Recipe by Vicki Ravlich-Horan, Images by Brydie Thompson
This is the cake I pull out for most birthday celebrations, so why not for Nourishes 14th birthday edition. One, it’s very easy to make, and two, it stays beautifully moist for several days, so you can easily make it a day or two ahead of time. It freezes well and if you have a large party in mind, double the mix and cook in a large baking dish for a sheet cake that is easy to decorate and slice.
1¾ cups flour
2 cups sugar
¾ cup cocoa
1½ tsp baking powder
1½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
3 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Place all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and mix with an electric beater on medium for 2 minutes until smooth. Finally, stir in the hot water.
Pour the batter into a greased 21cm round cake tin and bake at 165°C for approximately 1 hour or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Note: The batter will be very thin, which causes problems if you are using a spring form tin. If you don’t have a cake tin with a solid base you will need to line the outside of the tin with a couple of layers of tin foil to stop the batter from oozing out. As insurance I would also put the cake tin on an oven tray just in case.
Whipped Ganache
250g dark chocolate, chopped
25g butter, diced
160ml cream
Place the chocolate and butter into a bowl. Heat the cream up in a small saucepan or the microwave until almost boiling. Pour the cream over the chocolate/butter and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until you have a smooth ganache, then refrigerate for about 30 minutes, stirring often.
Once the ganache is cooled but at a spreadable consistency, place it into a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and beat until light and fluffy.
Spread a thin layer over the top of the cake, then transfer the mix to a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe kisses on top.
If the ganache sets on you too quickly, you can melt the mix down, cool and whip it up again.
