Chocolate Tarantula Experience (NB no arachnids harmed during the making of this cake)

No spiders here thanks - Not exactly scared, just don't like them.
However this is my mother-in-law's recipe for what the family always refer to as Tarantula. The real name is lost the mists of time. If anyone recognises it I would be delighted to know.


Ingredients
120g dark chocolate
120g butter
150g caster sugar
200g ground almonds
50g cocoa powder
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
Preheat the oven to 150 C / Gas 2. 150 Degrees C

Grease a 20cm round cake tin, and dust with cocoa powder.
In the top of a double boiler over gently simmering water, melt chocolate and butter. (Lazy person cheat - microwave until liquid) Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, ground almonds, cocoa powder, eggs, chopped walnuts, choppedcherries and vanilla. Pour into prepared cake tin.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Let cool in tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Pop a half walnut and half cherry on alternating slices
Slices can also be reheated for 20 to 30 seconds in the microwave before serving.
Word to the wise - cut this into slices whilst still hot. It is very dense to cut when cooled - if you do not wish to serve it pre-sliced at the very least score whilst still warm

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

Birthday cakes - where to start. Eveybody has a different favourite and to be honest, this would NOT be mine. Whilst I am a massive chocolate fan I like mine in bars. And I like sponge cake with creamy fillings. Even if there is chocolate frosting I would always plump for a vanilla sponge - maybe boring but it's my kind of boring.

Not so others - and as this cake was not for me I went scrumbling around for a chocolate cake that I could perhaps combine with raspberries to cut through some of the sweetness.

I used to have a recipe for a chocolate fudge cake which I could not lay hand on, and one of the favourite all time cakes of the birthday boy is a chocolate/almond/sugar confection normally referred to within the family as a tarantula. Not it's real name and when I lay hands on that recipe I shall post that too.

Anyway, back to todays project: I found a recipe on the BBC Good Food website by Angela Nilsen and decided to give it a go. It had great reviews and it lived up to every one.

For the chocolate I used Willies Supreme Cacao with forest fruits. 100% cacao and 100% delicious. You can get it in Waitrose.

The original recipe calls for a ganache icing but I substituted Betty Crocker's Chocolate Fudge icing - a massive fave of the recipient. I also used whole milk rather than buttermilk as I had forgotten to aquire any - it was of no obvious detriment to the finished product.

The only problem, is that the cake is waaay too big to get into any of my cake boxes but as it's size is diminishing fast I doubt that will be a problem for long

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS

200g good quality dark chocolate, about 60% cocoa solids (I used 100% for extra chocolately goodness)

200g butter, cut in pieces

1 tbsp instant coffee granules

85g self-raising flour

85g plain flour

1⁄4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

200g light muscovado sugar

200g golden caster sugar

25g cocoa powder

3 medium eggs

75ml buttermilk (5 tbsp) (I used whole milk)

I tub of Betty Cocker Chocolate Fudge icing

METHOD

1. Butter a 20cm round cake tin (7.5cm deep) and line the base. Preheat the oven to fan 140C/conventional 160C/ gas 3


2. Break the chocolate in pieces into a medium, heavy-based pan. Tip in the butter, then mix the coffee granules into 125ml/4fl oz cold water and pour into the pan. Warm through over a low heat just until everything is melted - don't overheat. Or melt in the microwave on Medium for about 5 minutes, stirring half way through.


3. While the chocolate is melting, mix the two flours, bicarbonate of soda, sugars and cocoa in a big bowl, mixing with your hands to get rid of any lumps.


4. Beat the eggs in a bowl and stir in the milk.


5. Now pour the melted chocolate mixture and the egg mixture into the flour mixture, stirring just until everything is well blended and you have a smooth, quite runny consistency.


6. Pour this into the tin and bake for 1 hour 25- 1 hour 30 minutes - if you push a skewer in the centre it should come out clean and the top should feel firm (don't worry if it cracks a bit). Leave to cool in the tin (don't worry if it dips slightly), then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.


7. When the cake is cold, cut it horizontally and liberally apply raspberry jam - preferably not too sweet.


8. Spread Betty Crocker icing all over top and down the sides


9. Decorate with grated chocolate and fresh raspberries.


10. The cake keeps moist and gooey for 3-4 days.

Birthday candles were also freely applied - couldn't use the right number or I could have burned the hosue to the ground sp they were more symbolic than literal.

This was a very easy recipe to follow and the cake is everything you could ask for in a a gooey chocolate birthday cake. For those who walk on the chocolate side, cross the road to this recipe now. You'll be glad you did. Even I liked it.