Chocolate birthday cake

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Good Food

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Recipe by Good Food

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1. Video tutorial: Melting chocolate

1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line the base of a 18 x 28cm cake tin or tray. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl; beat together with electric hand beaters until light and fluffy. add the eggs a little at a time, beating well between each addition.
2. Sieve the flour, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl, then tip in any bran left in the sieve. Pour in the natural yogurt. Stir everything to a smooth mixture and spoon into the prepared tin. Bake for 20-25 mins until just firm and shrinking away from the sides of the tin. Cool in the tin for 5 mins, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
3. For the icing, sieve the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl, then pour in the butter and 2 tbsp just-boiled water. Stir together to a smooth, spreadable consistency. if it's too stiff, very carefully add a little more boiling water, drop by drop.
4. Spread the icing over the top of the cake, using a palette knife dipped in hot water. Will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
5. Melt the chocolates in three different bowls in the microwave on High for 1 min or over a pan of simmering water. Spoon the melted chocolates into three plastic disposable piping bags. Snip the ends off and pipe 12 simple shapes on top of the cake. Leave to set. Just before serving, cut the cake into 12 squares and push in the candles.

Per serving

432 kcalories, protein 6g, carbohydrate 65g, fat 18 g, saturated fat 10g, fibre 3g, salt 0.41 g

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• Andrea

  01 November 2007

  Andrea rated this recipe

  

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• Andrea

  01 November 2007

  Andrea commented on this recipe

  A great easy-to-make cake that the kids love!

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• Maria

  01 November 2007

  Maria commented on this recipe

  I tried it on my son's birthday. All the guests were impressed. It was so tasty and soft. I make this cake very often.

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• SAIR

  19 November 2007

  SAIR rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Made this cake with my daughter for my Dad's birthday. I didn't use Wholemeal self-raising flour, but everybody commented on how lovely it was and asked for the recipe. Would definitley make again, especially for kids birthday cakes!

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• lindad4a

  16 December 2007

  lindad4a commented on this recipe

  I'm sure it's delicious... but I tried making it with gluten-free flour and it was a complete disaster! It looked and smelt marvellous when it came out of the oven - but crumbled (literally) as soon as I did anything more than look at it!

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• Lucetta

  06 January 2008

  Lucetta rated and commented on this recipe

  

  This is a lovely cake. I have made it twice now and it worked fantastically both times. Icing makes it very sweet though, so covered it in melted chocolate the second time and this seemed to suit both childrens and adult tastes better. The wholemeal flour seems to help keep the cake moist for longer (not that it lasts very long in our house).

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• fay

  11 January 2008

  fay rated and commented on this recipe

  

  One of the easiest cakes I've ever made. Didn't use the wholemeal flour and cake was still moist. Only used 220g of normal icing sugar for the icing and less water and there was more than enough to cover the cake. Will definitely make again.

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• fay

  11 January 2008

  fay commented on this recipe

  One of the easiest cakes I've ever made. Didn't use the wholemeal flour and cake was still moist. Only used 220g of normal icing sugar for the icing and less water and there was more than enough to cover the cake. Will definitely make again.

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• Christine Gordon

  12 February 2008

  Christine Gordon rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Have made this cake many times and seems to be better each time! So easy. I only use half the amount of the topping and it is plenty

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• joannepeake

  27 February 2008

  joannepeake commented on this recipe

  I don't agree that 1/2 amount of topping is sufficient - I tried this & it didn't cover the cake, but 3/4 is plenty. It makes great portion sizes for children. I used a dolly mixture sweet on each square which was much quicker. Great quick cake & very popular with children. A little goes a long way.

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• Wendy

  01 March 2008

  Wendy rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Made this cake today for a family birthday. Even the non-cake eater loved it! Tantalisingly moist and rich. I used normal caster sugar, cooking margarine and white flour and it was still yummy. Didn't do the topping, just topped with melted chocolate and my little boy added white chocolate buttons for that kitsch birthday effect! Perfect!

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• Collette

  09 March 2008

  Collette rated and commented on this recipe

  

  This is really good cake - moist and chocolatey. The icing is very sweet but the sponge isn't so it balances great. So easy - I would make again for sure.

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• Sarah

  16 March 2008

  Sarah commented on this recipe

  I mae this for my nieces 13th birthday and it went down a storm, nice and moist. The icing was a little too sweet for the adults but the kids loved it. Doubled the receipe to accomodate a large family and it turned out great!!

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• Yun-Mi

  03 April 2008

  Yun-Mi commented on this recipe

  Want to make this for my son's birthday, but how much bicarbonate of soda should I use though?

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• Sarah

  04 April 2008

  Sarah commented on this recipe

  I would suggest a level teaspoon full of bicarbonate of soda.

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• Giggles!

  14 April 2008

  Giggles! commented on this recipe

  I know this may sound daft, but I'm having difficulty in finding the right size tin! Where can I find one? Thanks!

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• Mehdi72

  19 April 2008

  Mehdi72 commented on this recipe

  Giggles! It's not daft, you won't find a 18 x 28cm tin in the high street. Use a deep 9 inch square tin and bake for 35-40 minutes. I made two batches, once with the cocoa and one without for a double layer sponge. Didn't even last 2 days!

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• Giggles!

  23 April 2008

  Giggles! commented on this recipe

  Thanks very much for that! Will have a go!

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• BB

  28 April 2008

  BB commented on this recipe

  do you think this cake would be nice if it didnt have the icing as i am planning to decorate is another way. someone mentioned it wasnt so sweet.

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• Kath

  25 May 2008

  Kath commented on this recipe

  Made this cake yesterday it was very popular, even managed to tempt my son away from his xbox with this. I used the wholemeal flour but didn't have any self raising so I added 2 teaspoons of baking powder. The reipe also doesn't give a quantity for the bicarbonate of soda so I used 1 tsp which seemed to work fine. I also used plain icing sugar.

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Ingredients

• 140g butter , plus extra for the tin
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 225g self-raising wholemeal flour
• 50g cocoa powder
• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 250g natural yogurt

TO DECORATE

• 300g golden icing sugar , sieved
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder , sieved
• 1 tbsp butter , melted
• 3-4 tbsp boiling water
• 50g each white, plain and milk chocolate , broken into squares

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Difficulty and servings

Serves 12

Preparation and cooking times

Prep 20 mins

Cook 25 mins

Un-iced

Ingredients

• 140g butter , plus extra for the tin
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 225g self-raising wholemeal flour
• 50g cocoa powder
• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 250g natural yogurt

TO DECORATE

• 300g golden icing sugar , sieved
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder , sieved
• 1 tbsp butter , melted
• 3-4 tbsp boiling water
• 50g each white, plain and milk chocolate , broken into squares

Per serving

432 kcalories, protein 6g, carbohydrate 65g, fat 18 g, saturated fat 10g, fibre 3g, salt 0.41 g

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