Fudgy Dark Chocolate Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper. In a large bowl, beat all the cake ingredients together until you have a smooth, soft batter.
• Divide the mixture between the tins, smooth the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon, then bake for about 20 mins until golden and the cake springs back when pressed. Turn onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
• For the fudge frosting, heat the cream until it just begins to boil. Take off the heat and add butter, honey and chocolate (broken into pieces).
• Leave to melt for 5 mins, then stir briefly to combine - don't over-mix or it will lose its shine. Sandwich the cakes with a third of the just-warm frosting and spread the rest over the top and sides. Top with shaved or grated chocolate, if you like.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter or margarine and 2 1/2 cups brown sugar until well mixed. Add eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla and melted chocolate squares. Add 1/2 the sour cream and then 1/2 the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until well blended.
• Add the remaining sour cream and dry ingredients to the batter. Stir in boiling water.
• Bake in a greased 9 X 13 inch pan for 35 minutes.
• Let cool 10 minutes before icing.
• To Make Caramel Icing: First melt 1/2 cup butter in a saucepan. Stir in 1 cup brown sugar and boil about 2 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup milk and bring to a boil. Place pan in cold water and stir in the confectioners' sugar. Continue stirring until smooth. Spread over still warm cake.

Steps:

• For the cake:.
• Sieve the flour and cocoa powder and set aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar together until soft and light, stir in the orange rind.
• Break chocolate into a bowl (I recommend that you use 70% cocoa solid minimum), add boiling water and stir until the chocolate is melted and well blended.
• Lightly whisk the eggs and gradually beat into the butter and sugar mixture.
• Beat in the melted chocolate, and then fold in the flour/cocoa mixture with a metal spoon.
• Spoon the mixture into two greased and lined tins and bake at 180/350/Gas 4 for 25-30 minutes, until cake shrinks away from the sides of the tin.
• Allow to cool slightly in tins, and then turn out on wire rack. When cold, slice each cake horizontally to make 4 layers. Using a thin layer of jam, sandwich all layers of the cake together.
• Fudge coating:.
• Sift icing sugar and cocoa and set aside.
• Put the butter, water and caster sugar into a saucepan and heat gently, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a simmer.
• Pour the hot mixture into the sieved icing sugar/cocoa mixture; mix together until its thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Pour coating quickly over the cake; smooth over the sides. Leave to set before serving.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Oil a 23cm round cake tin, then line the base with baking parchment.
• Whizz the chocolate into small pieces in a food processor. Tip the flour, sugar, cocoa, oil, soured cream, eggs, vanilla, dissolved coffee and 100ml hot water into a large mixing bowl. Whisk everything together with electric beaters until smooth, then quickly stir in the whizzedup chocolate bits. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 50 mins-1 hr until risen and springy to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.
• To make the icing, beat the butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the icing sugar, cocoa and a drop of milk, and beat until creamy. Beat in more milk, if necessary, to loosen the icing to a spreadable consistency. Spread the icing over the top of the cake and sprinkle with crumbled Flake. The cake can be kept in an airtight container for 1-2 days.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Oil and line the base of two 18cm sandwich tins. Sieve the flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Add the caster sugar and mix well.
• Make a well in the centre and add the golden syrup, eggs, sunflower oil and milk. Beat well with an electric whisk until smooth.
• Pour the mixture into the two tins and bake for 25-30 mins until risen and firm to the touch. Remove from oven, leave to cool for 10 mins before turning out onto a cooling rack.
• To make the icing, beat the unsalted butter in a bowl until soft. Gradually sieve and beat in the icing sugar and cocoa powder, then add enough of the milk to make the icing fluffy and spreadable.
• Sandwich the two cakes together with the butter icing and cover the sides and the top of the cake with more icing.