I received some bad news today. When everything is going wrong, chocolate cake is surely the answer.
This is very simple and I have made it at least 50 times and never screwed it up (apart from the time I almost forgot to include any sugar - an opportune taste test alerted me to the issue, thankfully). In fact this is actually my number one most baked recipe. Perfect for a time when you really don't know what to do with yourself. It comes from a book my mum has had for years called "Destitute Gourmet"(website here).
Dana's Chocolate Cake
I never even really measure everything exactly, it just seems to work.
Everything goes in one bowl in no particular order (sometimes if I feel like it I sift the dry ingredients first but it's not necessary) -
1 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
100g butter (entirely melted in the microwave)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Mix either by hand with a big wooden spoon or in an electric mixer until everything is smooth. The mixture is usually a bit runny. Pour into a lined tin (for some reason I have always found that a ring tin works best) and bake for 50 mins at 180 degrees, but check at 45!
