It feels a bit – odd; insensitive, maybe – to write about light-hearted, essentially fluffy things at the moment, with the news so full of the horrors of war and man’s inhumanity. It’s part of the reason why I’m late today, with my talk of easy, lazy chocolate fudge cake. But sometimes, when all is doom and gloom outside, what’s needed is something light. Something to remind of better days. Of chocolate cake days.
Even during the often chocolate-free period of Lent. I haven’t given things up for Lent for a few years, and this year doesn’t feel like a year to be giving things up either. So I haven’t.
Instead, after the lazy Delia Smith cake last month, I thought I’d try another lazy cake. I don’t often use packet-cakes, but it feels appropriate, after reading Smith’s How to Cheat at Cooking.
Actually, this was even easier, because M made it in the end.
I’ve used Wright’s cake-mixes before, with the bread-machine option for baking. As I recall, it turned out reasonably well: a bit dry, perhaps, but nothing some buttercream or fudge icing or ice cream couldn’t fix.
M didn’t use the bread-machine option this time, probably because it isn’t readily available on the side but hidden away in a cupboard to be forgotten. It did seem to take longer than the recommended 60 minutes to bake, though, which seems an awfully long time for a chocolate cake. But perhaps that was just because he used the loaf-tin.
It is a good cake-mix, though. Just needs a bit of water and a bit of oil, and a good mixing. Turns out a good fudge cake. Very brownie-like in the middle. Be good with sour cream and berries.
We’ll be trying some of the other cake-mixes in the future. Because who doesn’t like fuss-free cakes?
Fairy Cake Living 