christening

Indulge yourself with this ultimate chocolate cake recipe that is beautifully moist, rich and fudgy. Perfect for a celebration or an afternoon tea

Ultimate chocolate cake

dark chocolate (about 60% cocoa solids), chopped

butter, cubed

instant coffee granules

self-raising flour

plain flour

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

light muscovado sugar

golden caster sugar

cocoa powder

eggs

buttermilk

grated chocolate

double cream

Heat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Butter and line a 20cm round cake tin (7.5cm deep).

Put 200g chopped dark chocolate in a medium pan with 200g butter.

Mix 1 tbsp instant coffee granules into 125ml cold water and pour into the pan.

Warm through over a low heat just until everything is melted – don’t overheat. Or melt in the microwave for about 5 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Mix 85g self-raising flour, 85g plain flour, ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda, 200g light muscovado sugar, 200g golden caster sugar and 25g cocoa powder, and squash out any lumps.

Pour the melted chocolate mixture and the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir everything to a smooth, quite runny consistency.

Pour this into the tin and bake for 1hr 25 – 1hr 30 mins. If you push a skewer into the centre it should come out clean and the top should feel firm (don’t worry if it cracks a bit).

Leave to cool in the tin (don’t worry if it dips slightly), then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut the cold cake horizontally into three.

To make the ganache, put 200g chopped dark chocolate in a bowl.  Pour 300ml double cream into a pan, add 2 tbsp golden caster sugar and heat until it is about to boil.

Take off the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Cool until it is a little thicker but still pourable.

Sandwich the layers together with just a little of the ganache. Pour the rest over the cake letting it fall down the sides and smooth over any gaps with a palette knife.

Decorate with 50g grated chocolate or 100g chocolate curls. The cake keeps moist and gooey for 3-4 days.

This fruitcake slices into 50-80 small pieces if you use it for a wedding or christening. It's delicious eaten straight away, or poked with a few holes and fed with brandy

Rich fruitcake

brandy

sultanas

currants

raisins

glacé cherries, halved

candied peel

cinnamon

nutmeg

butter, softened

½ orange, zested

½ lemon, zested

½ tbsp black treacle

The night before, pour 75ml of the brandy over the fruit, cover and leave to sit, letting the fruit soak up the alcohol.

Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Line a deep, 25cm square cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment, then wrap a double layer of newspaper around the outside, so that it comes about 2.5cm above the sides of the tin, and secure with string.

Sift the flour, spices, cocoa powder and ½ tsp salt together. Mix a third of this mixture into the soaked fruit. Cream the butter, zests and sugar until light and fluffy, stir in the treacle, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold in half the remaining flour mixture. Once mixed, fold in the fruit mixture followed by the remaining flour mixture.

Spoon into the prepared tin, smoothing the top with a palette knife. Bake in the centre of the oven for 2 hrs 30 mins, checking the cake with 15 mins to go. When a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, it’s ready.

Leave to cool in the tin for 30 mins then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. To store, peel off the baking parchment, poke holes into the cake and feed with the remaining brandy. Wrap well in cling film. Will keep for three months.

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Ultimate chocolate cake

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Top 2 christening recipes from across the web

The most viewed christening recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Ultimate chocolate cake

Rich fruitcake

The most viewed christening recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine