{Belgian Chocolate Cake}

Last night I attended the second meet-up of the Glasgow Bake Club. Unfortunately I was feeling rotten (I had such a sore head, my own fault as I think I was dehydrated as I just had two cups of tea all day at work - oops!) and left just after the introductions. Anyway, the theme for the event was 'Time for a Bakeation' and attendees were asked to bake a dish inspired by a holiday destination. I can bake cupcakes easily, but baking large cakes is rather new to me, so I wanted something that was going to be easy... so I picked Chocolate Cake. And to make sure I stuck to the theme, I made Belgian Chocolate Cake!! Yum!

If anyone there tried my cake, you can let me know what you thought! I left after just half an hour or so and didn't get to try any of the cakes. I'm really disappointed as I was really looking forward to it.

Here's the recipe that I used, from 'Baking with kids' by Linda Collister.

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For the cake:

250 g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

a pinch of salt

100 g dark Belgian chocolate

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

100 mL water (very hot but not boiling)

175 g unsalted butter, softened

250 g caster sugar

3 large free-range eggs

200 mL plain yoghurt (whole milk or low-fat but not fat-free)

For the icing:

100 mL double cream

50 g milk Belgian chocolate

50 g dark Belgian chocolate

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Here's the gist...

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degC (325 degF) or Gas 3.

2. Grease the inside of a 22.5 cm diameter cake tin with butter and line the base with greaseproof paper.

3. Sieve the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl. Put the bowl to one side until needed.

4. Break up the plain chocolate and place in a large heatproof bowl. Mix in the cocoa powder. Pour over the hot water. Stir until smooth and melted. Put the bowl to one side until needed.

5. Put the butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat well.

6. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture and beat really well until smooth.

7. Pour the melted chocolate into the mixture and mix well. Add the yoghurt and flour and continue to mix until you have a smooth, uniform cake batter.

8. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and spread evenly.

9. Bake for 55 minutes. Leave to cool for 5 minutes then remove from the tin before allowing to cool completely. Don't worry if it sinks a little.

10. To make the icing, heat the cream in a saucepan until scalding hot. Break up the milk and dark chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Pour over the cream and stir until smooth. Leave to cool, it will thicken as it cools.

11. Turn the cake upside down on a serving dish. Spread the icing over the cake to cover it completely. Decorate with sprinkles and sweets if you like. Store in an airtight container and eat within 5 days.

For the other mums out there, I'd totally recommend this book. I've made the chocolate cake and the scones, but there are savoury recipes too and they all look delicious. The recipes are also very easy to follow and each step is explained in full (unlike my quick summary above!) and at each step that is a bit tricky or dangerous it prompts your child to ask an adult for help.