Moist chocolate cake

 

Recipe for the cake is adapted from Hershey's chocolate cake.

Ingredients 

Plain flour – 225 gm  

Cocoa powder – 75 gm 

Baking powder – 1 ½ tsp 

Baking soda – 1 ½ tsp 

Salt – ¼ tsp 

Eggs – 2 large 

Granulated sugar – 400 gm 

Oil – 120 ml 

Milk – 230 ml 

Boiling water – 230 ml 

Vanilla extract – 2 tsp 

Method 

In a bowl measure and sift  flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and keep it aside. 

In another bowl crack two eggs and beat it with sugar for 2-3 minutes. 

Add oil , vanilla extract and beat until mixed. 

Add dry ingredients and milk and beat until mixed. 

Finally add boiling water and beat again until just mixed. 

Pour the batter into three 7 inch cake tins and bake at 175 degree C for about 30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. 

 

Buttercream  

Unsalted butter – 175 gm 

Icing sugar – 350 gm 

Meringue powder – 2 tsp 

Double cream – 100 ml 

Dark chocolate – 80 gm 

Vanilla extract – 2 tsp 

 

Method 

1.In a mixing bowl add 1/3 of the sugar, salt and meringue powder and mix. 
2.Add cream to it and beat it for 5 minutes in an electric mixer with paddle attachment  
3.Add remaining sugar and beat for 3 minutes. 
4.Add butter little by little and beat for 5-7 minutes. 
5.Add vanilla, melted chocolate and beat for 1 minute. 

 
 

Chocolate ganache  

Dark chocolate – 40 gm (broken into small pieces)

Milk chocolate –40 gm 

Double cream – 110 ml 

Caster sugar – 1 tablespoon 

Honey – 1 tsp 

In a saucepan add some cream and simmer it on a low flame. When it is about to boil add chocolate, sugar, honey and mix until everything has melted. 

Let it cool for a bit. 

Assembling the cake 

Once the cake has cooled down to room temperature, take the first layer and spread the buttercream on top.

Place the second layer of cake on top and repeat .

Finally place the third layer and spread buttercream all around the cake and then gently pour the ganache on top. You can also do drips on the edges.  

If you let the ganache cool a bit more you can use the ganache to pipe some decorations on top. 

 

 

Lemon Tart

For the pastry 

Plain flour – 150 gm  

Cold Butter (unsalted)– 113 gm 

Icing sugar – 40 gm 

Egg yolk - 1 

Milk – 2 tablespoons 

 

For filling  

Double cream – 150 ml 

Lemon zest – from 1 lemon 

Lemon juice from 2 ½ lemons 

5 Eggs 

Caster sugar – 140 gm 

 

Method 

Cut the cold butter into cubes and keep it aside. 

In a bowl measure the flour and add a pinch of salt. 

Add the cold butter cubes to the flour and mix it in with your fingertips until it resembles bread crumbs.  

Make sure your hands are not getting warm as butter needs to be cold all the time.  

In another bowl mix egg yolk, milk and icing sugar.  

Add this egg yolk mixture to the bowl of flour and with a spoon and roughly bring it all together to make a rough ball.

Tip it on the worktop and make a dough without kneading much. It is important not to over work the dough and to keep the butter cold.

Shape the dough into a disc and wrap it in a cling film and refrigerate it for few hours or overnight if possible. 

Lightly dust the worktop and rolling pin with some flour. 

Take a 9 inch tart tin and lightly grease it with butter. 

Roll the disc to roughly 1/4 cm thickness and gently lift it and press it evenly on the tart tin and trim the edges.  

Chill the tart tin in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

Remove the tin from the freezer and with a fork gently prick to make few holes on the bottom of the tart. 

Line the tart tin with a parchment paper/foil or cling film and fill it with baking beans on top. 

Blind bake the tart with baking beans at 190 degree C for about 10 minutes. 

Remove the beans and bake the shell again for another 10 minutes or until its biscuity. 

Filling 

To make the filling break 5 eggs in a bowl, add sugar, lime juice and beat until mixed. 

Finally add lemon zest and give it a mix. 

Pour the filling on top of the shell and bake it in a preheated oven at 160 degree C for about 30 mins or until just set. 

Allow it cool down and them remove from tart shell and chill it until ready to serve !