Lazy bake chocolate cake

Lazy bake chocolate cakes

I love cake and a day without homemade cake is a day that is lacking in all that is good with the world, but baking takes time and organisation. Having returned from a recent trip to the UK I found myself without some of the ingredients needed for my favourite Fat Free Cherry cake and Chocolate and Courgette brownies, but needing a contribution to a shared lunch the following day. Much as I love both of the above recipes they have rather time consuming methods so I needed a quick make and bake with the ingredients I had. I am delighted to share with you my new Lazy Bake Chocolate Cake recipe, ideal for those days when you need chocolate cake and need it now!

There is no need to remember to get the butter to room temperature before creaming it with the sugar. There is no five-minute beating of the eggs and sugar to form a frothy pale mousse-like consistency. There is no grating of vegetables to give a moist texture. There is the real ability to have a warm chocolate cake in your hand, ready to eat within half an hour of weighing out the first ingredient.

Makes 12 cup cakes

70g caster sugar

70ml sunflower oil

110g plain flour

40g cocoa powder

1 tsp of baking powder

2 eggs

1 or 2 tbsp of espresso coffee or milk

If you want to finish them off with a buttercream topping don’t forget to take butter out of fridge as you start making the cakes.

Mix the sugar and vegetable oil in a mixing bowl, sieve the dry ingredients and add to the bowl. Lightly beat the eggs and combine them with the other ingredients. The batter should be quite wet, so if necessary add 1 or 2 tablespoons of coffee or milk (I added sloe gin to one batch and it was very nice!). Divide the batter evenly between the 12 cup cake cases and bake at Gas mark 4 until risen and springy to the touch, about 15 minutes. Leave to cool before adding the buttercream topping.

I won't admit to how many batches of these cakes I have made in the last month, but I can assure you this recipe has been thoroughly tried and tested.