Baking doesn’t need to be super complicated, sometimes all you need is just a handful of basic ingredients to rustle up something delicious.
To help home bakers with their skills, food creator Emma Wills, also known as @emsfoodiefix, has shared her uber simple recipe for the ‘best looking cake ever’.
Bemoaning the complexity of some chocolate fudge cake recipes, Emma explained that some will list over ten different ingredients just for cake alone. Instead, she suggested three major differences to her recipe which will make the whole process easier and more user-friendly.
In an Instagram post from September, she wrote: “ 5 Ingredient Chocolate Fudge Cake. The best part is you probably have the ingredients in your kitchen already. Now disclaimer this is a cheat chocolate fudge cake, so it will not taste the same as a regular one. This is the cake you make when it’s Friday night and you want an easy chocolate cake asap!”
In the clip posted alongside it, Emma said: “Chocolate fudge cakes can have up to, like… 13 ingredients. This one has only five. There’s no buttermilk or oil, or even sour cream.
“So we’re going to do three things: Bloom the cocoa in boiling water, bake the cakes for a shorter time, and drizzle the cakes in a chocolate simple syrup after they are baked.”
Baking fans were left amazed by the recipe, with @stir.taste.smile saying: “Only 5?! Omg.”
@thecurrycountess wrote, “This looks stunning,” while @chef_brendon commented, “I need this recipe. Looks delicious.”
@recipebreakout agreed: “Omg… how divine.” @karinabakeswithlove said: “Omg the best looking cake ever.”
So if you want to whip up Emma’s simplified chocolate fudge cake recipe, this is what you’ll need.
5-ingredient chocolate fudge cake
Ingredients
Chocolate fudge cake
- 100g salted butter
- 280g caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- 160g self raising flour
- 60g cocoa powder
- 150ml boiling water
Chocolate simple syrup
- 1/2 cup caster/granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tsp cocoa powder
Chocolate fudge buttercream
- 2 tubs of chocolate fudge frosting (3 if they are small)
But if you want to make it from scratch here’s an easy chocolate fudge buttercream recipe:
- 90g cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 450g icing sugar
- 150 soft butter
- 100g double cream
Method
Chocolate fudge cake
Boil the kettle. Firstly, cream room temperature butter and sugar together, before adding one egg at a time, mix using electric beaters.
Fold in half the sifted flour using a spatula, then fold in the remaining flour.Mix together the cocoa powder and boiling water in a separate bowl. Let it sit for two minutes.
Pour half the cocoa mixture into the cake batter. Fold using the spatula until combined. Then repeat with the remaining.
Line three six inch cake tins with greaseproof paper, and then pour in the cake batter. Bake in the oven for 16 minutes at 160℃ fan.
Chocolate simple syrup
Add all the ingredients in a small saucepan, on a medium heat melt the sugar in the water. Once the sugar is melted, remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.
Chocolate fudge buttercream
Add the cocoa, and icing sugar in a mixing bowl. Then add in the room temperature butter, make sure it is very smooth.
Heat the cream in the microwave for 40 to 50 seconds. Pour over the ingredients in the bowl. Mix together with an electric beater.
Cover with cling film, make sure it touches the chocolate fudge buttercream. Place in the fridge to cool and firm up.
When you are ready to use the buttercream, take it out of the fridge and use the electric beater to whip it up which will make it the perfect texture to spread on the cake.
Assemble and decorate
Once the cakes have cooled, cut off the tops to make them flat. Poke holes in the cakes, then drizzle three to five tablespoons of simple syrup on each cake layer to make them more moist.
Spread a layer of chocolate fudge frosting on top of the first cake layer. Repeat with the second cake layer. Turn the third cake layer upside down and place it on top.
Spread the chocolate fudge buttercream all over the cake in a messy pattern. If using pre-made buttercream, Emily recommends warming the buttercream slightly (for around ten to 15 seconds) in the microwave. before spreading on the cake.