Rich Chocolate Cake

3 oz cocoa (not drinking chocolate)    

4 ½ oz soft brown sugar

½ pt milk

4 oz margarine (not soft spread)

8 oz caster sugar

3 eggs

1 ¼ tsp vanilla

8 oz plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Mix the cocoa and brown sugar. Scald the milk (that is, heat it until it is very hot but not boiling) over a medium heat. Add gradually to brown sugar mixture, then beat until smooth. Leave on one side to cool.

Cream the margarine. Add the caster sugar gradually, creaming together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla.

Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Now add about a third of it to the marge-sugar-egg mixture, and beat to mix it in. Then add about a third of the cocoa mixture and beat. Continue to alternate adding flour mixture with cocoa mixture, beating between additions; then beat until smooth.

Pour into greased sandwich tins. Bake in a moderate oven (Mark 4, 190◦C) 25 to 30 minutes.

Allow to cool in tins 5 – 10 minutes. Remove from tins. Cool on wire racks. Sandwich layers together with the filling of your choice (stewed apple puree is nice!)

 

Some words about the ingredients –

Vanilla – good vanilla is not cheap, but cheap vanilla flavouring is nasty. You will often find two sorts of vanilla on sale – one will be about the same price as other flavourings, one will be a LOT more. Get the expensive one.

Cocoa – Drinking chocolate is not the same thing. It has less chocolate and has sugar added. If you substitute drinking chocolate, (not recommended) increase the amount and cut back on the sugar.

Margarine – this is where you can economise. The stuff sold for baking is fine.