The Chocolate cake

This chocolate cake has a long history but I will simplify it. The fist time I tried this cake was in Japan in a friend's house. She found this recipe in a Peruvian cooking book and for first time in my life I really enjoyed a chocolate cake. Inside it is moist and it isn't too sweet. When we left Japan my friend (Chavelita) gave us the Peruvian recipe book, and now it is my precious :).



For me, this chocolate cake had the perfect balance between sweetness and chocolate bitterness. I baked it this time because it was my friend's birthday and he loves the chocolate cakes.
If you are chocolate addict this is your recipe. You can't stop eating!

The time to prepare this great chocolate cake is 1 hour and half approximately. This cake is for 10 to12 persons it is up to you.
For this chocolate cake you need:

Cake:

• 3 eggs 
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups flour 
• 2 tsp bicarbonate 
• 1 cup pure cocoa powder
• 1tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups sugar

Chocolate fudge:

• 1 can condense milk
• 1 can evaporated milk, if you can't find it use instead 2 cups normal milk.
• 170 gr pure cocoa powder (dissolved in 1 cup of hot water)
• 1 tbsp golden syrup, it is optional 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp butter

Pre heat the oven at 180 °C. Please follow the steps strictly one after the other as the process helps to get this cake moist inside.

Cake:

In a bowl sift the flour, bicarbonate, cocoa powder and salt and set aside.

In another bowl, mix the milk with the vinegar. The milk will coagulate, but this is normal and the way it should go.

Add to the milk now the eggs, vanilla extract and vegetable oil and mix well.

Now pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients, but do not add the sugar yet!

When you mix it, the consistence is a bit like a dough but don't worry it is normal.

Now is time to add the sugar. Mix it really fast but not completely. The sugar doesn't have to dissolve completely in the dough, that way you get the desired moist inside the cake after baking.

The mix is now ready.

Use a round mold and butter it. I usually cover the bottom with kitchen paper as it makes it easier to remove from the mold later.

Spread all the mixture in the mold and bake it from  50 minutes to 1 hour approximately. To check if the cake is well cooked, stick a knife or wooden stick in the middle. If the stick comes out clean, the cake is ready. If you see still uncooked dough, bake it still for some minutes more. When ready, let it cool down and remove from the mold.

This is our cake. I like to turn the cake upside down so it shapes better and it is easier to cover with the fudge.


Chocolate fudge:

Dissolve the cocoa powder on hot water.

In a pot place the condensed milk, evaporate milk, vanilla extract and golden syrup. Add the cocoa mixture.

Cook it at medium heat until it becomes thick. It might take about an hour. You have to steer it all the time because the bottom can get burnt easily. As a good tip, whenever you start to see the bottom of the pot while steering, the sauce is thick enough and ready.

At last add the butter and mix well. The chocolate sauce is now ready. Let it cool down completely before spread it on the cake. It would be even better if you put it in the fridge for 3 hours or more before using it.

You are almost ready. Cover the cake with the fudge and, if you like, decorate the top with strawberries or shredded coconut, let your imagination free.

This chocolate cake is my favorite, and my friends love it. You can also make chocolate muffins with the same recipe; it is a good option too. You can use just half of the recipe in that case for 16 small muffins.

One of my cravings is to have this chocolate cake with sparkling wine like Cava or Champagne (brut nature or brut). These wines pairs really very well with this cake as well as with dark chocolate. Very soon I will also write a recipe to prepare chocolate truffles.

Hope you enjoy this chocolate cake and if you have some advices or you can help me to improve any of my recipes just let me know.

Thanks you! See you in my next post :)