simple chocolate cake

When my friend, KN told me that her son, DT (who is my god-son) wants to be a chef when he grows up and that he is interested in baking, I suggested taking a day off work and spend it baking with DT and his two siblings, ST and GT (who are my two god-daughters).

As DT is only in primary 3 (Grade 3) and his sisters younger than that, I experimented with recipes that are easy enough for them to manage. After several not-so-good attempts, I managed to bake a chocolate cake that children would be able to attempt on their own.

This is what chefs would probably call an "entry level" cake. It is a simple chocolate cake that is suitable for beginners. Notwithstanding this, the cake is very soft. My only regret is that I used a disposable aluminium 8" x 8" cake pan. The cake rose above the rim of the cake pan and hence, became a little out of shape at the top.

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
125g butter (softened)
3 eggs
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Grease and line an 8" x 8" cake pan. Set aside.

3. Sift the self-raising flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda in a mixing bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients and beat on low speed with an electric mixer until the ingredients are combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 3 minutes or until the mixture is changed in colour and smooth.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.