Friday 14 December 2007

Deeply Dark Devil's Food Cake

I simply adore the combination of bananas and chocolates.

When I was much much younger, whenever these two of my favourite food items were available, I would slice a banana into two, sandwich it with some chocolate bars, wrap it up nicely with foil and toast it in the oven toaster. Within minutes, I was able to indulge in one of the best dessert I could afford at that time.


I made a Deeply Dark Devil's Food Cake from a recipe found in The Cake Book by Tish Boyle. I had initially planned to make a plain, fuss-free cake, but when I spotted the bananas dangling on the hook, I thought I should not miss the chance of creating my favourite combo.

After the cake was cooled off, I made some chocolate ganache and layered it with banana slices.

Since it was a last minute decision, I was totally clueless when I was about to frost the cake. I didn't want to fuss over the cake decoration, so I tried creating swirls with the back of a spoon. As the consistency of ganache was not right, I wasn't able to get the effect I had in mind.


In the end, I simply made small little peaks all over the top of the cake...a rather shoddy job I must say, but it was the best I could managed at that time.


Even the layering of the cake was quite badly done...the layers were completely lop-sided :(

The cake lived up to it's name...it was indeed a very dark and rich cake. One single slice was able to fill up my stomach the entire morning! With the chocolate frosting, I had to chill the cake in the fridge, as a result, it wasn't that moist and the texture became quite dense and fudgy, almost brownie-like.


Ingredients:
(half recipe)

106g (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
78g (5 1/2 tablespoon) unsalted butter, softened
150g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
31g (1/3 cup) Dutch-processed cocoa powder (I used unsweetened)
1 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
160ml (2/3 cup) warm water

Method:

  1. Position rack in the centre of the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degF. Line the bottom of an 8 inch cake pan with parchment paper, grease and dust the sides with flour.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well blended, set aside.
  3. With an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar and beat on high speed for about 3 minutes until the mixture becomes pale and well blended.
  4. Add the cocoa powder and beat at medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides with a spatula when necessary. Beat in the egg, followed by the vanilla.
  5. At low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the warm water in two additions. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix at low speed for 30 seconds.
  6. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 20 minutes. Unmold cake and let cool completely before frosting.

35 comments:

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Brownie banana cake - yummmmmm! It sounds wonderful to me.

Mer said...

This looks delicious!

Your story reminds me of the "banana boats" we would make as a family when we went camping. We would slice the banana down the middle and stuff them with marshmallows and chocolate bar, then wrap them like you say with foil, and put them in amongst the coals of the fire. When they came out, they were goey and delicious. We would scoop the dessert out with a spoon - yum!

sherlyn said...

hmmmm yummy .. the chocolate cake looks so yummy. Anyway i think the little peaks looks very pretty.

Just curious .. y is it that your list the baking powder and baking soda in such a way (ie 1/4 plus 1/8 tsp) ?

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Sherlyn, I followed the exact way the original recipe is stated...guess the reason why is that, it will be difficult to measure a 3/8 tsp?!

sweet-tooth said...

Hi Happy Homebaker!
this looks delicious!
makes me wanna try the chocolate banana brownie cupcake recipe(Betty Saw's Tempt-Cupcakes Excite)i have on hand ;)

Anonymous said...

i have the same book HBB..but i haven't tried this recipe yet. it looks delicious though, lots of chocolate which i love.

http://fooddiary.blogsome.com

Anonymous said...

Hey!

Your bakes look really really yummy! Anyway, I will be raising funds for my cca at the beginning of next year because we intend to set up a mini-scale scientific library (I’m from National Junior College by the way); so I was wondering if you’d be willing to sponsor some of your bakes for us to sell and raise funds so that the library can come to fruition (: Every little contribution will be greatly greatly appreciated!

Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries or should you require further clarification
Looking forward to your reply!


<3
Catherine

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Sweet-tooth, I am sure the chocolate banana brownie cupcake will be very yummilicious!! just the name sounds so promising ;D

Eliza, you do have the book? I borrowed it from the library, I find it very informative, and I like many of the recipes...the bakes all look very simple, not fancy at all, and yet look so delicious!

Hi Catherine, thanks for your compliments :)
I have already dropped you a note. Although I am not from NJC (I was from Hwa Chong), I certainly would love to help :D

Florence said...

Hi,
At last found someone in the food blogging community that is from where I was from - Hwa Chong JC.

Nice to meet you via blogsphere!

Anonymous said...

thanks for your previous advice, the charlotte turned out really good. :)

btw do you know where to find Reese's peanut butter chips in s'pore? i saw them in cold storage once but they are gone now. :(

Anonymous said...

Your cake looks great. I would love to have a piece with a cup of coffee.

Thanks for sharing.
Sharona May

http://birdfood-sharona.blogspot.com/

La Figlia Che Piange said...

I hate bananas but this cake looks so good. I actually like the asymmetrical layering, it looks funky. Cant cook for nuts but I'm going to nudge my mother towards your blog. =D

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Florence, really? you were from HJC too?? I wont be surprised if you tell me you were from an all girl's secondary school??
I am a regular visitor of your blog :)

Hi Kat, I have never came across Reeves peanut butter chips here. But my friend used to tell me she got them from Cold Storage, only the one at Great World. I went there recently to look for it, but there was none there :(

Hi Sharona, thanks for visiting :)

Opaline, how nice! you can get your mum to bake something for you...my cooking sucks too ;D

Anonymous said...

Haha i will go there to ty i guess. Do you happen to know where i can buy heavy cream in singapore? sorry i am asking so many questions haha. I wish singpore would stock more baking products. :(

Florence said...

Hi,
Yes, you're right!
I'm from Crescent Girls Sec School.

Patricia Scarpin said...

I love banana and chocolate together, too, but have never had them in such a decadent way! :)

daphne said...

hehe.. one of my fav breakfast is banana nutella toast! This cake looks really good and dense with chocolate- the way I like it! yum yum!

thecoffeesnob said...

I absolutely love the chocolate banana combi :) Your cake looks amazing- i would kill for a slice of it.

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Kat, I agree the baking supplies here are really limited. You can get heavy cream from Cold storage or Carrefour. I usually get this brand, Bulla's thickened cream...it's from Australia. Hope this helps :)

Hi Florence, I am from another girl's school ;)

dear Pat, oh yes, this cake is pure indulgence!

Daphne, I have been wanting to try banana and chocolate toast, wow, banan nutella toast sounds great too!

hey thecoffeesnob, thanks for your lovely comments :D

Anonymous said...

yumm, yummy! the kind of chocolate cake I love!

Anonymous said...

hi happy home baker,
i love your blog, love the recipes, love the photos <33
just curious, what camera are you using for taking all the photographs? thanks!

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Lia, Thanks for your kind words! I am using a Canon Powershot G3 4.0 Mega Pixels.

Brilynn said...

I don't know what you're talking about, that looks fantastic!!

Robin said...

Looks delicious! Love your blog :-)

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Brilynn, you are so sweet!!

Hi Robin, thanks for dropping by.
You have a very lovely blog :)

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Great to know your cake turned out well. I have the same book and tried to bake this cake last week. It turned out horrible, from the look, it look like kueh. don't know how to describe, I threw the whole cake away. I suspect maybe my water too hot. The book stated boiling water. Anyway, I enjoy reading your blog.

Cheers,
Alice

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Alice, sorry to hear that your cake didnt turn out well :(
I used boiling water too and it didn't give me any problem, maybe it could be due to other reasons? I do hope your next attempt will be a successful one :D and thanks for visiting!

Oleagopoly said...

Hi, i'd like to give this cake a try =) Can I clarify what you meant with 'half recipe' for this?
Also, how did you prepare the frosting? sorry this will be the first time i attempt a layered cake.

Thanks!

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Oleagopoly, there were two ingredient lists provided for this recipe in the cookbook. I used the half recipe version which yields a smaller cake.

As for the frosting, I melt dark chocolate with heavy cream.

- 100g dark chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream

Place chocolate and cream in a bowl set over a pot of simmering. Stir the mixture till the chocolates are melted. Remove from heat and let cool before using.
Hope this helps.

Sylvia said...

YIKES! This looks divine! Chocolate cakes is our favorite in my house and I'm always looking for new ways to make it.. I love the really fudgy kind, and this looks like it will definitely be fudgy. YUM!
-Sylvia
Cigars

Term Papers said...

Sorry to hear that your cake didn't turn out well, I think you should have to give a another try.

hanushi said...

Hi HHB, can i ask if you always use natural unsweetened cocoa powder for all your bakes?

I want to bake some chocolate cake like this one and brownies.

Not too sure abt the difference between natural unsweetened vs dutch processed. Wonder can i just get one type of cocoa powder instead of both.

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Hanushi, there are two types of unsweetened cocoa powder, natural and dutch processed. See here for further info: (http://bakingbites.com/2009/01/what-is-dutch-processed-cocoa-powder/)

I have tried baking with both natural and dutch processed cocoa powder, but my untrained palette couldn't really tell the difference. I have since been using natural ones, as it is more readily available here, eg Hershley's or sometimes Ghirardelli which my husband will get for me from the States. Hope this helps :)

hanushi said...

Hi HHB,

Thanks for taking time to clarify and explain. Now comes my new adventure to buy my first tub of cocoa powder.

happybowl said...

hi HHB, i made this cake today and it was very nice. Perhaps one of the few successfully frosted cake by me in a very long time..thank u. But the picture was not very perfect..i guess