Celebration Chocolate Cake

(last years birthday cake for Daddy, topped with cream and decorated by the kids)

It was my husband's birthday on the weekend. The choice of cake was once again this Celebration Chocolate Cake from the beautiful book "Monday Morning Cooking Club". I made it for the first time for his birthday last year and then again about 6 other times during the year. It is delicious and ridiculously easy.

We were away for his birthday this year and served the cake simply, just as in the book, with ice-cream on the side. Last year we decorated the cake with whipped cream and smarties! And at other times I have sprinkled it with icing sugar and served it with a pile of fresh berries and dollop cream. This is my favourite way of eating it. You can never go wrong with chocolate, berries and cream.

Celebration Chocolate Cake 

serves 10


• 250 grams unsalted butter
• 200 grams dark chocolate (roughly chopped)
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee dissolved in 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 2 cups caster sugar
• 1 1/4 cups self-raising flour
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/4 cup dutch cocoa
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 150 degrees. Grease and line the base and side of a 24 cm springform cake tin. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat and add the chocolate, stirring to melt. Add the coffee/water mixture and sugar. Stir to dissolve. Remove the saucepan from the heat, stir to combine and pour into a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Sift the flours and cocoa into the chocolate mixture and stir through. Add the eggs and vanilla and combine until smooth. 

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until the cake is cooked through. This is a very moist cake. The top will be crusty and cracked, if you prefer a smoother top, cut a piece of baking paper the size of the cake top and place it on top of the mixture before baking.