full recipe – raymond tan and audrey payne’s childhood chocolate cake

Lend us your ears, sweet treat-lovers. Raymond Tan is back with another bundle of scrumptious recipes, and this time he’s teaming up with foodie extraordinaire Audrey Payne for You’re Welcome! As a special little treat for frankerinos (we know you deserve one), this duo of expert bakers shares the loveliest chocolate cake from their childhood. Fire up that oven and get your hundreds and thousands at the ready – we’re travelling back in time through treats.

INGREDIENTS
To serve
Sprinkles or hundreds and thousands, to serve

Chocolate cake
Oil spray, for greasing
160g plain (all-purpose) flour
175g caster (superfine) sugar
100g Dutch-processed cocoa powder
3g (2/3 teaspoon) baking powder
4g (1 1/4 teaspoons) bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
3g (1/2 teaspoon) fine salt
200g milk, warmed
90g (1/3 cup) unsalted butter, melted
50g (2 1/2 tablespoons) strong brewed coffee, or two shots of espresso
3 eggs

Chocolate soak
100g white (granulated) sugar
10g cocoa powder
2g (1/3 teaspoon) fine salt
5g (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract

Choc fudge frosting
100g Dutch-processed cocoa powder
100g pure icing (confectioners’) sugar
200g warm milk
2g (1/3 teaspoon) fine salt

METHOD
To make the chocolate soak
Combine the sugar, cocoa and salt in a large saucepan, pour in 100g water and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla and set aside.

To make the chocolate cake
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a rectangular 35 x 24 x 5cm cake tin with oil spray. Combine the flour, caster sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarb and salt in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, melted butter, coffee and eggs until combined, then pour this into the dry ingredients and give it a good whisk to combine. Pour the batter into the tin and bake until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes.

Remove from the oven and immediately pour the chocolate soak over the cake. Leave the cake in the tin to soak at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours. When the cake is completely cooled, flip it out onto a serving platter.

To make the fudge frosting and assemble
Add the choc fudge frosting ingredients to a bowl and mix to combine, then slather it over the top of the cake and cover in sprinkles. This cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, or in the fridge for a week.

Images and text from You’re Welcome! by Raymond Tan with Audrey Payne, photography by Louise Hagger. Murdoch Books RRP $49.99.

Hungry for more yummo recipes? Cook up a storm with Sarah Trad’s atayef bjebne cheesy pancakes or get your tastebuds dancing with Alison Roman’s fresh pasta salad. To stay up to date on more rad recipes, sign up to our newsletter.