Probably the best (if slightly wonky) Chocolate Cake in the World Ever.

I am going to preface this post with the fact that I don't really like Chocolate Cake. I find it is often dry or just a bit sickly. Give me a Victoria Sponge or Lemon Drizzle any day of the week, I will never ever chose chocolate cake from a menu, and I rarely make it. That being said, this is without a doubt the best chocolate cake I have ever had. If I could be assured that all chocolate cake would be this light, fluffy and moist I would rethink my anti-chocolate cake stance.

Some lovely friends of ours were planning to come over on Sunday, we hadn't seen them in a long time so I decided to make them their favourite cake; chocolate. I decided to go all out and make something a little bit special, a showstopper, a cake with the wow-factor, something which would show how much we love them. I am a big fan in showing affection with food...

When I think of showstopping cakes, which are not only pleasing to the eye but also crazy tasty, I think of one blogger; Sarah from The Sugar Hit. Seriously, if you are not following her blog, go rectify that right now, I'll wait here while you do...

Done?

OK...

I am not going to post the full recipe here, as its already on Sarah's blog, and is hers to share. I will however, share my couple of tweaks and my experience making it.

Now, my cake is not quite as high, or straight as hers but it is mighty tasty and those little cracks and slight slope to the left is what makes it intrinsically me. Who needs perfection when it is made with love?

The best way I can describe the texture of the cake is a chocolate cloud. It is light and airy with bags of flavour. I did make a couple of tweaks to the recipe based mostly on what I had (or didn't have) in the cupboard. I subbed out the vanilla bean paste for a tiny bit (25ml approx) of strong brewed coffee; which I think just brings out the intense chocolate flavour, rather than adding a coffee flavour.
I also used milk chocolate rather than 70%, I was worried the darker chocolate might not be everyone's cup of tea, and that it might be a bit strong for Zoe.

I used my Kitchenaid with the paddle attachment to make the whole thing, and it worked a treat. It did feel a bit crazy adding water to an already quite wet cake mix, and I was a bit nervous about how it would turn out, but it totally worked! I am not sure what the science is (if you know, please comment) but I'm guessing the wetness of the mix helped with the overall moistness and even rise (I didn't have to trim it at all before stacking)

Having said that I am not a huge lover of chocolate cake, the frosting on the other hand I could eat with a spoon! It is fudgey but not too sickly, the sour cream adds another dimension, takes the sweet edge off slightly. I will definitely be making it again, I'd love to experiment with some other flavours, orange or nutella would be insane!

I was tempted to cover the entire cake with frosting, but in hindsight I am glad I didn't as it would have been a little too much. I really want to try piping it onto cupcakes next.

I topped the whole thing off with some chopped chocolate, because you know, there wasn't enough chocolate in there already. This is definitely a chocoholics dream. If I was to make it again (which I most definitely will) I would use slightly smaller tins (I used 25cm) to try and get more height and I'd also put more frosting between the layers so it is more visible squidging out the sides.

Sadly, our lovely friends had to cancel due to illness, so I now have a HUGE cake to share if anyone wants some? Seriously, what am I going to do with all this cake?!