Chocolate Easter Cakes

These Chocolate Easter Cakes are easy to make, taste delicious and would make a lovely present.

Ingredients

140 grams  very soft butter (measure the butter and leave it out of the fridge for a few hours)

140 grams caster sugar (golden caster sugar will give the nicest flavour but white is OK too)

3 eggs (try and leave them out of the fridge for a few hours before you cook. They will mix in better.)

100 grams self raising flour

25 grams cocoa powder

For topping

85 grams milk chocolate

85 grams butter 

140 grams icing sugar  (this is the powdery sugar.   It makes very smooth icing.  The golden icing sugar tastes lovely,  but isn’t white.   As this topping is chocolate brown,  use the golden icing sugar if you can.)

2 small packs of mini eggs (or any chocolates you like)

Equipment you will need

Large mixing bowl

A wooden spoon

A sieve (this is a cross between a bowl and a fishing net! There’s probably one at the back of your cupboard! If you don’t have one, don’t worry.)

12 hole cake tin

Paper cases for the buns (there are some really pretty ones in the shops – even gold and silver ones!)

A cooling rack,  if you have one.   

Skills you will learn

How to melt chocolate.
Creaming together margarine (or butter) and sugar.

What to do

1.  Cream together the margarine (or butter) and the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.

2. Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time, mixing them in with your wooden spoon.

If the eggs are too cold, or you add too many at once, the mixture can go all lumpy.  Cooks say that the mixture has ‘curdled’ when this happens.  Don’t worry, if this happens to your mixture.  Carry on making your cake. It will still taste nice.

3. Heat the oven to 190 Centigrade/ Gas Mark 5.   Now to add the flour and cocoa powder.   It is a really good idea to use a sieve for this bit.   It gets more air into the mixture (more air = lighter cakes).   It also gets rid of any lumps (cocoa can be very lumpy).

Sieving is also a good way of mixing the cocoa and flour together without having the mix the mixture too much.

Put your sieve over the mixing bowl. Pour in the flour and cocoa. Now tap the side of the sieve with your hand and shake the sieve gently. The flour and cocoa will begin the fall into the bowl like magic dust. Keep going until it is all in the bowl.

4. If you are not using a sieve, just put the flour and cocoa into the bowl.

5. Gently stir with a wooden spoon, until all the flour is mixed in.

The ‘dry’ ingredients – like cocoa, flour, spices – are always added last of all. This is because they don’t like being mixed together with the butter and the eggs too much.  Remember how mean you were when you creamed together the butter and sugar.  Now you must be very gentle, only stirring until the flour has disappeared into the mixture. If you mix too hard and for too long, your cakes will be dry and tough.

6.   Put the paper cases in the bun tray.   Fill the cases so they are three quarters full.    You may have some mixture left.  You could make another 4 to 6 cakes with this later if you wish.

7.  Bake the cakes in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes.   They should have risen up to the top of the case and should feel  ’springy’ when you tap them on the top with your finger.   Get an adult to help you with taking them out of the oven.

8.  Allow them to cool in the tin for a few minutes.    Then take them out and put them on a metal rack if you have one,  or a plate.      

9.  Now to make the topping.     Melt the chocolate .

10.  Cream the butter with the icing sugar (this means mixing them together and is an important cooking skill).   Then stir in the melted chocolate.     You have now made the chocolate fudge topping – this is called ‘frosting’ ,  which is a nice word.     I think it comes from when people decorated Christmas cakes with icing sugar and butter,  to make it look like snow and frost.

11.   Decorate each cake with the chocolate frosting and put the mini eggs on top.    

Delicious!

Other Recipes

If you like chocolate why not try Very Easy Chocolate Fudge Cakes

Story

Easter Bunnies Steal the Cakes!