This recipe is for my friend Ellen, who took umbrage with my comment that our chocolate slab cake was almost as easy to make as a packet mix (truly it is, El, but maybe not at 11pm).
This cake is even easier, only requires a few ingredients, and is made and iced in the blink of an eye. It’s not as moreish or luscious as the chocolate slab cake – but a pleasant treat nonetheless. And it’s perfect for those times when you just need something super quick and easy.
Chocolate Fudge Cake
(adapted from the Australian Womens Weekly’s Cakes and Slices Cookbook)
- 250g (9oz) dark chocolate, chopped (I used Callebaut 811 54% callets)
- 125g (½ cup) unsalted butter, chopped
- 150g (2/3 cup) castor (superfine) sugar
- 100g (2/3 cup) self-raising flour
- 4 large (59g) free range eggs
1. Preheat oven to 190C (375F) or 175C (350F) with fan.
2. Line a 23cm (9″) square tin with parchment paper. The original instructions called for a 19cm x 29cm lamington tin (7½” x 11½”), but I didn’t have one. The cake would probably work just as well in a 20cm (8″) square, but it might need a slightly longer baking time.
2. In a large pyrex mixing bowl, melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave, using short 30 second bursts on high and stirring well between each (this could also be done in a double boiler on the stove). It will only take a minute or two – take care not to scorch or boil the mixture. Stir well to combine and allow to cool slightly, to ensure the eggs don’t scramble in the next step.
3. Add the castor sugar, self-raising flour and eggs to the bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low until all the ingredients are combined. Then raise the mixer speed and beat well for 3 minutes until the batter is smooth and light.
4. Pour and scrape the batter into the lined pan and bake for 20 – 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out cleanly. The original recipe specified 30 minutes, but in my fan forced oven, this cake was ready in just 20 minutes. Allow to rest in the pan for about 10 minutes before lifting onto a wire rack to cool.
5. The original recipe was served simply dusted with icing sugar, but I topped ours with a half batch of our ever reliable Jamie Oliver chocolate icing, using the quantities below:
Chocolate Icing
(from Jamie Oliver’s Return of the Naked Chef)
- 50g/1¾ oz unsalted butter
- 50g/1¾ oz dark chocolate (I used Callebaut 811)
- 50g /1¾ oz icing sugar (sifted)
- 1½ tablespoons (6 teaspoons/30ml) milk
Melt the ingredients in a bowl over some lightly simmering water. Stir until blended well and allow to cool slightly. Pour over cake and allow to set.
Click here for a printable version of this recipe
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
oooo yum!! I have to try this! In Singapore, there’s a very famous chocolate fudge cake stall that only sells 2 kinds of cakes, fudge cake and fruit cake. The stall opens at weird hours and it’s best to call in advance… Yours reminds me of theirs….hmmmmm
Soy, I heard about this place last time I was there! Is that the one which only opens one morning a week or something? This recipe is just a simple little thing, but it is nice. :)
Oh my gosh these look so good!
Oh my goodness! I am resisting the urge to run downstairs and make this right now. But I think we might be having a dessert treat tonight!
This looks so yummy! I’m not big cake person but this looks so tempting.
Celia…what a tempting treat! Mouthwatering!
Happy wife (what a lovely blog name! :)), thanks for stopping by!
Nancy, Marilyn, Yvette, thank you! It was so easy to make! As I said to Soy, it’s a simple little cake, but sometimes we just need something that’s quick and easy – school holidays for example (she says, having had to feed the boys four hot meals a day! hahaha).
Easy cakes are my favourites! Especially the ones that are light on the bowls…. I was just trying to memorise that icing too, 50…50…50… 30 ml milk – yup I think I’ve got it….
What a useful cake to have up a sticky sleeve :)
Joanna, the original recipe said to beat the eggs in a bowl first, but that was another bowl to add, and I only wanted to use one. I was being supremely lazy! :) Nice round numbers too, eh? :)
I was thinking after your snippet from yesterday that I need to make something chocolatey- and here it is!
Re: your butterscotch bars, you’re that parent that all the other kids whisper…”oh I hope Mrs Fig Jam and Lime Cordial bakes today… Yeah!!!… She brought in stuff!…Your mum’s the best!”
Those mum’s at school were the greatest :-)
Aah, Brydie, you’re sweet, thank you! I hope they enjoy them – I’ve been baking them for four years now. Apparently there’s a little revolt if there’s no treats. :)
I’m still traumatised from stuffing up a ‘foolproof’ lemon cake several times. I prefer difficult recipes, that way I don’t feel so bad when I mess them up.
But Lee…there’s no glass or hot marmalade involved! ;-)
It’s funny, but I do actually know what you mean. There’s no loss of face stuffing up a croquembouche.. :)
Thanks Celia.
I honestly believe that there is no such thing as too many chocolate cake recipes and I am more than happy to try them all!
Yum. Chocolate. And that is all I have to say.
that looks unbelievable! not as rich?! look at the shine on that glaze, i think i must make this tomorrow. i must, i tell you. just so i can publicly dispute your not-so-rich theme!
Amanda, Babs, thank you my fellow chocoholics! :)
Dana, hahaha, go on then. Everyone else is busy disputing me…I should introduce you to my friend Ellen. I think her words were…”Exactly when was the last time you actually made a packet mix??”
Okay C, this one really does sound very easy. Does it work with milk chocolate or semisweet?
Dan, I’ve only tried it with dark, not milk chocolate. Semisweet and bittersweet are both dark chocolate.
as a chocaholic friend of yours, i definitely look forward preparing this tempting version of your yummy choc fudge cake and i will happily share it tomorrow morning with my female & male colleagues! thx so much celia!kiss fm greece!
I love mixes that are easy-peasy. It’s more important to have a lot of these under your belt than super technical, fancy-pancy ones. These are the ones you always come back to.
By the way, thanks sooo much (insert sarcasm here) now littlej wants treats made for her concert band too! Great example of super mum!
Gina, that’s made me happy, thank you!! I love having a chocoholic friend in Greece! :)
Chef, what can I say, you will be awash with love and good wishes from the entire concert band. From experience – solid brownies and bar cakes work well, choose a recipe with no nuts, and forget about individual cookies and cupcakes, or you’ll get RSI from scooping mix or filling patty liners. :)
I always make butterscotch bars at the request of the brass players (BB plays the french horn, SM the trumpet), but I’ve had really great success with the supernatural brownies recipe – easy to make and scale up. (See, I’m taking it very seriously now and assuming you actually will be baking for the concert band..hahahaha)
Oh gosh…., I just had a baron cup of tea…, I really wanted something chocolatie to nibble on, ratted high ‘n low through the pantry shelves & came up with some very ordinary pkt bikkies, sat down to read some of my fave bloggers…., and now look what you’ve done Celia. This is just what I felt like.
I’ve just quietly put my arrowroot biscuit down and moved it to the side, it just won’t do I’m afraid.
Good thing I can whip this little baby up in no time :)
I’m sitting here with a butterscotch brownie (thanks to you) ensuring that I don’t any anxious cravings. And also thanks to you I happen to have half a dozen free range eggs from some happy chickens! :)
Ooh, this looks good! SO good! I will be making this sometime soon, thanks for the recipe, Celia. And just look at your beautiful eggs, gorgeously plump and golden yolked! :)
Anna, thank you! You could whip this up in a heartbeat.. :)
Lorraine, there’s always more eggs here if you need them. The girls are laying enough for the whole neighbourhood at the moment! :)
Chris, did you see, it uses FOUR eggs! Hahahaha…I think only you’d understand what it’s like here at the moment. “Oh, can’t make that, it doesn’t use enough eggs”. :)
Celia, it would be very hard to beat your chocolate slab cake – that one I shall go back to again and again. You haven’t convinced me with this, but I guess I’d better try it and find out..
Celia- I love this 4 egg cake. Four eggs make this a faux brownie! Ilm making this for the men’s dessert in their lunch.
Dense and chocolate- maybe no icing so it won’t get stuck on the plastic wrapper.
Thanks!
good morning! yr fluffy yummy choc fudge cake was voted as a favorable one among my female & male colleagues and as being kindly asked for the recipe i reprinted it asap for their favor! thx so much again for sweetening our day! greetings! gina
I made a very simple chocolate pound cake for my daughter’s birthday (it had to be able to be cut into shapes) that used only cocoa but was remarkably chocolatey (it did use 3/4 cup of cocoa and I got good quality dutched). Celia, what is the thinking about using cocoa instead of chocolate in a cake? Is it about cost or something else?
Choc, I do so love the choc slab cake, but I have to admit that this one is easier! :)
Heidi, thank you! The original was shown cut into squares, dusted with icing sugar and topped with whipped cream. I hope your men like it! :)
Gina, thank you so much! It’s a thrill to know it’s been eaten for morning tea in Greece! :)
Sarah, happy birthday to your wee lass! Re the cocoa in cake, I think in the past it was about cost (in much the same way as a lot of older recipes used margarine or shortening). I think now though it’s become a texture or taste preference – a couple of the chocolate cakes I make regularly (the Guinness cake and the Choc Slab cake) both use a combination of cocoa and chocolate.
On the point about dutched cocoa – isn’t it wonderful? I love it and now won’t use anything else, but apparently the dutching process removes the antioxidant benefits of the cocoa, which is a great shame!