Chocolate cake with chocolate outside, chocolate inside and more chocolate in between

Pardon me, but the pictures do not do this chocolate cake any justice. Allow me to describe how it really is - it is a bed of chocolate sponginess for a creamy chocolate spread doused in chocolate icing. So yes, it has a lot of chocolate. And sugar and butter and all those mood-enhancing things. But the best part is, you need only to eat one slice, just ONE to get all the mood-enhancing benefits. And when it is dark and grey and drab outside or when one is feeling blah, this cake just lifts you. And contrary to the all the butter and sugar, this cake is a life-saver - it has saved me more than once from the depressing winter blues.

The recipe is taken off Nigella's Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake but I went freestyle on the icing. And although she called for 30% fat content sour cream, I took a leap of faith and used 10% Greek Yoghurt, just because that was all I had in the fridge. And it is a perfect substitute! So not only is this cake a mood-enhancing life-saver, now it is also good for you! (As if I need another reason to eat chocolate cake!)

So here it is folks, my version of Chocolate Cake with chocolate outside, chocolate inside and more chocolate in between.

My kids requested candles as decoration and blew them out ..oh about 20 times before we got to eat the cake!

 For the cake 

• 200 grams plain flour
• 200 grams caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 40 grams best-quality cocoa powder
• 175 grams soft unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 150 ml Greek Yoghurt (the thick kind) or Sour Cream

The Super Easy Method :  

• Put everything in a food processor and let it run for a few minutes until everything is mixed well into a brown batter. It should be of a thick consistency.

• Pour everything into a pan and slide into a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for about 25-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean and the cake is spongy.  

The Usual Mixer Method.

• Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl

• In another bowl, beat the soft butter (at room temperature) until you have a creamy mixture. Then add in the flour mixture.

• In yet another bowl, whisk the cocoa, greek yoghurt or sour cream, vanilla and eggs together and beat this into your bowl of flour and butter mixture.

• Pour everything into a pan and slide into a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for about 25-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean and the cake is spongy.

For the Icing

• 50 grams unsalted butter
• 125 grams 70% dark chocolate (broken into small pieces)
• 150 grams icing sugar
• 125 ml Greek Yoghurt or sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the butter and chocolate in a microwave. I microwave for 1 minute, stir to melt all the clumps and microwave for another minute or less until I get a smooth chocolate syrup that I cannot resist dipping a spoon into (and licking it clean)

In the meantime, blitz your icing sugar in the food processor to get rid of all the lumps. Or you can just sift it.

Finally, add all ingredients into the food processor and whizz away until you get a sticky decadent, chocolate cream. Or add everything into a bowl and mix away using a mixer or, an old fashioned hand-whisk.

Cool it off in a fridge (or outside on the balcony on winter day- to let winter know that your mood reinforcements are coming!)

The you are ready to spread it on the cake.

The Assembly


Let the cake cool and then cut into 2 halves, top and bottom. Make a chocolate cake sandwich with icing in the middle and then spread more chocolate icing generously all around. Decorate as you see fit. Or not as a chocolate cake is a gorgeous sight in itself. Cut yourself a big piece and enjoy with your cuppa! Mmmmm...

Tuna and grilled vegetables tart

It is Christmas market time again and the delicious smells are wafting the air. I think that is the best part, together with the glittering lights. If you are not familiar with Christmas markets in Germany, it is when the market squares are filled with stands selling food to eat and things to buy. And a skating rink or two if you are lucky. And talking about food, the air is constantly filled with delicious, and I mean delicious smells of food that somehow seems even more mouth-watering when smelt in the cold 0 degree air - sausages frying on a wood fire grill, soups in large pots, waffles baking in open ovens, various cinnamon and vanilla-filled treats topped with cherry jam and whipped cream, hot fruit punches punctuating the air with scents of orange and grapes -  the list goes on and on and I will add a few pics of the Heidelberg Christmas market in the upcoming posts, but right now, I just want to encourage your imagination (since nobody seems to do that anymore in this day and age of instant gratification!)

And one of the yummy treats that I like to eat at the Christmas market is called the Flammkuchen , which is kinda like a thin-crust pizza topped with creme fraiche and various toppings like the original of ham and onions, or my favourite of smoked salmon and roasted leek and another of grilled vegetable and feta cheese. But the problem of eating a Flammkuchen for me is, that I usually get bored after the 4th slice and then I will stop eating it, after which I will be hungry again an hour later since I basically have eaten 4 very thin slices of dough with a scant topping. So I have made this homage to the Flammkuchen using a thicker (puff) pastry and having more toppings. Once you have tried this version, feel free to substitute the vegetables and remember to spread the word coz everyone should know how to make something this delicious and easy!


For the topping :

1 small zucchini sliced thinly
1 small red capsicum/bell pepper in thin strips
A handful of chopped olives
2 cans of dolphin-friendly tuna in water or sunflower oil mixed with
As much mayonnaise as you want to drench your tuna in (I used 5 tablespoons!)
A sprinkling of grated parmesan


For the base :

The easy way - Use one pack of ready rolled puff pastry from the supermarket. This is the time to pat yourself on the back for being so clever.
 

Ready, set and roll out the dough!

Spread the tuna mayonnaise evenly over the dough. Arrange the zucchini, capsicum over it and artfully (or not) strew the olive pieces over everything. Take a step back and admire your edible painting. Then put in the oven at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the sides are nicely golden brown and the vegetables grilled. Take it out of the oven and sprinkle the grated parmesan and watch it melt deliciously over everything. Slice and serve with more salad if you want, or roll the slice and tell your children these are edible fingers. Crunch and munch and let it be known how easy deliciousness can be :-)