cup castor sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup sour cream
1 punnet fresh strawberries, hulled, sliced
dark chocolate, shaved

Method: Prepare Aeroplane Jelly Dessert Mix according to package instructions. Add sugar if you like it sweeter (I added 2 tablespoons of castor sugar). Store in the refrigerator until needed.
Preheat oven to 160 degrees C (140 degrees c for fan forced ovens). Grease the base and sides of three 6 inch cake pans and line the bases with baking paper.
Place the chocolate, butter and milk in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat. Stir occasionally until butter and chocolate have melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat, leave aside to cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, sift flour and cocoa into a large bowl. Add the sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time until well incorporated. Gradually fold in the chocolate mixture and sour cream and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.

Divide the batter between the three prepared pans. Bake for 40-45 mins or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs but no raw cake batter. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool in pan, then turn out gently onto a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

Once cool, place a layer of cake on a cake stand or a plate. Spread half cup of the dessert mix with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Arrange sliced strawberries as displayed in the pictures. Place the second layer and repeat the process. Cover with the last layer and decorate with sliced strawberries. Decorate with shaved chocolate. Enjoy!

Fudgy Brownie Cake

20|11|2018

My husband and I have very different tastes when it comes to desserts. I’m a rich, creamy and cold mousse kind of person while he loves a gooey, warm dessert. ‘Warm’ is the keyword! If he’s ordering a carrot cake, he wants it warmed up. Which to me does not make sense because there is a cream cheese frosting with it. If he’s having a berry muffin, it needs to come warm and that will most often require it to be removed from the liner which aesthetically doesn’t appeal to me. So we usually order our own things at a restaurant or a cafe. But if it ever happens that we decide to share a dessert (you know, it happens! Too full but not going to leave without dessert) the only thing we can ever agree to is a brownie. A warmed up fudgy brownie served with a side of vanilla ice cream. Dessert is sorted!
As for the boys, one is a dessert lover, the other is not. But brownies win there too.

Given that we are united as a family when it comes to brownies, it is good to have a brownie cake in my repertoire for special occasions and weekend indulgences. This cake always does it. The perfect way to enjoy it is warming it up in the microwave before serving and topping it up with fresh berries or your favourite ice cream. The recipe cannot be simpler. Over the years, I’ve simplified it by mixing the entire thing in one saucepan, the same one I use to warm my butter and chocolate in. So this recipe is not only delicious but very convenient as well.

Gingerbread cake is no doubt the choice for the season but a brownie cake is a hit anytime. Look how festive it looks without effort!

Fudgy Brownie Cake
makes a 6 inch round cake

125 g unsalted butter
300 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
1 cup castor sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup plain flour
fresh cherries, to serve

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C (150 degrees C for fan forced ovens) Grease the base and sides of a 6 inch round pan and line the base with baking paper.

In a heavy bottom saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and chocolate together. Cool slightly (about 15 minutes). Add the sugar and stir to mix. Add the eggs, a little at a time and continue to stir.
Add the cocoa powder and flour and mix till well blended. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour or until the cake is almost cooked through and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out with a few crumbs clinging. Loosen the sides with a butter knife and allow the brownie cake to cool in the pan.

Turn onto a serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature with berries and ice cream on the side.

Chocolate, Almond and Strawberry Cake

9|06|2018

This winter is giving me all the reasons to bake! It is so cold in my part of town plus it’s been raining and there is very little scope for any outdoor activity. I love the sunshine especially in the colder months but there is also the prospect of getting better photos on a cloudy day than those days when the sun is shining bright in my backyard where I normally shoot. So I ended up baking 7 cakes in 6 days. Yeah, I’m amazed at myself where I go for days feeling like I have nothing new to add or nothing better to create. And then there are these bursts of energy on certain days when I don’t have enough hours to give shape to my crazy imagination.

Chocolate, almond and strawberries in a cake speak for itself. All the great, stuff, right? And the bonus is that the batter can be made in one pan. Just mix and pour!
The buttercream is actually chocolate flavored, made with cocoa powder and tinted with red food gel colour. I’ve been meaning to make a red frosting for months and finally got my chance.

Chocolate, Almond and Strawberry Cake
Makes a 6 inch round cake

150 g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
1 cup self-raising flour
1/4 cup almond meal (ground almonds)
3 eggs, lightly whisked
1/2 cup strawberries, roughly chopped

Cocoa Buttercream
125 g unsalted butter, softened
11/2 cups icing sugar
1 tbsp milk (more if needed)
1 and 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
red food gel paste (optional)

To make the cake : Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease the base and sides and line the base of a 6 inch round baking pan.

In a large saucepan, place the butter, sugar, milk, cocoa powder and bicarbonate soda and cook over low heat until butter has melted and mixture is smooth.
Remove from heat and leave aside for 10 minutes to cool.

Add the flour and almond meal. Mix. Add the eggs and mix till incorporated. Fold in the strawberries.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 mins or until a skewer inserted in the middle of a cake comes out clean.
Remove from oven. Leave aside for 10 minutes. Run a blunt knife around the sides to loosen the cake, then turn onto a wire rack to cool. Once cool, decorate with red tinted cocoa buttercream, flaked almonds and strawberries.

To make the red tinted cocoa buttercream, using an electric mixer or a hand mixer beat the butter until pale and fluffy. Add the sugar, a little at a time beating well until fully incorporated. Add the cocoa powder and milk and beat again until no white streaks appear and buttercream is fluffy. If it is too thick, add another tbsp of milk to lighten up. Add a little red gel paste until desired red shade is reached. Please note, the colour will deepen with time so it’s best to make the buttercream a day in advance and allow the colour to develop.