The best chocolate cake....EVER

Ok, maybe not ever, but I swear by this recipe. I originally discovered it when reading In My Kitchen: Food for Family and Friends by Annie Bell. It is a fantastic book, and this recipe is one of the many that I have tried.

Based on Annie's 'Cupcake Mountain' recipe, I have taken her chocolate version and added some vanilla. What makes the cake so light is the addition of beaten egg whites, which makes the cake very light and fluffy.

Here is the cake I made this morning; my house now smells of wonderful, sweet chocolate.



If you would like to try out Annie's recipe then see below. Alternatively you could buy her book - it's one of my favourites.

Annie Bell's Cupcake Mountain (the chocolate version) - with a splash of vanilla

225g Unsalted butter
225g Golden caster sugar
3 Medium eggs, separated (whisk the whites)
150ml milk
1tsp Vanilla extract
225g Plain Flour
50g Cocoa powder
2tsp Baking powder
1/4tsp salt

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 170C fan oven/180c electric/gas 4
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a food processor; the mixture should turn almost white
3. Incorporate the egg, followed by the milk and vanilla extract. Keep beating until it is thoroughly mixed. Don't worry if it looks like it has split, it will all come back together once you have added the dry ingredients
4. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl
5. Sift the dry ingredients twice, and then incorporate (in thirds) in to the butter mixture
6. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and then fold in two goes in to the mixture (be as light as you can)

Either fill 24 cake cases or (and this is what I do) pour in to six cake cases for a quick treat and the rest in to a greased sponge loaf tin.

Bake the cup cakes for 15 - 20 minutes.
Bake the sponge loaf for 45 - 50 minutes. To check if the cake is cooked slide a thin knife in the centre, if there is no wet mixture on the knife it is ready.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I always do.

You can also turn this cake in to a wonderful lemon cake:

Replace the 50g of cocoa with 50g plain flour
Grate the zest of 1 large or 2 small lemons in to the butter mixture