Simple, easy, yummy choc cake

Ok so I shared my favourite muffin recipe, now here is my favourite chocolate cake recipe to make. I love this recipe because it's so easy and quick and turns out a lovely moist cake.


Yes darling, it's not just your arm that has chocolate on it.

:: Dana's Chocolate Cake ::
(From Destitute Gourmet by Sophie Gray)

- 1 2/3 cup plain flour (I often do half wholemeal)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 100g butter, melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla


I made a double batch. One for a friend.

Put all the ingredients into a food processor and mix. Pour into a lined or greased 20cm cake tin. (The recipe suggests a loose-bottom cake tin but as you can see I haven't used one, using the baking paper makes it easy to lift out). Cook for at least 50 minutes at 180 c. Check it's cooked by poking a skewer into the centre, it should come out clean. Ice with your favourite icing.

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While I'm on the subject of foodie stuff... at the moment I am in the process of creating for myself a monthy meal plan along with a monthy shopping list.
For two reasons. Firstly to help make the shopping and nightly meal making a little easier. So I don't have to go to the supermarket so often (it's not my favourite thing to do), and so I don't get to 4.30 everyday and think ok what's for dinner tonight. So I can plan my pantry a little better and stop doing those 'top-up' visits to the supermarket where I come back with lots of things I probably didn't really need.
And secondly to help me be more thoughtful about what I feed my family and how much I spend on it. I know if I plan more it will be easier to move away from the convenience of the supermarket and rather buy more economical and better quality products from other sources. For example meats from the butchery, or friends and family. Fruit and vegetables and honey at the local markets or vege shop. Grains, flours etc from the bulk food store. Trying to buy local, trying to buy organic, eating what is in season and making a lot more things from scratch. Just thinking about the ingredients and trying to make sure that what we put into our bodies counts. I don't mind eating more simply, I'd rather pay a little more and buy less if I know it's better quality.
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Anyway, all this to say that I'll be sharing some ideas and recipies and shopping lists along the way, and at the end of it I hope to have myself a master shopping list and a collection of simple and healthy meals that the whole family enjoys.
Hopefully you might find some of it helpful, and hopefully you might share some of your ideas, recipies and shopping lists with me too :).

16 comments

Unknown said...

We are trying to do the exact same thing with our food sourcing at the moment. It makes so much sense. We are lucky we live close to a farmer's market.

Anonymous said...

I have been thinking of doing the same for a while. There has to be more to food than Pak N Save's fortnightly torture session disguised as grocery shopping.

Anonymous said...

Yum choc cake sounds good! Isla looks contented, great! Hope your day brightened up :) will talk to you soon, lots'a'love xx

Mary Beth said...

Wonderful--I'm looking forward to your posts on meal planning. I'm having such similar thoughts these days on eating simply and seasonally. And the cake recipe looks delicious--I'm bookmarking it. And as usual I love your house and child!

Amy said...

Hello! Sorry to barge in, but I just adore your blog! And your co-new zealand-ness.
Have a nice new spring day!

Love, Amy.

x

Amy Seven-Stitches said...

My favourite choccy cake recipe too.

Good luck with the shopping mission. Do the friends and family know they are on the menu plan?
Monthly sounds like a bit of a commitment. I was finding fortnightly a challenge.

christina said...

you are an inspiration. these look so yummy.
: )

Anonymous said...

Tis' good!

Kristin said...

That choc cake looks yummy! look forward to your posts on meal planning, I tried to start a couple of weeks ago, but didn't stick to it. bad I know.

hanna said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
hanna said...

Well it sounds like lots of us are on the same wavelength!
And Amy - no they didn't know, but I've kind of blown it now by mentioning it here. There are a few that read this blog and now they're going to be all on edge about me coming to visit aren't they.

Ruby in the Dust said...

we're on the same page; just worked out a 3-week menu plan yesterday, got sick of staring at the fridge every night! and that cake is my favourite too, foolproof and delicious :)

hanna said...

deleted comment. that looks suspicious -I assure you it's not, it's just me trying to leave a comment on my own blog!

Rhea said...

I made a double batch of the chocolate cake last night. Iced it with a mix of icing sugar, cocoa, butter and milk and it was a total hit! Almost a mudcake like texture.
You are also right about the shopping. It is so worth it to source quality food. I started doing it for m family about a year ago and haven't looked back. We are so much healthier for it too.

kimberlee said...

this plan sounds really excellent and I am really interested in hearing how it goes. I was getting closer to achieving that, until our vegetable box drop company dispersed and then we moved to berlin. all the cheap center city super markets make me feel a bit sad, all over packed, over processed food from all over the place. buts its cheap and we are poor. Anyway, I hope to get to a place again so I can do what you are doing. so keep up letting us know how its going!

Rebecca said...

Hey you are doing exactly what I want to try. It will be great to see how you do it and get idea. Have you read Sophie Grays new book Live Well Spend Less? That has some good ideas.