A Chocolate Sponge Cake and More!

It was the birthday of my younger daughter and this time, I made a Black Forest cake for her. A Black Forest cake is a common favorite for many - the soft and smooth texture, a tinge of rum taste mixed with cherry sweetness, along with the blend of chocolate flavor - makes it truly irresistible. I wanted to make it little unique, with some Mehendi design on it and at the end, it came out to be the show-stopper for the evening!

Making a Black Forest is little-bit lengthy process. Till now I have posted only the basic cake recipes. Now to make something exclusive and different, you have to spend some more time on these basic cakes. There is no way to shorten this procedure, dear! Basically you can divide the process in two parts. First you prepare the cake in the first half, allow it to cool and then in the second half, you do the assembling and decoration. The second half takes more time than the first half, so you should plan accordingly. I've planned ahead and so baked the cake in previous evening and then next day, I did the remaining part. 

Since the texture of a Black Forest cake is more  soft and spongy, you have to use a chocolate sponge cake for that. So, I'll tell you the first part of the process - which is baking the chocolate sponge cake; the assembling, will be described in my next blog.

The chocolate sponge cake I baked this time, is a oil-free one. Since I had to use lot of cream to decorate the cake, I wanted to be on the healthier side, as much as possible.

The dry ingredients, I used -

Flour or maida - 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon

Cocoa powder - 1/4 cup

Powdered sugar - 1 cup - 1 tablespoon

Baking powder - 1 teaspoon

Soda-bi-carbonate - a pinch

Note - You've to be very particular about the measurement. The spongy effect will not come properly, if you don't measure the ingredients carefully. For example, 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon means take 1 tablespoon more flour on top of 1/2 cup flour; similarly 1 cup - 1 tablespoon means measure 1 cup sugar and remove 1 tablespoon sugar from that 1 cup and then use it.

The liquid ingredients are -

Eggs - 4 large-sized

Hot water - 1 1/2 tablespoon

Vanilla essence - 1 1/2 teaspoon

Take a big bowl, to sieve in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda-bi-carbonate. Blend the ingredients together using a dry wooden spatula and keep it aside.

In another big bowl, crack the eggs and add sugar. You should sieve in the sugar, if lumpy. Use the electric beater and beat the mixture for 4-5 minutes. The color of the mixture will change from yellow to off-white, as you beat. 

Meanwhile, boil some water in a saucepan. Gradually add 1 1/2 tablespoons of hot water in the mixture, while you continue the beating. The water should be added in drops, when the electric beater is on. The addition on hot water will make the batter light and fluffy. Finally add the vanilla essence and give a final beating.

Set the oven in preheat mode at 180C temperature. Also grease and dust your cake pan and keep it aside.

Remove the electric beater from the egg mixture and use the wooden spatula to fold in the flour. Take 2 tablespoons of flour at a time, sprinkle on the egg mixture and fold in. The folding in process should be done in such a way that more air is sealed within the batter. This trapped air will make the cake spongy and soft. So this part is extremely important.

Pour the batter into the cake pan and place inside the oven for baking. The baking should be done for 25-30 minutes at 180C temperature.

When the cake is ready, it will shrink a little bit from the sides of the cake pan. Also if you touch the top, you will be able to feel the sponge effect. Now, you should do the knife test to check the doneness. 

Remove the cake from oven and let it rest in the pan for sometime (5-10 minutes). Once it reaches room temperature, wrap it with a cling wrap and place it inside the refrigerator. 

You can also use this recipe to prepare a simple chocolate sponge cake. Add icing on top as per your choice, serve as a dessert or serve as it is, without any icing, as an afternoon snacks.

The assembling part of black forest... to be continued...