The ultimate devil's food cakes

Of course I will make a pudding to go with the scones for lunch! A while ago, I made a,ot of recipes form the 'Bea's of Bloomsbury' cookbook and it has been laying on the shelf unloved so I have brought it back for the 'ultimate devil's food cake'. The picture in the book looks so rich and tempting, and being halloween soon it seemed as good a time as any to make devil's food...

Personally, I think the chocolate recipe in the Hummingbird is a bit nicer but once fridged and adorned with chocolate fudge icing, these are pretty moreish too.

Ingredients:
cake (makes 24) -
120g cocoa powder
250ml boiling water
125ml milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
125g unsalted butter, softened
275g dark brown soft sugar
165g caster sugar
125ml vegetable oil
4 eggs
280g plain flour
1 1.4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 170C. Put the cocoa powder in a bowl and add the boiling water. Mix well then stir in the milk and vanilla extract.
2. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and two sugars until fluffy. Slowly pour in the oil and mix then add the eggs one at a time and combine thoroughly.
3. In another bowl, combine the flour and bicarbonate of soda and sift twice. Add a third of this mixture to the bowl and mix. The add one third of the egg mix and combine. repeat until all is added.
4. Spoon into cupcake cases. (These don't rise so how far you fill them is what you get.) bake for about 20minutes.

Fudge icing:
250ml whipping cream
65g golden syrup
350g dark chocolate
1 tsp vanilla extract
75g unsalted butter, cubes and chilled

1. Bring the cream and golden syrup to boil in a saucepan. Put the chocolate broken up into a large bowl and pour the cream mix on top. Leave for 1 minute.
2. Whisk in the middle of the bowl, slowly combining the ingredients. Keep mixing until it turns glossy, this will take a few minutes.
3. Add the vanilla extract and butter and mix until combined.
4. Leave to firm up before adding it to the cooled cakes.

Pure indulgence.
#chocolate #beasofbloomsbury #fudgeicing #indulgence