Wholemeal Chocolate Cake

I had good intentions of posting this yesterday as it seemed just right for an Easter post. I didn’t manage it but wondered if I could do an Easter post today. This reminded me of one of our high school religion teachers – the one that everone knew had a hairy chest – trying to convince us that Jesus rose from the dead on the Monday. Well the Church said he died on Good Friday and rose on the third day so this made sense to her. However, try telling this to a classroom full of Catholic schoolgirls who had been celebrating Jesus rising from the dead on Easter Sunday every year of their lives.

When I told E this story, he said he would have explained it due to the time difference (ie it is Monday in Australia when it is Sunday in Israel). Looking back with a bit more wisdom than I had as a teenager, it makes me think we should have learnt that what was patently obvious to us was not necessarily part of everyone’s culture. The young can be so egocentric.

Just as we thought everyone knew about Easter Sunday, we thought everyone ate chocolate eggs to celebrate. I eat a lot less Easter eggs, these days, mostly because I think they are overpriced inferior chocolate. This doesn’t mean that Easter is not an excellent excuse for chocolate.

I haven’t baked a lot of chocolate goodies lately but suddenly fancied a wholesome chocolate cake. I was tempted by the Vegan Chocolate Spice Cake that I found in my blog index but then found a wholemeal chocolate cake in my notebook which I had enjoyed previously. I had all the ingredients in the house except the cream cheese for the frosting.

It made me laugh to see the recipe with my notes about needing more flour. I copied the recipe from a magazine soon after I moved into my first house. This was before I had discovered the vast array of chocolate cake recipes in this world. Back then, such a liquid batter seemed wrong because it was it was so unlike the buttercake batters I was used to. I now am unfazed by a very runny cake batter and it made for a fudgy and moist cake.

I was very pleased with this cake. The day after I made it I bought cream cheese because the frosting is one of my favourites. It is not very sweet and retains a little tartness of the cream cheese. It is worth making it but I enjoyed the cake without frosting when fresh. And because I thought it was a good Easter cake I photographed it with one of Sylvia’s bunny rabbits. If I was trying to impress I would like to serve it with edible glitter scattered over the frosting and mini Easter eggs dotted around the edge of the top. As we just ate it at home, I didn’t do fancy decorations but maybe will try to another year.

Wholemeal Chocolate Cake

⅔ cup cocoa
½ cup hot water
125g butter
1 cup raw sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tsp white vinegar
1½ cup wholemeal flour*

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:
125g cream cheese, softened
½ cup icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
1 tbsp cocoa

Dissolve cocoa in hot water in a small bowl or coffee cup. Cool to room temperature.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Gradually add cocoa mixture. Fold in milk, vinegar and flour in two batches. The batter will be very runny.

Pour batter into greased and lined 20cm round cake tin. Bake in moderate oven (180 C) for 60-80 minutes (it took me 70 mins). Stand 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Ice with frosting when cool.

To make frosting: beat the cream cheese til light and fluffy. Add icing sugar and cocoa.

*2013 NOTE: I was asked about the raising agent.   I gather this is wholemeal self raising flour but I have written here what I wrote in my notebook - apologies but this seems to be a mistake on my behalf!

On the Stereo:
Repeat: the best of, Vol II – Jethro Tull