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Angela Hartnett’s heavenly slice
Serves 12
Prep:
Cook:
plus cooling time (30 minutes)
This recipe is inspired by my friend Randall, he lives across the road from us and is a great baker. At university he worked at a chocolate shop and became the fount of all knowledge on all things chocolate. After being disappointed with so many cakes he came up with this one. Here's my version of it.
Skip to ingredients
- 210g plain flour
- 90g cocoa powder
- 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 250g caster sugar
- 250ml sour cream
- 125ml vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 125ml freshly brewed hot coffee(a strong instant coffee is fine)
For the chocolate buttercream
- 125g 54% dark chocolate(70% dark chocolate is fine, if that's all you can find), chopped, plus optional extra to decorate
- 200g unsalted butterat room temperature, plus extra for greasing
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp whole milk
- 125g icing sugarsifted
Nutrition: Per slice
- kcal604
- fat35g
- saturates16g
- carbs64g
- sugars49g
- fibre3g
- protein6g
- salt1.04g
Method
step 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4. Butter two 20cm (5cm deep) round cake tins and line the base and sides with baking paper.
step 2
Sift the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add the sugar and mix everything together thoroughly with a whisk.
step 3
In another bowl, combine the soured cream, oil, eggs and vanilla. Gradually add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry, using a wooden spoon to mix gently after each addition until just combined. Then, add the coffee and stir to combine. Take care not to over-mix - just combining is fine. And don't forget to scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl. Divide the cake mixture equally between the prepared tins and bake for 40 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre of each sponge comes out clean. Cool in the tins for 30 minutes, then turn out the sponges on to a wire rack to cool completely.
step 4
Meanwhile, make the buttercream. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir until just melted, then remove from the heat and set the bowl aside until the chocolate has cooled to room temperature.
step 5
Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. Add the vanilla and milk and beat again for a few minutes. Turn the mixer speed to low and gradually add the icing sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. On low speed, add the chocolate to the butter mixture and mix until combined.
step 6
Spread about one third of the buttercream in an even layer over the top of one of the sponges and top with the second sponge. Use the remaining buttercream to coat the top and sides of the cake, smoothing it out evenly. Grate a little extra chocolate over the top to decorate, if you wish.
