So we live with a celebrity chef, and his favorite cook book by far is the Ministry of Food. In Fact his best friend is James… but it is a bit of a one sided relationship – if I say so myself!!!
Ever since he got this cook book last Christmas he has been hunkering after The Mega Chocolate Fudge Cake… and finally for his birthday I relented… Just a glimpse and you will see why:
Let’s Meet The Players: And I need to say Jamie Oliver used a food processor and we don’t own one so we got by with our trusty mixer. Also he uses cocoa powder to line his baking pan and almonds in his mixture, but we have a couple of nut allergies here so we just left those out of the recipe… and our cake turned out just fine. Really fine!!! Follow the link to Jamie’s cake if you want to, this is our nut free version.
- 200 g good quality dark chocolate – that’s two slabs of Lindt.
- 175 g of butter (not in the photograph) – that’s just my brain with a newborn in the house!!!
- 120 g soft brown sugar
- a pinch of salt
- 4 large eggs
- 150 g self-raising flour
- a batch of fudge
- creme freche, cream or ice-cream to serve… we managed without it but I tell you some cream may have sent us all the way to heaven!!!
Let’s Play The Game:
Step 1:Let’s start with the chocolate… We used two slabs. First you smash them on the table…
Then with the finesse of a fine chocolatier you slice open the packaging.
We wanted the chocolate a bit finer so we just dropped it into our friend the blender…
Step 2: We put the butter, the sugar and a pinch of salt into the mixer and beat away.
Step 3: Then we added the chocolate bits to the mixture.
Step 4: Add the eggs and beat until smooth.
Step 5: Add the flour and beat some more.
Step 6:We poured ours into two cake pans… don’t taste the mixture because it is quite divine and may never make it into the oven!!! At this stage you add blobs and dabs of fudge all over the top of the cakes…
Pop this into the oven for about fifteen to twenty minutes at 320 degrees Fahrenheit/160 degrees Celsius.
Step 7: You don’t want your cake to be too dry… it must still be quite gooey (oh yum!)… If you stick a fork into the cooked cake it should come out a little bit sticky. Once it had cooled slightly we turned it out and gobbled it up… and then remembered the ice-cream was still in the freezer… Trust me it was fabulous plain!!! But we will have to bake it again so that we can try it with cream!!!
This recipe looks like it needs a huge amount of willpower and effort. First you have to make and not eat all the fudge (I would probably need to make another batch). Then you have to not eat all the seriously good dark choc (I would probably need to go and buy more…). I think this recipe needs a willpower checklist before you start. I am most impressed that the Celebrity Chef has so much restraint. Can you please ask him what his secret is? Or perhaps it’s a mark of a true professional.
Hi M, I dare say this recipe does take a certain amount of commitment!!! I swore I would never make fudge… yet I manage!!! But it never lasts until it sets – ever… unless a man needs it for his birthday baking, then I dare not touch it!!! The trouble is I let the kids have one piece and then eat the rest to protect them from filling their bodies with ummm well less healthy offerings. The sacrifices a mother makes for her children, I tell you we mothers suffer!!! Hope you have a great week…
lol. i read your comment above. you’re hilarious! i do the very same thing to protect my own babes. the things we mother’s do!
This cake looks divine! What great taste he has. You are quite lucky to have such a fine chef in your home. I’m thinking this might be what I make for myself after I run a marathon next May and celebrate my husband returning home after 18mos(training/deployment)! I’ll take liberties with tasting everything every step of the way, too!! cant wait!!
Hi S, A mother must do what a mother must do!!! Notice the poor chef had to wait nearly a year to make it – I wouldn’t let the kid make this for just any event!!!! Happy Training to you, have a great weekend!!!
I’m wondering if it would work using my trusted choc cake recipe and just sticking fudge in at the end? I’ll just increase the amount of cocao and swop to brown sugar? I’m sure if it flops it’ll still be eaten.
Hi O, This definitely sounds like it will be eaten!!! Without a doubt!!! Happy baking!!!
Tried and tested. N turns 50 tomorrow. Yesterday I promised to take cake to his work and decided this had to be it: someone who runs 16km to and from work everyday can justify
a little wicked chocolateness! I cooked it for twice the time but it was still ‘too liquid’ but never fear, with a dollop of ice cream it turned into a memorable dessert that was booked for dear son’s b’day next year! Thanks for a great recipe. M
Hi M, Happy Birthday to N… Sorry your cake didn’t “cake up.” Let’s face it, it must be a dessert to die for!!! I am making two as gifts this weekend, the problem is how in the world to keep the fudge from vanishing before I need it! Have a good weekend!