Chocolate Treacle Cake

Cake isn’t something I often bake. Usually, my preferred treat is a gooey flapjack or batch of crunchy biscuits. But sometimes an idea comes along that is so devastatingly tempting that it’s impossible to resist. Chocolate Treacle Cake is just such an idea. The thought of viscous black treacle in league with bitter chocolate, sweetened using an unrefined brown sugar proving too much to contain. If you’ve never baked with treacle, this autumn is the time to start.

An all-in-one cake, this is a very simple bake and shouldn’t take long at all to throw together. Even the icing, which perhaps sounds complicated, requires mere minutes. Just be sure to whip the topping enough, as it won’t be firm enough to begin with. A few minutes should suffice and will mean the difference between a sloppy mess and a perfectly formed masterpiece.

The mixture for this cake is quite wet, so don’t use sandwich tins that have removable bases. Or if you do, make sure they are water-tight. This didn’t occur to me when baking my cake and I ended up with one or two holes in the sponge as a result. But don’t worry, despite being wet the treacle and chocolate sponge will turn out beautifully. It isn’t over-egged, I promise!

Of course, if such a sweet cake isn’t exactly what you enjoy, there are other autumnal options that you may prefer. Check out my recipes for Spiced Apple and Walnut Tray Bake and Apricot Chocolate Fudge Cake.

Chocolate Treacle Cake

Makes 1 Sandwich Cake

Ingredients:

for the cake:

• 250g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 200g soft brown sugar
• 200g butter
• 125 ml whole milk
• 2 tbsp black treacle
• 3 eggs

for the treacle icing:

• 200g full-fat soft/cream cheese
• 50g soft brown sugar
• 100g butter, softened
• 1 tbsp black treacle

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C(fan) and line two sandwich tins (25cm in diameter).
2. In a large saucepan gently melt the butter, together with the sugar, milk, black treacle and cocoa powder. Whisk to ensure a smooth texture.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Tip in the melted butter/treacle mixture and whisk once again to create a smooth cake batter.
4. Incorporate the eggs into the batter one-by-one until thoroughly mixed. Spoon the mixture equally between the two cake tins and bake for 25-30 minutes, until cooked through.
5. Once cooked set the tins to one side for 5 minutes to cool. Turn the sponges out and place on a rack to cool fully.
6. Meanwhile, using a hand whisk blend together the ingredients for the icing until creamy and thick. Cover and pop in the fridge until the cake is ready to be iced.
7. Liberally ice each half of the cake before assembling and consume as soon as possible, though it should last covered in the fridge for roughly 3 days.

Cost: Though decadent, this chocolate treacle cake is actually rather a frugal bake. Using an inexpensive soft cheese (49p from Aldi), you should be able to bake your own for as little as £3.50.