I baked my Girl's bday cake

Daring hor. With these kind of skills still bake bday cake for my girl. As usual, i chose an easy recipe. She asked for chocolate cake even thou i proposed strawberry flavour. Its called "family chocolate cake". I feel that we hv been eating too much chocolate related cakes. Hubby at the end of the celebration also ask me if i can try other recipes like those very eggful flavour ji dan gao cake.


Ok, heres how the end product look.

How is it? Pretty? (if you are not asking for a smooth frost done) Well looks can be deceiving.

Hubby commented that the frosting is too yulky. Asked me how come i did not try it out in small amount first and told me I shd just stick with using chocolate. Cake wise, he at first said it taste like huat kueh, but after a few tries, without the frosting, told me is ok, but he dun like. The kids? They are only interested with the gummy hearts. I find the cake ok leh. The frosting (the recipe call it fudge) is really very powdery in taste, not to my liking too.  I post the recipe at the end. Try (if you chance upon this blog) and tell me so that I can compare to see if i did the right thing.

This recipe uses water in making the cake. I hv not come across such recipe so far, that is y tempt me to try. This is the in progress picture.

The mixture "grows" when boiling (perhaps the bicarbonate) so better prepare a bigger saucepan. I added in flour and egg all in one go cos the mixture is very watery. The flour at first appears in lumps but I hand mix the mixture with spoon first. Then I used the mixer to beat. I am not sure if i m right in beating the mixture. 
I beat for quite sometime before I am satisfied.
Anyway the mixture is almost at the ribbon stage.

The cake rose beautifully in the oven. Since I halved the recipe, so I thought I shd half the baking time too. But when i checked at end of 30 minutes, the cake is not cooked even though the cake rose high high. Guess what happen after the prick test. The cake cracked in the oven while still baking! So finally after 50 minutes (as per recipe time), the cake is out from oven.

Finally, the cake did not sink back down. This time the cake measures ard 3.5cm tall (i used a 8 by 8 inch square pan). How happy I am. A pity i cant test the cake at that moment, but as I need to trim off the cracked top for a flatter look to frost, i did try the bits and pieces from there. Quite ok, soft then. Heres how it looks inside.

 tall right? Did it look alright to you?

ok, heres the recipe taken off from the book "The Australian Women's Weekly, CAKES biscuits & slices". This book is borrowed from NLB.

Family chocolate cake -Preparation time 20 minutes, cooking time 50 minutes (plus cooling time)

Ingredients
2 cups (500ml) water
3 cups (660g) caster sugar
250g butter, chopped
1/3 cup (35g) cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 cups (450g) self raising flour
4 eggs

Fudge frosting
90 butter
1/3 cup (80ml) water
1/2 cup (110b) caster sugar
1 1/2 cups (240g ) icing sugar
1/3 cup (35g ) cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to moderate (180 dC). Grease deep 26.5cm x 33cm baking dish; line base with baking paper.
2. Combine the water, sugar, butter and sifted cocoa and soda in medium saucepan; stir over heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves, Bring to a boil then reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to large bowl; cool to room temperature.
3. Add flour and eggs to bowl; beat with electric mixer until mixture is smooth and pale in colour. Pour mixture into pan; bake about 50 minutes. Stand cake 10 minutesl turn, top-side up, onto wire rack to cool.
4. Spread cold cake with fudge frosting.

Fudge frosting -  combine butter, the water and caster sugar in small suacepan; stir over low heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. Sift icing sugar and cocoa into small bowl then gradually stir in hot butter mixture. Cover; refrigerate about 20 miutes or until frosting thickens. Beat with wooden spoon until spreadable.

Try it and let me know.