Moist Chocolate Cake

I LOVE CHOCOLATES... do I need to repeat?  Ages ago, this recipe of chocolate cake was introduced in our family by one of our relatives, who has always been fond of baking. We used to call this  cake as Deep Dark Chocolate Cake, and we had shortened it to DDC. The recipe called for less time hence it was a must at every picnic or party.

Fast forward a few years, we got access to Hershey's Cocoa Powder and booom .... found the same recipe at the back of the pack. So then we figured out that this was the famous chocolate cake recipe from Hershey's. I always make this cake whenever I want to eat a super moist chocolate cake. My relationship with this cake (recipe) is going strong from last 18 years.

The yummiest chocolate cake - with perfect chocolate frosting

The recipe is pretty simple and this cake is also famously known as "One-Bowl Cake". Becaure you can easily put everything in one bowl and just mix it with a spoon or whisk. you can make this one even without a beater :) Simple isn't it ?!

Without further talking, I shall share the recipe below

MOIST CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour (in Urdu, we call it Maida)

3/4 cup  Cocoa (I love Hershey's cocoa. but in most countries, either its not available or if available, its slightly towards the expensive side. You can use any good cocoa powder)

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup oil

2 teaspoons vanilla essence

1 cup boiling water

Method:

1. Heat oven to 350°F/180C. Grease and flour 9-inch round baking pans or two 9" round pans. (I prefer two pans of same size, because it gives more room to the cake batter to rise hence making it more moist and gives the cake a better height)  

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes (or if you don't have a beater, just mix it together with a spoon). Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. Makes 12 servings. 

VARIATIONS:

ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

   

"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/2 cup (1 stick or 100gms) butter

2/3 cup Cocoa

3 cups icing sugar (first put 2 and taste, adjust as per your liking. Please use ICING Sugar, not home grinded sugar)

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.

Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

You can use this cake for fondant cakes also. Bake the cake, do the icing and then cover it with home made fondant. Recipe below:

I did this for a friend's birthday

Marshmallow Fondant:

1 package (16 ounces) white mini marshmallows ((use a good quality brand))

2-5 tablespoons water

2 pounds (about 8 cups) sifted confectioners' (icing) sugar

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening

Step 1

To make marshmallow fondant, place marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 30 seconds on high; stir until mixed well. Continue microwaving 30 seconds more; stir again. Continue until melted (about 2 1/2 minutes). OR Alternatively if u don't have microwave, you can do it on a double boiler and melt it in a heat proof bowl over the pan of simmering water.

Step 2

Place 3/4 of the confectioners' sugar on top of the melted marshmallow mixture. Fold sugar into marshmallow mixture. Flavoring can be added at this point if desired. Place solid vegetable shortening in easily accessed bowl so you can reach into it with fingers as you are working. Grease hands and counter GENEROUSLY; turn marshmallow mixture onto counter. Start kneading like you would dough. Continue kneading, adding additional confectioners' sugar and re-greasing hands and counter so the fondant doesn't stick. If the marshmallow fondant is tearing easily, it is too dry; add water (about 1/2 tablespoon at a time) kneading until fondant forms a firm, smooth elastic ball that will stretch without tearing, about 8 minutes.

Step 2 (Alternate). If you have a stand mixer, generously grease the bowl and dough hook with shortening and transfer your melted marshmallow in the bowl, add 3/4 of the icing sugar on the marshmallow and mix well. Also you can add CORNFLOUR in case you find it too sweet for your taste, cornflour works well to give it a good texture.

Step 3

It's best to allow Marshmallow Fondant to sit, double-wrapped, overnight. Prepare the fondant for storing by coating with a thin layer of solid vegetable shortening, wrap in plastic wrap and then place in resealable bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible. Marshmallow Fondant will keep well in refrigerator for several weeks.

Step 4

When not working with fondant, make sure to keep it covered with plastic wrap or in a bag to prevent it from drying out. When ready to use, knead fondant until smooth. Roll out fondant 1/8 in. thick. and cover the cake with fondant, Decorate as per your choice.

Step 5

To color fondant: If you need to tint the entire batch of fondant, add a little icing color to the melted marshmallow mixture before adding confectioners' sugar. For smaller amounts of tinted fondant, add icing color to portions of fondant as needed.

I hope you like the recipe. Do try it out and let me know.

You can follow me on Facebook as well. Mayhem in the House

Chocobons at home !! Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls

Who doesn't like having yummmmy Cinnamon rolls at home? Well, since I'm a chocoholic so I definitely love having the chocolate cinnamon roll or Chocobon at home whenever I feel like. This recipe is very close to the Chocobons available at Cinnabon.

The delicious Chocobons

The recipe is quite simple and if its followed exactly, you wont be disappointed !

Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls – Chocobon

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter/margarine
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3 1/2 -4 cups all-purpose flour

FILLING:
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
50gm cooking chocolate
1/3 cup butter, softened

ICING:
1 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup cream cheese
1-1/2 teaspoons butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract(optional)
2-3 tablespoons milk

Method:

• Warm the milk in until it just starts to boil, then remove from heat. Mix in the butter; stir until melted. 
• Add water and wait for the mixture to reach room temperature.
• In a large bowl, mix the milk mixture, yeast, white sugar, salt and eggs till sugar dissolves.
• Add flour (save 1cup for kneading) very slowly and stir well to combine.
• Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. When the dough has been mixed together, take it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead. Keep sprinkling the remaining flour and knead until smooth and elastic. (You can use a dough Kneading machine as well)
• Cover with a greased plastic film and leave for half an hour.

• Meanwhile, mix brown sugar, cocoa powder, melter cooking chocolate and cinnamon together and add butter in it (i had granulated brown sugar so I had grinded it a bit).
• Now, take your dough, generously sprinkle flour on your work surface and using a roller pin gently roll it into a rectangle of around 12X9 inches.
• Spread a layer of the cinnamon mixture leaving the 1/1inches at the top and bottom to seal.
• Next, roll the sheet gently and keep tucking the sides to get a uniform cylinder. Seal with a little milk. Using a sharp knife cut your rolls into 12-14pieces of around 2 inches thick, which will depend on your cylinder size.
• Place them widely spaced in a greased pan (preferably a rectangular pan) and cover with plastic film and leave it to rise till size doubles.
• Preheat oven to around 180 degrees and bring down to 160C. Bake the rolls for 15-20 minutes. After 15 minutes have been passed keep a check by poking a toothpick in the center and turned golden. 
• While its baking, make frosting; beat icing sugar, cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Add milk gradually until frosting reaches a good creamy consistency.
• Spread over warm cinnamon rolls.

Yummy rolls are ready to eat!!! Do try this out and let me know

Follow me on facebook also : Mayhem In The House

Boston Creme Donuts - Home-made !!

Just last week I came across a recipe of Boston Crème Donuts, and thought to myself "why not give this a try" .. so I checked my kitchen for all the ingredients and the moment I figured out I had all the items, I was all set to make it!

This recipe is adapted from Laura Vitale's laurainthekitchen webpage. I just did a teeny meeny change in the custard filling and it tasted delicious ! Although these donuts are easily available at Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts but you aren't always in the mood to drive to these outlets...so my family was delighted to see home made donuts and that too Boston crème ones.

Even I couldn't believe this will turn out so well..

This recipe made around 12 donuts.

INGREDIENTS:

For the donuts:
2 1/2 cups of All Purpose Flour, plus a bit more if the dough is sticky (APF is Maida)
1 (7gr) Envelope of Yeast (which is equivalent to 2 1/4tsp)
3 Tbsp of Granulated Sugar
3/4 cups of Whole Milk, warmed
2 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter, melted
2 Tbsp of Shortening, melted (if you don't have shortening, replace this with butter also)
1 Egg
1/2 tsp of Salt

For the Custard:
1 cup of Whole Milk
2 1/2 Tbsp of All Purpose Flour
3 Tbsp of Granulated Sugar (original recipe asked for 2 tbsp. but for me it was slightly less
sweet)
1 Egg Yolk
1 1/2 - 2 tsp of Vanilla Essence
Small Pinch of Salt

For the Topping: 4 ounces of Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1/3 cup of Heavy Cream



METHOD:
1) In a small bowl, add the warm milk and sprinkle over 1 tsp of sugar and the yeast. Allow the yeast to proof for about 5 minutes or until it starts to foam. If you are using instant yeast, you can directly add along with milk in the flour mixture.
2) In the bowl of a standing mixer, add the sugar, eggs, salt, melted butter and shortening, mix either by hand or with a dough hook. Add the yeast mixture and incorporate it in.
3) Add the flour, mix on low until the flour is incorporated, increase the speed to medium and mix the dough for about 4 to 5 minutes or until the dough is nice and smooth.
4) Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place it somewhere warm to double in size (this can take about 1 to 2 hours). Meanwhile, make the custard. I usually put it in my oven with the inside bulb on (don't heat it and don't put the flame on)

For Custard:
5) Add all your custard ingredients in a large saucepan and with the heat turned off, whisk them all together to combine.
6) Place your custard over medium heat and cook it, stirring the whole time until the custard thickens. To check the readiness of custard, it should cover the back of your spoon.  Strain it through a fine sieve into a bowl, cover the custard with plastic wrap (make sure the plastic wrap is touching the custard) and pop it in the fridge.

Back to donuts:
7) Once the dough has risen, proceed with the donuts.
8) Dump the dough onto a floured surface, punch it down, roll it out to a 1/2 inch thickness.
9) Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle some flour on each one.
10) Using a 3.5” biscuit cutter, cut out your donuts, place them on your baking sheets, placing them a couple inches apart, cover them with a slightly damp towel and let them rise in a warm place for about half an hour or until doubled again.
11) Add enough oil to a wok/karhai so it comes half way up the sides of the pot, allow it to come up to 350 degrees/ or hot enough when u put your wooden spoon handle u see bubbles around it
12) Once the donuts have risen, gently lower them into the hot oil and fry them for about 3 minutes on each side or until puffed and golden brown. Take them out of the hot oil and place them on a paper towel lined baking sheet to drain the excess oil.
13) While the donuts cool a bit, make the ganache.

Ganache:
14) Heat the cream in a small pan over medium heat until just below boiling point.
15) Pour the heated cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for 1 minute, whisk it all together until the chocolate is fully melted.


Assembly:
16) To assemble, using a piping bag fitted with a plain round tip (about 1/4 inch round tip) squeeze about 1 Tbsp (or more) of the custard into each donut. Simply choose and make a small opening on one side and stick the piping tip about halfway in and squeeze out the cream.
17) Swirl the top of the donut in the ganache and allow them to sit and rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Super delicious home made boston crème donuts are ready to be eaten !!

Enjoy the treat and do let me know if you try these out.

I am also reachable at:

www.facebook.com/mayheminthehouse :)

This Triple Layered Chocolate Mousse cake is to die for ....

This is one of my favorite cake recipes. I always wanted to try out an amazing Mousse cake without any disasters and this recipe was just perfect. I make this cake for my husband's birthday every year, just because he loves it, although he isn't much of a dessert fan.

I got this recipe from Martha Stewart's page, however the original recipe was individual mousse servings, while I changed it into a cake. Also in her original recipe, in the milk chocolate mousse layer she didn't add gelatin, but when I tried without gelatin, it didn't hold its shape and looked more like a ganache. So I had to adjust the recipe to add gelatin in only the milk chocolate mousse layer. Dark chocolate mousse layer will hold its shape without gelatin , because of high cocoa content.

A closer look .... yummmm !!! This recipe is slightly time consuming but its worth every single minute.

Triple layered chocolate Mousse Cake (Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart with changes.)

Serves: 10-12 people

Making time: 2hrs
Setting time: 5hrs- overnight

Ingredients:
Dark Chocolate Cake:

Unsalted butter, softened, to grease
Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
2/3 cup (83 g) plain (all-purpose) flour
1/3 cup (39gm) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder or normal cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup(150 g ) caster (superfine granules) sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
¼ cup/4 tablespoons(59ml) whole milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ cup/4 tablespoons(59ml) water

Method for Dark Chocolate Cake:

• Preheat oven to 180° C (350°). Line a 9” spring form pan with non-stick baking paper. Using a small pastry brush, coat the bottom and sides of the pan with unsalted butter; dust liberally with unsweetened cocoa powder, set-aside.
• Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the bowl of electric stand mixer or a standard mixer bowl. Add the sugar; whisk together to well combine.
• Add the egg, milk, oil, vanilla, and water; mix on medium-low speed until combined, about 3 minutes.
• Pour the batter in the pan and bake until a cake tester inserted in the centre of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 18 to 20 minutes.
• Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse:
1 2/3 cups (395ml) whipping cream
4 egg yolks, room temperature
¼ cup caster (superfine granules) sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup or honey
2 tbsp water
198 g (7 ounces) good quality bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 teaspoons vanilla essence
Pinch of salt

Method for Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse Layer

• In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat 395 ml (1 2/3 cups) heavy cream on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 3½-5 minutes.
• Transfer to an airtight container; refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Place 4 egg yolks into the clean bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on high speed until pale and frothy, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat, bring ¼ cup sugar, 2 tablespoons corn syrup/honey and 2 tablespoons water to a rolling boil.  Cook until clear, large bubbles form, about 1 minute.
• Reduce mixer speed to medium-low. Carefully and gradually pour hot syrup down side of bowl. Raise speed to medium-high; mix until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Remove bowl from mixer; add the melted bittersweet chocolate, 1-teaspoon vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Using a large flexible rubber spatula, stir to well combine.
• Remove the whipped cream from the refrigerator and place into a large-sized bowl. Add one-third of the bittersweet-chocolate mixture to the whipped cream; whisk until well combined. Add remaining bittersweet-chocolate mixture, whisking until well combined. 
• Pour the mousse carefully on the already cooled cake base. Place it in the refrigerator for atleast 20mins to 1 hour. Proceed to making the milk chocolate Mousse layer.

Milk Chocolate Mousse
1 2/3 cups (395ml) whipping cream
4 egg yolks, room temperature
¼ cup caster (superfine granules) sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup or honey
2 tbsp water
1 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 teaspoon gelatin dissolved in 2 tbsp water
Pinch of salt
198 g (7 ounces) milk chocolate, melted

Method for milk Chocolate Mousse Layer

• In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat 395 ml (1 2/3 cups) heavy cream on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 3½ minutes.
• Transfer to an airtight container; refrigerate.
• Place 4 egg yolks into the clean bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on high speed until pale and frothy, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat, bring ¼ cup sugar, 2 tablespoons corn syrup/honey and 2 tablespoons water to a rolling boil.  Cook until clear, large bubbles form, about 1 minute.
• Reduce mixer speed to medium-low. Carefully and gradually pour hot syrup down side of bowl. Raise speed to medium-high; mix until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Remove bowl from mixer; add the melted milk chocolate, 1-teaspoon vanilla, and a pinch of salt and gelatin dissolved in water. Using a large flexible rubber spatula, stir to well combine.
• Remove the whipped cream from the refrigerator and place into a large-sized bowl. Add one-third of the milk chocolate mixture to the whipped cream; whisk until well combined. Add remaining milk chocolate mixture, whisking until well combined. 
• Take the cake out of the refrigerator and pour the milk chocolate mousse carefully on top, spread it evenly using an offset spatula or back of the spoon. 
• Place it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to overnight (I recommend overnight).
• Once set, remove cake from refrigerator  and serve immediately 

Tips:
You can use any GOOD quality dark chocolate for bittersweet mousse. Ive used Hershey’s
bittersweet chocolate chips. Since the cocoa factor is high in bittersweet chocolate, the mousse
will set on its own without gelatin.

However for milk chocolate mousse (it has less cocoa factor), you will have to add gelatin so the
mousse can hold its shape, else it will not set properly. I use Hershey’s milk chocolate chips for
this.

Hope you like this recipe !! Do Share your feedback

The Ultimate Chocolate Brownies ... Gooey, fudgy and yummy!

There are two kinds of people in this world, one who like cakey brownies and other who like fudgy brownies... I fall in the latter kind. Before today, i had never baked brownies, because honestly I can't stand cake like brownies or cake served in square shapes and called brownies. Brownie is brownie and cake is cake! 😂. Two totally different things ! Right?

I was always looking for the perfect Brownies recipe, but most of them felt like square shaped cakes, therefore, after a lot of reading up, comparing recipes, pinterest-ing, i finally decided to follow one recipe which i felt wouldn't go wrong.... And oh boy oh boy... Was i right or what !! I found exactly what I have been looking for since ages. Perfectly fudgy, gooey, cracked tops brownie... Martha Stewart, I love you !. It was sooooo delicious that I couldnt even take a picture of the full ready brownie out of the oven because I was too busy drooling over it and then eating from the pan. Took one pic from my daughter's plate when I served her.

Did I mention how fudgy and gooey this was .... loveeeeeee!!!

And you know the best thing? the recipe is so easy and it is ready in less than 60 mins !

Recipe:
1 stick (113gms) unsalted butter, cut into large pieces
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped. I used semisweet chocolate from Hershey's
1 1/2 cups sugar (if you are using semisweet chocolate you can use 1 cup of sugar only)
3 large eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper
Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, and whisk in sugar.
Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until combined. Whisk in cocoa and salt. Fold in flour until combined.
Pour batter into pan. Bake until set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs, 25-30 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes.

Basic difference between a cakey and a fudgy brownie is quantity of flour and butter. if you want cakey, increase the flour and decrease the butter quantity and in fudgy brownies, butter is always more!!

Do try this out and let me know how did it go !!

KitKat & MnMs Chocolate "overdose" cake !

By now many may have guessed how much I love chocolates !! I can have them anytime of the day, in any form, may it be icecream, plain, cake, frozen dessert, in a biscuit etc etc. Has to be CHOCOLATE !

I was in Karachi past two weeks and my cousins were constantly after me to make some desserts for them and honestly, I love baking for them because they are the best and praise generously ! They fight over second helpings and that just made me super happy.

During my stay 12 day stay I made 3 desserts, a triple layered chocolate Mousse cake (will share the recipe in coming weeks), Chocolate Éclair Dessert (Recipe here) and KitKat MnM Chocolate Cake. All of them were super duper hit.

The cake inside is a basic chocolate MALT cake (Recipe here). You can use any chocolate cake recipe you are comfortable with.

After the cake has baked and cooled down. You need to do the frosting. This is my personal favorite Chocolate Frosting recipe which you can follow blindly. Beat well, frosting needs to be thick, not runny.

1/2 cup (1 stick or 100grams) butter (room temp)

2/3 cup Cocoa (I prefer Hershey's)

3 cups Icing sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Beat butter really well until it changes color to off white. Add in cocoa and icing sugar and beat well. Alternately keep adding milk, beating to spreading consistency. It shouldn't be runny. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Spread the frosting in between the cake and cover the whole cake with it. Now carefully press the KitKat bars against the sides of the cake. Cover the entire cake sides with KitKats and tie a ribbon around so it can hold the chocolate bars.

Generously put MnMs (or smarties or local bunties available) on top of the cake in the center. Cover the entire top. Refrigerate and ENJOYYYYYY

Chocolate Malt Cake = Nandos CopyCat

This is one cake that we used to order for every colleague's birthday  back when i was working !! Chocolate Cake from Nandos. I tried a lot of recipes trying to replicate the cake. I will not say i succeeded in doing it, but i can say that i did pretty well, veryy similar to the chocolate cake thats available at Nando's.

I found this recipe on a blog by buddingbaketress. However to achieve icing similar to nandos, i made a few changes.

And if you havent tried Nandos cake yet, dont worry, this one is equally good. You dont need to benchmark this against some other cake. Its great on its own. A very moist, soft and delicious cake.

The major ingredient in this cake is "Malt chocolate powder". Like, Milo, Ovaltine, Horlicks. The packaging will state "malted drink". Unfortunately you cannot use Nesquik, Cadbury drink etc, because they arent MALT. Please dont use Pediasure, Complan etc - lol

I had shared this recipe earlier in one of the very famous Karachi cooking groups on facebook and a lot of ladies tried this out, testifying how similar it is to Nandos or those never tried the nandos one termed it as an amazingly delicious cake! On my own facebook page, a very dear friend, Mehreen, tried this out and was quite delighted with the result

Please do try this out. It is super easy. No rocket science, trust me!

Sour cream is available in big stores in Pakistan, however if you cant find it, you can replace it with yogurt. Serves the same purpose. Or, you can take one cup cream add 1tbsp lemon juice and let it stand for 10-15 mins, sour cream is ready.



RECIPE:

Chocolate Cake:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup Chocolate horlicks Or Ovaltine Or Milo or any malted milk powder
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Chocolate Malt Frosting
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup thick cream OR tetra pack cream
1/2 cup malted milk powder
3 cups icing' sugar
4-5 tbsp cream cheese

Preheat oven to 180c. Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) cake pans.

In the bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a small bowl, combine milk and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add milk mixture, oil, and eggs to flour mixture, beating at medium speed until smooth. Add sour cream and vanilla essence, beating just until combined. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans, and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and let cool completely on wire racks.

To make the frosting, in a large bowl, beat butter and cocoa powder at medium speed with a mixer until creamy. combine cream and malted milk powder, Add cream mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed to combine. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar(icing sugar) and cream cheese until smooth.

Spread frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. This cake tastes great when slightly cooled. So do pop in the refrigerator after you have done the icing.