There seems to be as many different kinds of chocolate cake as there are views about what constitutes a good one. And you could argue that the world just doesn’t need another.
The thing is, chocolate cake requirements vary. Something mousse-like and flourless might be in order if you’re aiming for an impressive pudding (although mostly these are barely more than chocolate and cream, to which I say, just get your mouth around a piece of Valrhona and save your culinary energies for something else). To my mind, a proper chocolate cake requires a crumb. For children’s birthdays something robust is normally in order as a scaffold for lurid rolled-out icing on which to perch Noddy, Barbie or Thomas. Nigella does a terrific version in How To Eat. When I’m in WI mode a multi-decker confection with obscene quantities of buttercream can be worth the effort and the kitchen chaos. Or I sometimes turn to Bill Granger’s Holiday cookbook for his Never Fail Chocolate cake, which does what it says on the tin in a sensible kind of way, and is ideal for occasions when stress levels are high and minimal effort is required.
My super-quick spiced chocolate cake
Here, I set myself a little chocolate cake challenge: to devise the quickest and easiest chocolate cake possible using a food processor and no kitchen scales. (I unfailingly forgot to buy new batteries over the course of a week.) I’ve had mixed results with food processor cakes in the past (although my lemon drizzle cake works very well) because creaming the butter and sugar to fluffiness is less effective than with electric beaters. However, if the basis of your cake is something other than flour, and a light and airy sponge is not what you are aiming for, then terrific results really are possible.
This recipe contains some unusual ingredients but the result is terrific and really interesting. I threw the pomegranate molasses in as an experiment and was pleased to find it gives the cake a slightly rich, fruity undertone as well as enhancing its squidginess. The chilli salt is a lovely rebuttal to this sweetness and the amount I’ve suggested just gives depth of flavour with a hint of heat. In fact, it’s only when you tell someone there’s chilli in it that they register any chilli “heat” at all. If you can’t find chilli salt - I used a really delicious Spanish brand called Flor Del Delta that I bought from the deli section of my fishmonger Love Fish - use good sea salt flakes and a pinch of cayenne.
Speedy spiced chocolate and almond cake
- 150g quality dark chocolate (basically a large block), broken into small pieces
- 1 cup ground almonds
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
- 1/2 teaspoon chilli salt (or 1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes plus a punch of cayenne)
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 4 tablespoons self-raising flour (use gluten-free if you like)
Julia the fishmonger and I had a lovely time eating this cake (it’s a cross between a torts and a brownie, we concluded) while tasting samples from Sea Island Coffee. The problem was it was sent to me pre-ground for plungers or filters. I haven’t been domiciled with a coffee filter since my parents used one in the 70s (yes, yes, yes I know it’s the only chic way to drink your coffee these days, but not for me) and my plunger died recently. So we used Julia’s dear little filters she brought back from Vietnam. I know there are proficient ways to conduct your coffee filtering (for a head-spinning peek into coffee geekdom click here) and I don’t think we observed any of them. Nonetheless, the three coffees we tested were excellent and perfect examples of how different coffees can suit different occasions.
The Jamaica Blue Mountain, the most critically acclaimed of the three, was smooth and mellow but possibly we didn’t put enough in our little filters; while it was very tasty it didn’t pack the coffee punch that we had hoped for. Perhaps this one is good for later in the day. Geisha, an Ethiopian wild coffee grown in Costa Rica, was much punchier with a really deep and rich flavour. But our favourite was the 360 Reserva Cafe from Puerto Rico (only 1,000 bags are made annually), a full bodied coffee that really does engulf your mouth with a deep, almost chocolatey flavour. This is a really delicious coffee and absolutely perfect with our cake. Job done.
