Double-layered Chocolate Fudge Cake

Last updated Tue 26 Mar 16:28:01 2024 UTC

Here’s a delicious double-layered chocolate fudge cake that is something of my mum’s speciality. It’s complicated and I should warn that nobody has seemed to get it down as well as she has but it’s well worth the effort if you love chocolate and have the time and patience.

My late stepmum who only liked white ‘chocolate’ loved this cake! The picture below is after it’s been iced. The image cake.jpg was a feeble attempt at drawing IOCCC into the cake before icing, a different time. The picture below was taken for my birthday (14 February) in 2022 as it’s the best one I have:

There are two sets of ingredients and instructions; the cake and the icing. In addition there are some VERY IMPORTANT NOTES to pay attention to; some will be repeated because they’re VITALLY IMPORTANT for the quality of the cake. That cannot be overstated.

Below I have included the ingredients separately but I include them within the instructions as well and in bold. Also in bold are some of the special notes.

Finally note that depending on where you are in the world this might not work in the warmer months of the year and for the icing in particular.

Above all, ENJOY, and I’D LOVE TO SEE PHOTOS AND HEAR WHAT YOU THINK at @xexyl@fosstodon.org. Questions also welcome there of course. Please make sure to mention me so I get a push notification as I don’t check it very often. Thanks and again enjoy!

Measurements

This was originally taken from an American magazine for women so the measurements are in the US standards. There is a nice resource that has much more than just cooking). This will particularly matter for cups, teaspoons, tablespoons and ounces.

Baker’s chocolate

Baker’s chocolate is a brand name and the product in question is unsweetened chocolate bars used for baking. According to a chocolates FAQ it might be called different things:

Bitter chocolate contains no sugar and is often called ‘unsweetened’ or ‘baking’ chocolate. In some countries it’s called 100% cacao since it’s composed only of ground up cocoa beans, and nothing else.

The FAQ suggests that you might have to look for a baking supply shop but I cannot offer any specific advice other than it’s unsweetened chocolate bars for baking. The FAQ talks about what looks like substitutes but I have no idea what that would turn out as; I somehow suspect it wouldn’t be good.

Either way PLEASE STILL PAY ATTENTION TO ALL THE NOTES on the chocolate IN THE RECIPE and RECIPE NOTES BECAUSE THEY’RE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!

Special notes for the cake

PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THESE:

• USE MARGARINE! DO NOT USE BUTTER! Butter does not work well. If you think it will come out better by using butter you’re very mistaken; it will come out badly! People have come back saying it didn’t come out well and they are asked if they used butter or margarine. They had used butter because they ‘know better’ but they were very wrong and it is why the cake was ruined.

• Over the years they changed the size of the unsweetened chocolate squares; they used to be one ounce each; now they are 1/4 ounce each square so be sure to remember that THE AMOUNT IS BY OUNCE NOT SQUARES AS LISTED. See the measurements link if there’s any doubt.

• Pay careful attention to the COOK FOR ONLY THE INDICATED TIME part. Note that if your oven cooks a bit hotter you might have to adjust the timing a bit. This is likely the case if the cake comes out a little bit dry.

• REMOVE THE CAKE FROM THE PANS 2 MINUTES AFTER REMOVING FROM OVEN and then allow to FULLY COOL ON RACKS! The important point is to MAKE SURE THAT THEY DON’T OVERCOOK.

• When the recipe was first written they sold powdered sugar in a box; now it’s confectionery sugar in a bag. My mum experimented with the amount and found that 4 cups seems about right.

• USE WHOLE MILK! Don’t try skim milk or whatever per cent of fat milk you have.

• Use ONLY PURE VANILLA EXTRACT! DO NOT USE IMITATION VANILLA! Not following this rule will lead to a worse outcome.

Cake Ingredients

• 3 oz unsweetened (Baker’s) chocolate
• 2 and 1/4 cups flour
• 2 tbsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 and 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 and 1/2 tsp PURE VANILLA EXTRACT (NOT IMITATION VANILLA!)
• 1/2 cup MARGARINE (NOT BUTTER!)
• 1 cup (boiling) water
• 1 cup sour cream

Cake Preparation

1. Lightly grease TWO 9 x 1.5 INCH ROUND PANS; lightly dust with flour.

2. Preheat oven to 350 F / 176.67 C.

Cake Directions

1. Melt 3 OZ UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE in double boiler or small bowl over hot (BUT NOT BOILING) water; let cool whilst proceeding.

2. Sift 2 and 1/4 CUPS FLOUR, 2 TSP BAKING SODA, and 1/2 TSP SALT

3. Beat 1 STICK MARGARINE (NOT BUTTER!) in large bowl until soft. Again MARGARINE, NOT BUTTER!

4. Add 2 and 1/4 CUPS PACKED BROWN SUGAR and 3 EGGS. Beat until light and fluffy.

5. Beat in 1 1/2 TSP PURE VANILLA EXTRACT (NOT IMITATION VANILLA!) and COOLED MELTED CHOCOLATE.

6. Stir in dry ingredients alternately with 1 CUP SOUR CREAM; always beat until smooth.

7. Stir in 1 CUP BOILING WATER.

8. Pour into prepared pans.

9. Bake for ONLY 35 MINUTES (NO LONGER!) at 350 F / 176.67 C.

10. When you take the cake out put the cake pans on a cooling rack for **_ONLY TWO MINUTES AND THEN IMMEDIATELY TURN CAKES OUT ON TO RACK. Let COOL COMPLETELY!**

Icing Ingredients

• 4 oz unsweetened chocolate (Baker’s chocolate)
• 1/2 cup MARGARINE (NOT BUTTER!)
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 tsp PURE VANILLA EXTRACT (NOT IMITATION VANILLA!)

You will also need a bigger pan or bowl that can have ice water that the icing bowl can sit in.

Special notes for the icing

PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THESE:

• MAKE SURE that the melted chocolate and MARGARINE (NOT BUTTER!) do not get solid.

• For step #4 put 8 to 10 ICE CUBES in a pan or big bowl (that’s big enough that another bowl can fit in it). ADD AN INCH OF WATER and SET THE BOWL WITH THE ICING IN THE PAN OR BOWL of ice water. DO NOT LET THE ICING GET WET!

• DO NOT LET ICING GET TOO THICK.

• USE WHOLE MILK! Don’t try skim milk or whatever per cent of fat milk you have.

• Use ONLY PURE VANILLA EXTRACT! DO NOT USE IMITATION VANILLA! Not following this rule will lead to a worse outcome. As I recall the icing was quite a bit worse (but still chocolaty at least) the times we had imitation vanilla (simply because we couldn’t get pure vanilla at the time we needed it). Just don’t do it.

Icing Directions

1. Combine 4 OZ UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE and 1/2 CUP MARGARINE (NOT BUTTER!) in pan. Melt and remove from heat. DO NOT LET IT GET SOLID!

2. Combine 3 1/4 CUPS POWDERED SUGAR, 1/2 CUPS WHOLE MILK and 2 TSP PURE VANILLA EXTRACT (NOT IMITATION VANILLA!)** into a bowl. STIR UNTIL SMOOTH.

3. Add chocolate mixture.

4. Set bowl in pan/bowl of ice and water. Beat with spoon/mixer until it’s thick BUT not too thick. Make SURE ICING DOES NOT GET WET! The idea is to MAKE THE BOWL IT’S IN COLD BUT TO NOT LET THE ICING GET WET!

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