SHARING THE CAKE LOVE
When I recently shared this chocolate cake recipe on Facebook, the reaction was overwhelming: The comments started coming in thick and fast: “Patto – stop it,” screamed one. “Yes, Yes, Yes,” came another (all written in capital letters, just for added impact).
That’s because this isn’t just any old chocolate cake. This one is made in just one bowl, is rich, dark, dense and fudgy and also happens to be gluten-free. So it’s probably no surprise that the recipe has been shared on Facebook more than 30,000 times already.
Posted on the Gluten-Free on a Shoestring website, the recipe comes from Nicole Hunn, who says:
“Usually, to get a really rich chocolate cake, your best bet is to use both melted dark chocolate and cocoa powder. This cake gets the job done with just the right mix of cocoa, sour cream and oil, instead of butter. It’s your emergency chocolate cake.”
Just a couple of things to remember: ‘All purpose’ is American-speak for plain flour, and baking soda is what we refer to here as bicarb soda.
Hope you enjoy it.
ONE BOWL CHOCOLATE CAKE
1 and a half cups all purpose, gluten-free flour
¾ teaspoon xantham gum (leave out if it’s already in your flour blend)
14 tablespoons (70g) unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda (bicarb soda)
1 cup sugar
¾ cup sour cream, at room temperature
½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs at room temperature)
¾ cup warm water
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a 9-inch round or square baking pan. In a big bowl, place the flour, xantham gum, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and sugar and whisk to combine well. Create a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the sour cream, oil, eggs and water, mixing in each addition.
Scrape batter into pan, smooth into an even layer and place into the centre of the preheated oven. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out most clean (about 30 minutes). Remove from oven and leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack. Ganache icing is optional.
