Recipe for American Chocolate Cake (Mary Jo McMillin)
1 fl.oz milk
5 fl.oz boiling water or hot coffee
4 oz Irish butter, very soft
3½ oz soft brown sugar
3½ oz castor sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
4oz cream flour
Tiny pinch salt
½ teasp bread soda
Butter edges of two 7-inch cake tins and line bottoms with Bakewell paper.
Preheat the oven to 170C.
Put milk in measuring jug, fill to 6oz with boiling water or coffee.
Add cocoa and whisk to dissolve, set aside.
In mixing bowl cream the butter with the sugars. Add eggs one at a time, beating well. Add vanilla. Sift together the flour, soda and salt. Add to the creamed mixture alternatively with the cocoa liquid in three additions.
Divide the batter between the tins. Bake 20-25 minutes or until done. Remove from the tins and cool on wire racks.
:
4 fl.oz double cream
1 teaspoon honey
4oz chopped dark chocolate (semisweet or bittersweet)
Bring cream to a simmer with the honey. Remove saucepan from heat. Add chocolate and stir gently until melted. Cool until thickened enough to spread over cake.
This is truly a foolproof chocolate layer cake that is successful on both sides of the Atlantic - a favourite from Mary Jo’s cuisine.
