90's CHOCOLATE CAKE

This is the old-fashioned chocolate cake that were sold in bakeries in the 90s.This cake does not use any leavening agent. I think those days people used very little to no leavening agents unlike the cake recipes now, that depend on baking soda or baking powder for getting sky high cakes.

INGREDIENTS - 4 egg sponge cake recipe with oil

1. 4 eggs
2. 3/4 cup sugar
3. 5 Tbsp. natural or Dutch-processed cocoa powder
4. 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or 1/2 cup minus 1 Tbsp. whole wheat flour, I have used chappathi flour)
5. 1/4 cup water
6. 1/4 cup oil
7. 3/4 plus 1/8 tsp salt(or as per taste)
8. 1 tsp vanilla essence 

For the chocolate frosting 

1. 1/3 cup butter
2. 1/3 cup cocoa powder
3. 1/3 cup granulated sugar, powdered (measure 1/3 cup first and then powder it)
4. 1 Tbsp wine/ brandy/rum/chocolate liqueur( This brings a nice chocolate flavor in the frosting)
5. 3 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream plus more as required ( 3 Tbsp. warm water or milk can be used instead, but there will be a difference in the texture; see Notes for more details on using milk or water)
6. 1 tsp vanilla essence
7. salt as per taste (1/8 tsp)

METHOD

•  Line an 8 inch pan with parchment paper at the bottom.


                    
• Mix the flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Sieve the dry ingredients at least three times and set aside. Separate the egg whites and yolks.  
  
  
  
  
  
                                                             
• Take the separated egg whites into a bowl big enough to hold the remaining ingredients. The bowl should be clean and dry, without a hint of liquid or fat.
• Preheat oven to 225 degrees F for 15 minutes.

• Beat the egg whites using a cake mixer on high speed until frothy and the volume has increased, about a minute. It won't be stiff at this moment.

• Now, at maximum speed, beat the egg whites, and while beating, gradually add the sugar, maybe 2 Tbsp at a time. Put in all the sugar. The egg whites should be whipped till stiff peaks are formed.

• Put in the egg yolks all at once and beat on high speed for about 5  seconds.







• Add the oil and beat again for 5 seconds.
  
  
  




• Add the flour mixture all at once to the batter and gently fold it in using the whisks of the cake beater, without turning the beater on.
•  Next, pour in the 1/4 cup of water and like you did with the flour, without turning on the beater, whisk the water till incorporated into the batter. Then beat on high speed for about 2 seconds or until just combined. Be careful not to overmix the batter.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  




• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 225 degrees F for 40 minutes, then increase the oven temperature to 300 degrees F and bake for another 15 minutes.
  
  
  
  

• The cake will shrink a little bit as it cools .
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then loosen the sides and invert the cake to a plate. Let cool completely before frosting. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Prepare the frosting:

• This can be made ahead. 
• Soften the butter in the microwave.  For a 1100W M/W oven, heat it at power 3 for 2 minutes. Most of the butter will be soft, a little will be melted but that is ok. 
• To this add the powdered sugar, cocoa and salt then without turning on the cake mixer, swirl the beaters till the dry ingredients are slightly mixed in and wet.
• Then beat starting at low speed. Gradually increase the speed and also add the cream/water in intervals till the frosting is fluffy. Add more cream/water if required. When everything is mixed in and you get a frosting like consistency, beat the buttercream on high speed till it becomes a shade lighter. About 1 minute on high speed.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  FROSTING THE CAKE
• I have a Wilton turntable which I use for decorating. It fits perfectly on my cake stand. Also I use a wooden cutting board(from Daiso ) as a cake plate.
• Place an anti-slip mat before placing the cake plate on the turntable.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

                                            

           

• I like to start frosting the top and work my way to the sides. Put a generous amount of frosting on the top and spread it evenly using a spatula. As you spread the frosting, it will start falling off the side of the cake. 
• Using your spatula , spread the frosting along the sides . 
• I use an icing comb from my icing set(IKEA) , to create a neat design in a jiffy. Ditch the piping bags , use this icing comb instead.
• Gently press the icing comb in the middle and rotate the turntable to create a nice design on the top and sides of the comb. Using a paring knife , take out excess icing from the edges. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Using your finger wrapped around a wet paper towel ,wipe the icing off of the cake plate for a neat look. 
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Transfer the cake along with the cake plate into a cake pan . Don't forget to place an anti slip mat in the cake pan too. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Transfer the leftover icing to a plastic box and freeze it. The frosting can be used to make hot chocolate. Just add a dollop or two to hot milk. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

NOTES

• It's a small amount of whipping cream that's needed, so if cream is not available all the time, then warm water or milk can be used. If using water instead of cream, increase the butter by 1 Tbsp. That extra Tbsp. of butter is required for an extra lift because water is used instead of cream.
• It has the texture of hot breads' bakery chocolate pastry. This was what I was aiming for. The cake is really soft. 
• Whip the egg whites till stiff. This is very tricky. You don't have to whip till it's very stiff and like some videos, when you invert the bowl with the whipped egg whites, it does not fall off. You don't have to go to that extent. If you feel that its stiff enough then leave it at that. If you beat it till very stiff, then it kind of floats to the top and forms a different layer. So, follow your guts when you whip the egg whites stiff, once its increased in volume and white and slightly stiffens, that should do. Most of times we tend to overdo it. 
• When I bake a sponge cake in a 6-inch pan, it does not deflate, following the baking times and temperature. But baking in a 8 inch pan this cake deflates when it is taken out of the oven. I tried baking it at 300℉ for 30 minutes but it still deflates.
•  Baking at 300℉ for 15 minutes and then turning off the oven and keeping  it for another 10 minutes in the new oven also did not help with the deflation.
• There is 2-3 Tbsp. of frosting leftover after the frosting. I usually keep it in the refrigerator and make the same cake another time and just top the cake with the frosting. There won't be much for the side, only a small layer of top frosting can be done.