Donna Hay’s chocolate pound cake
This versatile chocolate pound cake recipe from Donna Hay can be restyled as individual mini desserts or as a special occasion layer cake.
It comes from The New Easy, the latest of more than 20 cookbooks published by Hay, which features short recipes divided into five chapters: week nights, weekends, sides and salads, baking, and desserts.
Ingredients
1 cup (100g) cocoa powder, sifted
2/3 cup (180ml) boiling water
250g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
2/3 cup (120g) brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 eggs
1 cup (150g) plain flour
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Chocolate glaze
100g dark chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (60ml) single (pouring) cream
Method
Preheat oven to 160°C. Place the cocoa and boiling water in a bowl and mix until smooth. Set aside.
Place the butter and both the sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high speed for 6 minutes or until light and creamy. Add the vanilla, eggs and cocoa mixture and beat until well combined. Add the flour and mix until just combined.
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Pour the mixture into a lightly greased 21cm x 10cm loaf tin lined with non-stick baking paper. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the chocolate glaze, place the chocolate, vanilla and cream in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until smooth. Cool slightly before spreading over the cooled cake to serve.
Serves 12
RE-STYLE
After dinner mini desserts
To make little cakes, bake the mixture in 12 x ½-cup-capacity (125ml) greased muffin tins for 25–28 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool and spoon over the chocolate glaze to serve.
Makes 12
Special occasion layer cake
To make a layer cake, slice the cake into 3 even layers. Whisk together 300ml double (thick) cream with 1 tablespoon sifted icing sugar and ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste. Spread the cream between the layers and spoon over the chocolate glaze to serve.
Serves 12
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