A Special Request

I received a special request a couple of weeks ago from my dear cousin, asking me whether she could come over to my house and teach her how to bake a birthday cake for her boyfriend on his birthday. Having received such a sweet intention to do something that is so close to my heart (baking for loved ones), how can I say no right. ;)

She requested for a chocolate cake, simple and not too complicated in case it fails, and less time-consuming so that she can fly off to meet her boyfriend after that. :D

I shortlisted some butter chocolate cake recipes and thought those should be quite safe. As least, I don't have to be afraid of cake sinking in the middle or uncooked cake as what I've encountered during my past failed attempts in making chiffons or spongecakes. Going through my limited collection of recipe books and photostated recipes, hey I found this velvet chocolate cake in my VCD I'd recently bought at Judy Koh's Creative Culinaire School.

What is special about this recipe is that it does not contain any eggs; instead it uses mayonnaise, the first time I've seen appearing in a cake recipe. This recipe uses a mixed-in method, but when covered with a layer of chocolate glaze, it was immediately transformed to an elegant cake suitable for special occasions. While I am recommending this recipe to her, I have never tried this recipe yet, so she shall be the first to test it out for me. :P

As I'd mentioned, this is a very easy cake as all you need to do is just to mix in and wet and dry ingredient, taking care not to over-mix it. All of a sudden, it felt so different when I actually stood by the side, guiding her along instead of doing it myself, ;) The best part was, there were still quite alot of chocolate glaze leftovers and we had fun eating strawberries coated with chocolate. Yum!

She bought some heart-sugar to decorate and I toasted some almonds for her.

Verdict? I think she likes how the cake turned out but "it was not very soft, but was edible". :D hmmm well, I guess I can only try for myself to know how "not very soft " it was, since it was not a chiffon/sponge cake base.

But I am posting the recipe in case you happen to have no eggs/but mayonnaise and may wish to give it a try. :) Do let me know how it turns out if you happen to try it. :)

Velvet Chocolate Cake

Ingredients A

105g sugar

120g plain flour

20g cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp bakig soda

Ingredients B

1 tsp vanilla essence

110g mayonnaise

110g buttermilk

Method:

1. Sieve ingredients A (except sugar). Place sieved ingredients and sugar in a mixing bowl.
2. Mix ingredients B together.
3. Using hand whisk. combine A and B together until just combined and quite smooth.
4. Pour mixture into a 7-inch baking tin (we used 5-inch heart shape tin), bake at 170°C for about 45 minutes or until cooked.
5. Unmould and leave it to cool on the wire rack.
6. Meanwhile, heat 200g dairy whipping cream. Add in 100g couverture chocolate and 200g semi sweet chocolate (chopped) and stir until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth.
7. Remove from the heat. The mixture will still be quite thin. Allow it to cool until thick and of pouring consistency, about 45 minutes.
8. Pour the glaze over the cake and decorate as desired.

Recipe Source: Judy Koh - Delightful Cakes