Testing out a recipe.
I’m currently on the hunt for a cake I can make for Emma’s birthday cake, preferably a chocolate cake. I could resort to an Aunt Betty’s cake mix from the supermarket. This is tried and true. Hasn’t failed me yet. These have been great when time poor, like when I’m working. It does leave little time to bake and I’d rather put the time into decorating the cake than baking it. But now that I’m between jobs, I thought I’d bake the birthday cake from scratch.
What I’m looking for. A cake that isn’t too sweet. It needs to withstand frosting and fondant so needs to be solid. Well, that cuts out sponge cakes. They are too light and will collapse with the weight of the fondant. The cake needs to be moist as I personally don’t like dry cakes, especially for a birthday cake.
I went back through the recipes I had saved over the years to try and found this one. I baulked when I saw it had 3 cups of sugar in it. OMG. But decided to give it a go. I was definitely curious. If all else failed, I’d feed the neighbours with it during an upcoming strata meeting. Amazingly, it wasn’t sweet at all. The cocoa added cuts the sweetness down to balance it out. But you need this amount of cocoa to give the chocolate richness and dark colour in this cake. The batter is quite runny so it needs 1 hour baking time.
Outcome? This cake is moist and light but firm. It wasn’t too sweet in the end so it proved me wrong. I baked it in a 19cm cake tin which resulted in a high cake. You can make it in a 25cm cake tin and reduce baking time to 50 minutes and check if cooked through. You only need a small slice of this cake which makes it perfect for birthday cakes where everyone just grabs a little sliver to eat. Hubby rated it 8/10 so it’s a really good cake. Would I make it again? Definitely.
So why is this recipe called a “family chocolate cake”? I wondered that when I first made it as that’s the recipe’s original name from Australian Woman’s Weekly. After making it and tasting it, I can only guess it’s because the cake isn’t too sweet so perfect for the whole family.
Want another delicious recipe?
If you like this recipe, you’ll also love others available here. From pastas to risottos, cookies to desserts, and bliss balls to gluten-free options with everything in between. There is truly something here for everyone. I have developed this website to provide family-friendly recipes where I maximise both fresh produce while minimising cost.
Family chocolate cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 3 cups caster sugar
- 250 g butter, chopped
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, sifted
- 3 cups self-raising flour
- 4 Eggs, beaten lightly
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170°C (150°C fan-forced). Grease and line a 19cm diameter cake tin.
- In a medium saucepan, combine water, sugar, butter and combined sifted cocoa powder and soda. Stir over heat, without boiling, until sugar fully dissolves. Bring to boil then reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Cool to room temperature.
- Add flour and egg to cooled mixture. Beat with electric mixer until mixture is smooth and changed to a paler colour. Pour mixture into prepared dish.
- Bake about 1 hour in the middle of oven. Check with a toothpick or skewer if cooked all the way through before removing from oven. Stand cake in baking dish 10 minutes before turning onto wire rack. Turn cake top-side up to cool.
Notes
- If the cake appears to be cooking too quickly in the corners of the pan, reduce oven temperature. This may increase cooking time by up to 15 minutes.
- Add icing if you prefer, or serve with just whipped cream and a few fresh berries.