My boss wanted me to blog about Stephanie Forrester, the Bold and Beautiful character who was finally killed off in the episode that aired here yesterday. (I’ll write that post another day, my dear leader!) Today is someone very special’s birthday, and you know what that means? Cake time!
Let me tell you about my chocolate cakes. They. Never. Rise. Ever. (Except for the Nigella Lawson Nutella cake I made last year — a birthday wish come true!) I’ve used fancy ovens, average ovens, ancient ovens. I measure carefully. Don’t overwork the mixture. Use the correct flour. Yet, no matter what I do, when they come out of the oven, my chocolate cakes resemble flying saucers. I’ve now embraced failure and consider height-challenged cakes my specialty!
My “world-famous” low cake! How low can it go? Two centimetres of cake + one centimetre of icing.
The original recipe for this chocolate coconut cake can be found on the most excellent Taste site. I rebelled a little against the list of ingredients — swapped normal self-raising flour for gluten-free self-raising (admittedly I almost forgot to put in the last 1/2 a cup of flour), brown sugar instead of caster sugar, and coconut milk instead of cow’s milk. The icing is made of pure deliciousness — 200 grams of mascarpone and approx 1/4 1/2 cup of Cadbury’s Drinking Chocolate powder. Can’t wait to have low cake for breakfast. It’s sure to give us a sugar high.
Happy birthday to my very special person! Enjoy your low cake! x
Filed under: cooking/baking, I should be writing Tagged: Cadbury's Drinking Chocolate, chocolate coconut cake, Nigella Lawson's Nutella cake, Taste.com
Um, Vanessa, I hate to say it but after years of working on food magazines and dealing with readers’ queries, I think that the reason your cakes don’t rise is that you are substituting ingredients in your recipes! Gluten-free flours are much denser than wheat flour and having no gluten makes a difference in rising. Brown sugar gives a different texture to caster sugar. But what the heck! It’s all about the taste and your low cake looks absolutely scrumptious–you can bake me one any time!
Thanks, Kandy! It’s always good to hear your expert tips on cooking and baking. I’ve used brown sugar for years… Unfortunately, that was my first time using gluten-free flour, so I think I still take the cake for being a maker of low cakes! But yes, this cake was delish, and some day I hope to make a full-height cake for you. xxx
Looks delish, Vanessa! Hope you and your special person enjoyed it!
Looks delish, Vanessa! Hope you and your special person enjoyed it! And Kandy’s observation that your cakes aren’t rising because you are substituting ingredients is hilarious! (And likely true.)
Thanks, Pintip! The cake was yummy despite its lack of height. I’m sure Kandy’s right about where I’ve gone wrong! Next time I’ll try following the recipe for a change!