How to bake a moist chocolate cake

Moist chocolate cake is my most favourite cake. In this tutorial I show you how to bake this moist chocolate cake. I have tried a few recipes in the past and some are just not as moist as the recipe claim, or at least not to my liking, or quite simply they require too many ingredients to make it moist. I eventually found my ideal recipe after a few experiments and searching.

The sour cream in this cake makes it super moist as well as the fact that it uses oil which helps.  If you don’t have sour cream plain yoghurt will do. 

Over the years I have learnt to adapt recipes by using whatever I have in the house or fridge and not to go out to buy every single ingredient the recipe calls for. Sometimes through experimentation you can create a recipe even better than the original but I  only advise that for those who have a few years baking experience.  If you are new to baking I always recommend that you follow the recipe to the letter.

Ingredients

• 200g caster sugar
• 220g light muscovado sugar
• 100g  cocoa powder
• 270g plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon coffee powder or granules (if using granules dissolve them in the water)
• 240 ml warm water
• 120ml cup vegetable oil
• 240ml sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or a teaspoon of vanilla paste or seeds from a vanilla pod

Method

• Preheat oven to 180°Celsius
• Butter and line with grease proof paper two 8/9 inch round cake tins or nearest measurements.
• Mix all the dry ingredients except the muscovado sugar into one large bowl
• Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl and add the muscovado sugar to it and stir until the sugar has dissolved or it is no longer lumpy.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk, with a balloon whisk, until it is smooth.  You may need a hand-held electric whisk for this if you have one.
• Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and bake for about 35-40mins or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean
• Remove from the oven and let them rest on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before turning the cakes out onto a cooling rack, peel off the greaseproof paper and let them cool completely before icing.

For the Icing

• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 50g butter
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 300g icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon hot water
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Sprinkles (optional)

Method

• Melt the butter and golden syrup together with 1 tbsp water and add the vanilla extract
• Sift in the cocoa powder and salt
• Beat in the icing sugar, to make a smooth icing.
• Add a little extra boiling water if needed.
• Spread over the cool cake and sprinkle on some sprinkles
• Cut into some squares and serve.  You can be really creative with this.