A Kid-Baked-That Chocolate Cake
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Chocolate cakes come in all shapes and sizes. There are skinny sleek shiny ones with a bit of crust attitude, gorgeous plump ones, fast ones, sticky ones and plain-old-Jane brown ones that are going nowhere but please all. This one here is called A Kid-Baked-That Chocolate Cake. Because that is exactly what it is.
Rivs is now eight. A fact he recited proudly on our two hour journey to Brasserie Bread for his first ever bread baking class. Because he made rosemary rolls and chocolate chip cookies at the class, he felt like he could conquer the world. Like there was a whole kitchen of possibilities just waiting for him to pluck one. This cake was a ripple effect of that baking class and that surge of positive energy. This cake was a joint venture on a not-so-rainy-but-oh-so-quiet afternoon between Rivs and me.
No matter how many times you bake a chocolate cake, there is always a new recipe to try out. Because we are smart and evolved beings and recognise the shortcomings of our oven, we picked the simplest one we could find. Well, I did! Then Rivs sat down for half an hour and sincerely typed the recipe on the Plaintext App on his iPod touch. (Yes, he has started filing away recipes in his app and dreams of writing a blog someday – be still my heart!) As he measured and mixed, I lounged in one corner with a cup of tea. We chatted and got silly. We laughed and I instructed. Rivs monologued quite a bit while my mind wandered off and remembered the time when we first moved into our home, when the top of his head barely cleared the top of the counter. He was just three at the time and now at eight he was threatening to steal my spot as the second tallest person in the house.
We loved that the cake was honestly simple. We loved that it had basic ingredients and was a pure tip-in-the-bowl-and-mix kind of cake. It baked in record time while we made our very simple and not-so-sweet icing. Throughout the afternoon, I showed Rivs by example the dos and donts of baking. I even dabbed a bit of icing on the warm cake when it had just come out of the oven and showed him why he should never ice a warm cake – because the icing melts into a puddle!
When it was completely cooled, I set him loose with an icing spatula and he went to work quite artistically. Gummi Bear who was back home in time for the cake to be iced kept sneaking in a stray finger to scoop some icing off the cake. His hand was promptly swatted away by Rivs who was quite enjoying being in charge. The cake was gorgeous in its simplicity, rich and fudgy with a sweet and salty icing. We even had a go at making it "A Special Ocassion Cake" with slices of strawberries and some edible flowers. The most valuable thing I took away from the whole experience was watching Rivs awe when he realised how a plain old brown chocolate cake could become a stunner with just some icing and strawberries. And he, hopefully absorbed some more positive energy from his cake baking.
I urge you to bake this cake. Baking with kids is a joy, but if you can’t then bake it with your loved ones, friends or just by yourself. It will amaze you how something so simple can taste like a craving fulfilled. Bake it and take it to work, spread some chocolate joy and the good karma will come back to you. I promise! And if you have a favourite recipe to cook/bake with someone, I would love to know all about it!
A KID-BAKED-THAT CHOCOLATE CAKE
A super easy, quick recipe for a fudgy chocolate cake that even your kid can bake. A simple cake that is instantly special with fresh strawberries.
Preparation Time – 15 Minutes
Cooking Time – 45 Minutes
Makes – To Serve 8
Ingredients
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup caster sugar
125g butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
Method
Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Grease and line a 20cm (8 inch) round springform tin.
Sift flour and cocoa in a large bowl. Add the sugar, eggs, vanilla, milk and butter. Beat with an electric mixer for approximately 3 minutes, until combined and creamy.
Spoon mixture into prepared tin. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until cooked through and risen. Remove from the oven and cool in tin.
Ice the cake when it is completely cooled. To make the icing, combine 80g butter, 60g pure icing sugar, 3 tablespoons golden syrup, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons milk in a large bowl. Beat until light and creamy.
This is cuteness! Love your boys, Sneh! Squeeze them tight for me, xx
Nash at Plateful´s last [type] ..Red Fish Curry — Meen Vevichathu
A splendid cake! Really tempting and so moist as well as delicious looking. Great job Rivs!
Cheers,
Rosa
OMG so amazing i wanna try ^^
Marcello Arena´s last [type] ..Vuoi un mazzolino di fiori di zucca??
Gorgeous! Love the look of this cake and the simplicity too. Very impressed that the berries look so flavoursome and your photos are gorgeous.
This is such a lovely story. Some of my favourite childhood memories are of baking with my Mum – I’m sure he’ll treasure this forever – even when he has a blog of his own!!
thelittleloaf´s last [type] ..Homemade Graham Crackers
How SWEET !!!!
you have got really adorable budding bakers at home
and the cakes look so lovely, both of them look equally tempting albeit one being the rustic and another the beauty….
Is this the first cake that Rivs is baking ?? if yes e is definitely going to treasure the memory of baking the first chocolate cake in his mom’s kitchen
cheers !
Abhilasha
Abhilasha´s last [type] ..Warm Wishes for the NEW YEAR ……
That is one special kid!
Jen @ Savory Simple´s last [type] ..Watermelon Vodka Spritzer
This is so special. I’m terrible for not reading whole posts but I loved readIng every last word. I’m so proud of your son and I think it’s so wonderful that you’re teaching him the joy of baking. You sound lke a wonderful mother. Xxx Emily
awesome ! the apple does not fall farther away from the tree- does it ???
Priya Sreeram´s last [type] ..Olive Oil Bread
So beautiful! Baking or cooking with your children really does make everything special. I have been wanting a simple chocolate cake for a while and this post made it worse.
chinmayie @ love food eat´s last [type] ..Peri Peri Peas Soup
Awwww you guys are so adorable. Your lil one baked a bread and now your eight year old boy bakes a cake
You must be one proud mama and I am sure this cake must taste just perfect. I am saving it to give a try. I might have to figure out a way to use white chocolate because that’s what the husband prefers mostly and yes I want to bake this with him!
Kankana´s last [type] ..Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
What a cutie! And he typed the recipe himself. I can’t wait til my li’l Daisy’s old enough to bake w me. Next on my baking list is Rivs’ Choco Cake. Cheers!
What a fun day of baking. I love the fresh berry topper!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)´s last [type] ..plum-mascarpone ice cream
Absolutely love this cake! Beautifully done!
What a clever boy and it’s so pretty. Quite the artist.
Suzanne Perazzini´s last [type] ..Snapper & Cauliflower Couscous – A Gluten-Free Dinner
Great cake, looks as if the boys had lots of fun! Dennis is feeling inspired after seeing the photos and is taking over the kitchen right now
What a very happy blog
! The cake looks wonderful, the story behind it is super special and goes into my files. Thank you for sharing your family with us, Sneh!
How wonderful to spend that time cooking. I love the fact that Riv is already thinking about writing a blog and collecting recipes. How proud you must be. GG
Glamorous Glutton´s last [type] ..Home Barn and Home Made
He is a champion Sneh! A future Masterchef perhaps? Wonderful to see the kids in the kitchen embracing cooking.
Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul´s last [type] ..“Kounoupidi Kapama”-Braised Cauliflower
Warms my heart to see boys take an interest in food and baking in the kitchen. You’re a good Mum!! Can’t go wrong with a chocolate cake
Ooo baking bread, cookies and now this gorgeous chocolate cake! I wish I had his knowledge at that age! Wow…. Very impressive and he looks so cute with his chocolate cake. The cake itself looks absolutely to die for!
Simone´s last [type] ..Mushroom dumplings for Donna Hay Challenge #10
Wow, the kid is showing lots of potential. My kid is 4 and I hope at this age she will be just as talented at baking and cooking because I learned the love of making food myself rather later in life. How I wish I started young. By the way, the cake looks yummy!
Reese´s last [type] ..Best Credit Card for Young Professionals
That cakes looks great – Rivs is a natural! Yum, especially wit the strawberry topping in my opinion!
Martyna @ Wholesome Cook´s last [type] ..Custard Rice Pudding with Apples and Cinnamon Meringue
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