December 20, 2006

CHOCOLATE SPONGE



This is the recipe I used to make our anniversary cake.

Ingredients:4 Eggs

1 cup Castor sugar

1 1/2 tbsp Butter/Margarine

2 1/2 tbsp Cocoa powder

4 tbsp Boiling water

1 1/4 cups Self rising flour(See note below for substitution)


Filling and topping:250 ml heavy cream/double cream/whipping cream

4 teaspoons Confectioners sugar/Icing sugar

Grated dark chocolate for decorating

Milk chocolate kisses or any other small chocolates to decorate

Method:Heat the oven to 350F/180 c.

Grease two 9 inch round pans with butter and line the bases.

Beat the eggs until the yolks and whites are combined well.

Add the sugar in 1/3rd portions and beat till the sugar dissolves and the mixture becomes lemon coloured and thick.This will take about 15 mins.

Now add the butter and cocoa powder to 4 tbsp of boiling water and stir well to dissolve.The mixture should be smooth and lump-free.

Add to the egg and sugar mixture and beat well to combine.Add the flour by the tablespoon,just sprinkle on top and fold gently,but smoothly.

Divide the mixture into the two tins and bake for about 20-25 mins.

Let cool in the pans for 5 mins ,then invert onto cooling rack and let cool completely before frosting.

Filling:Mix the confectioners/icing sugar into the heavy cream/double cream and put in the refrigerator along with your beaters for atleast 3-4 hours.The colder the cream is,the faster it will whip.

Whip until stiff peaks form.

Place one layer of the cake on the serving plate.Brush the top lightly with simple sugar syrup(See note).Then put a 1/3rd of the whipped cream on the first layer,spread with a spatula or knife until evenly spread.Place the second layer on it,and repeat the icing.

With the remaining cream,frost the top and sides.Smooth the surfaces. Sprinkle grated chocolate on top.Take some of the grated chocolate in your hand and stick to the sides.I suggest that you place 3 inch wide wax paper strips under the base of the cake just to catch these chocolate gratings so that you can reuse them.


Now put the remaining cream into an icing bag fitted with a star tip.(I used my icing gun to do this).Pile swirls on top and little shells or whatever other design you prefer on the sides of the cake at the base.Decorate the swirls with chocolate kisses.I used star shaped chocolate that I had on hand.


My Notes:Self rising flour is all purpose flour mixed with salt and raising agents.If you cannot find this,make your own at home:Take one cup of sifted all purpose flour(Sift first,then measure by putting the flour into the cup loosely and levelling off with a knife),remove 2 teaspoons of the flour, and add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.This makes 1 cup,you can make your own and store it for atleast a few months(depending on when the baking powder expires).

Instead of castor sugar,just grind granulated sugar in the food processor.That is what I did.Castor sugar is just finer grained that granulated sugar.

For making simple sugar syrup,just heat equal quantities of sugar and water(by volume,not weight) until it reaches boiling point.

I like the texture of this cake.The mixture will be thinner than normal cake batters and this makes fairly thin layers of cake.But the texture is really spongy and goes very well with the whipped cream.I hope you will enjoy it as much as my family did.







21 comments:

Dr. Soumya Bhat said...

Hey im visiting your site for the first time.Looks great.Hmm yummy...can i have a bite please

swapna susarla said...

hai vini
i am the first one here..
cake piece is looking really yummy....nice picture ....with ur new camera?:-)

FH said...

Vini, you are good baker.Heart shaped cake and then this sponge cake both are wonderful.You decorate well too.I am impressed!:))Thanks for the recipe.Sponge is low fat too.

Hope you had a great day on your WA!Enjoy.

Rajani Rayudu said...

Hi Vini
Belated anniversary wishes. May you too have all happiness and good times together.
This is the first time visiting and commenting. I love cakes especially with whipcream. yum... Yours sounds nice. I do plain ones. Thanx for sharing.
cheers
rajani

USHA said...

Hi Vini,

Wow!this is baking festival,just now filled with ashaji's receipes,, again here yours....

Thanks for sharing vini.

Vini K said...

Hello Dr Soumya,Glad to see you here.I had visisted your site thru Seema's,but didn't hhave much time then to actually comment.Will do next time.Welcome here!Sure,you can have the whole piece if you like!:))

Hi Swapna,How did you guess?Yes,the photo is taken from my new camera aka mobile as I still have not had a chance to buy batteries for my digital one.

Hi Asha,thanks for your encouraging words.Yes,the sponge does not have much saturate fat except for the yolks.Do try it.

Hi Rajani,Welcome to my blog,dear.Thank you for the wishes.Whipped cream is so easy to do,which is why I prefer this one.It is also yummy with sponge cakes.

Hi Usha,yes,christmas does usher in a lot of baking,doesn't it?I love baking,does not matter which time of the year.Thank you dear and do try this.

Menu Today said...

Hi Vini,
These days I too want to bake something.Cake looks spongy. Thanks for sharing.

KA said...

Great looking cake..anything with chocolate tastes great, doesn't it?

Mandira said...

Vini - first of all, belated wishes for your anniversary. Hope it was fun and have many more wonderful years ahead. The cake looks delicious, anything with chocolate and cream is my favorite ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi Vini,
That was an elaborate explanation.Great! Definitely your family must have loved it!

Seema Bhat said...

Hey Vini:
Yoooo hoooo here comes the recipe of the chocolate sponge cake. You know what frankly speaking I have been visiting to your blog so often from the time you anounced that u will be posting the recipe of that wonderful looking cake and here it comes
Thank you sooo very much vini
Cheers
seema

Vini K said...

Hi MT,yes,I think this season you always want to bake something...Hope you will enjoy this one too!Thank you.

Hi Krishnaarjuna(can I call you KA?:))Thanks,dear.I love anything chocolate.hence the choice of this one for the anniversary!:)

Hi Mandira,thanks a lot,dear.Try this,you will not be disappointed.:)

Hi Lakshmi,Thanks dear.Infact,the first cake disappeared so fast that I had to make another one just to take a proper photo!My hubby and kid love this one!:)

Hey Seema,what are you waiting for?Go on,make this cake and enjoy it!this is a good one and hopefully,will become a keeper in your repertoire!:))

LERA said...

cakes are my weakness.....yours looks delicious! Happy Holidays!

Vini K said...

Hey Lera,me too...I just love cakes.no need of any occasion for me to bake and eat!Happy Christmas to you too!

Lakshmi said...

thanks for sharing the recipe vini

Ashley said...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Great Blog!

Bong Mom said...

Great cake and your recipe is so clear and detailed Thanks a lot
Happy Holiday to You, Ananya and your hubby and the rest of the family

Anonymous said...

just wanted to wish you and your family a great xmas and a fab new year...have fun okay

Mrs. K said...

Hmm... I am craving for something chocolate-y!
The cake looks delicious.
Have you tried 'cake flour'? It is good for sponge cakes as well as rolls.

Vini K said...

Hi Lakshmi,you are always welcome,my dear,and do try it.

Hi Sandeepa,Thanks dear, and wish you a very happy new year too!

Hi RP,Welcome to my blog and thank you.Actually we donot get cake flour here in UK.it is only available in self rising type,so I have not used it until now.I use palin or all purpose flour, and occasionally the all purpose flour available in Indian grocery stores,as it tends to be bleached and softer than normal AP flour..Thanks for sharing the info though!Wish you a very happy new year.

Chicken Recipes said...

Cake looking Delicious thanks for share Recipes with us.