Sunday 20 May 2012

Chocolate fudge birthday cake




It is Mr CC’s birthday and time for one of his ‘challenges’ that only serve to prove what a hopeless cake decorator I am!  This year he wanted a chocolate cake (hurrah!  I can do that!) in the shape of Domo (shi....I mean sugar!).  Now Domo is quite a straightforward looking chap...but it’s always the simple characters that are the hardest to get right as there’s nowhere to hide.

Carving is not my forte:



Domo is an international phenomenon with a range of merchandise to rival Hello Kitty.  He is the mascot for a Japanese television station.  If you haven’t come across him, this is what he looks like:

I chose a rich chocolate sponge and this recipe in particular interested me because of the sheer amount of chocolate and cocoa it contains.  It is quite dense almost like a sponge/brownie hybrid – a heavy, but very flavoursome cake.  The addition of sour cream works well and adds a tang to the flavour and stops the whole texture being too cloying.


The chocolate fudge icing couldn’t be simpler – only three ingredients!  Not that you can see much of it, because Mr CC hinted that chocolate sprinkles might replicate Domo’s fur...hence the whole tube of chocolate sprinkles covering the cake!  The icing is a little unconventional and I need to point out how ugly it is when cooled.  Here it is just made and needing to cool (nice):


Here it is cooled and rather icky looking:



Here it is lovely and beaten and ready to spread on the cake.  What I’m trying to convey is don’t lose heart and think you’ve done anything wrong when it’s cooled:


This cake is rich – I’d recommend serving it with some cream to lighten it.  It is also more chocolatey than chocolate; a boast I don’t make lightly (I’d hate you to take me at my word and then be disappointed).  Serve in small slices...this is one to savour!



As it was a cake for Mr CC’s birthday, I didn’t want him to see it before it was finished.  I therefore had to delegate the final inspection to Domo Nerd:


If you don’t want a Domo cake (why wouldn’t you?????) then simply make this cake in a traybake tin and serve that way.  If you are making it like that then maybe halve the icing amounts, as I needed extra to cover the sides of Domo!
Happy birthday Mr CC


Ingredients
For the cake:
300g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
300g unsalted butter
300g light muscovado sugar
150ml hot water i.e. not just boiled but still hot
150ml soured cream
3 eggs, beaten
300g self raising flour
110g cocoa powder

For the icing (this is what I used; if you’re making a traybake consider halving it):
200g dark chocolate
340g condensed milk
200g unsalted butter

To decorate: chocolate sprinkles, fondant icing and maltesers (for the eyes)
To serve: cream

Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan oven 140°C/320°F/Gas mark 3.
Grease a 30cm x 20cm traybake tin.  I actually used a 27cm square disposable foil tin as, once I cut a strip of cake off to make the arms, it left me with a better Domo shape!
Put the chocolate, butter, sugar and hot water into a large saucepan and gently melt together, stirring frequently.
Once melted and combined remove from the heat and leave to cool for 5-10 minutes.
Stir in the soured cream and the eggs.
Transfer the mix to a stand mixer, or a bowl suitable to use an electric whisk in, and add the flour and cocoa.
Beat just until the ingredients are combined.  (NB.  I tried to incorporate the flour and cocoa in the pan using a balloon whisk but it was just too heavy and clumpy for my feeble arms to manage – hence the stand mixer)
Pour into the prepared tin – it will be runny – and bake for approximately an hour or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out almost clean.  I’d check the cake after 50 minutes as all ovens are different.
Leave to cool on a wire rack.
When the cake is cool you can make the icing: Place all the ingredients in a bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water.
Leave the ingredients to melt, stirring occasionally.
Remove from the saucepan and leave to cool; you may need to chill it to get it to a spreadable consistency.
If your icing looks a bit gloopy and unspreadable, put it in your stand mixer and beat it for a couple of minutes – this gets the texture just right for spreading.
Either spread the icing over the top of your traybake, or use to completely cover your Domo!
Decorate as required.
Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.
Eat.

31 comments:

Victory Rolls & Mixing Bowls said...

This is absolutely brilliant! Brave too. I love that you included and 'ugly' photo! Look delish and well decorated!

Nom!

Happy birthday to him! Xx

Cakefairyblog said...

What a great cake! He looks very sweet. I also the sound of spong/brownie. yum!

Gloria Baker said...

look delicious and funny!

Unknown said...

I've seen this little chap around but hadn't a clue who he was. Great cake!

Caroline said...

Wow, just wow! You definitely do yourself down, that's a fabulously decorated cake, I'd be chuffed to bits if I'd done that! Great likeness, and I love your little soft toy too. I hadn't seen Domo before but will look out for him now. Love the look of that fudgy cake and I'd not seen icing made that way before - I'll have to try it. Glad you showed pictures of it looking dodgy - I'd definitely assume I'd done something wrong if mine looked like that!

Happy Birthday to Mr CC.

Unknown said...

That looks really great!

Cakelaw said...

Happy birthday to Mr CC! I have never heard of Domo before, but it's definitely a cute cake. Thanks for the icing tip.

thelittleloaf said...

I LOVE this cake - the look on his (it's?) little face just made me laugh out loud. And you can't go wrong with chocolate cake :-)

Spencer said...

Great cake. Although I wouldn't know whether to eat it or frame it!

Kit @ i-lostinausten said...

Wow! What an Awesome cake! Look so cute & soo very yummy! My son will definitely love this cake! :)

Sarah-Jane - SiliconeMoulds.com said...

A job well done I think ! Very good likeness :-)

I guess your husband won't want to share it.

Anonymous said...

woah! this looks so yummy, the perfect chocolate cake to make. may i know whether its possible to substitute yogurt for sour cream?

The Caked Crusader said...

Hi Anonymous

Obviously, I haven't tried yoghurt but I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't work

Happy baking

Fuss Free Helen said...

Happy Birthday Mr CC!

The Domo looks a cross bwtween Sponge Bob and the Adipose. But far nicer!

Irishbaker said...

Have to say you did a brilliant job-looks just like the real thing!

Baking Addict said...

Awesome cake!! Mr CC must have been so impressed - it really looks like Domo! Happy Birthday Mr CC.

Pencil Kitchen said...

I reckon you did pretty well! I love Domo-kun too! This must have been fun!

Choclette said...

Your carving and decorating skills are brilliant. I would be exceptionally proud if I managed to pull off something as good as that. And the cake looks like my kind of cake, I like it dense and rich. Have to say I've never heard of Domo before, but whatever ....!

Lauralovescakes said...

This cake is so cute!!! I hope Mr CC enjoyed it!

Anonymous said...

Hi, is the condensed milk in the icing sweetened or unsweetened? thanks

the caked crusader said...

Hi Anonymous

Apologies for that - I didn't realise you could get unsweetened condensed milk. It's sweetened in this recipe.

Happy baking

Rachel S said...

oh my! I love everything about this! I want to make this RIGHT NOW.

WoWGamer said...

Without doubt, Mr CC must be a Domo fan! Thanks for sharing this recipe, I'll make use of this on my friend's birthday too. She's a big Domo fan herself.

Buy WoW Account

I heart cupcakes said...

I've just seen this and am in LOVE!!!
It's fabulous

Maggie said...

I love novelty cakes and this is brilliant CC!

Hazel - Chicken in a Cherry Sauce said...

This is wonderful! You've done a brilliant representation. What a cute character. Sounds like a very tasty cake too. I love it :)

sensibilia said...

Domo is not my type of guy! What an ugly little creature he is. Leaving him aside, "more chocolatey than chocolate" ! I really, really like the sound of this! Maybe this is the cake I will make for the Jubilee weekend. I've already laid in stock the Jubilee special loose tea blend to go with it!

Kate@whatkatebaked said...

Happy Birthday Mr CC! Indeed, who wouldn't want to be celebrating anther 12 months without Domo to tuck into?!

morri said...

Hey! Surprisingly enough, this time it wasn't me who benefited from your recipe (well, I did, but we'll get to that in a moment). A few days ago my sister asked for my advice - she wanted to bake her friend a chocolate birthday cake in the shape of a curled up cat. I thought that this cake was probably dense enough to hold its shape after sculpting/modelling and covering with icing, so I sent her the link. She complimented the cake on its serious chocolati-ness and called it "an instant blues reliever" (my husband jokingly called it "chocolate pretending to be cake"). And the best thing? When I visited her on Sunday, I was presented with a tupperware container full of cake trimmings that got discarded during modeling. The cake is insanely addictive. Lighter than a brownie and more crumbly (oh so crumbly!), but at the same time so soft and smooth. With a good carton of milk, I could probably eat all those leftovers by myself. Thanks for posting!

The Caked Crusader said...

Hi MOrri

Thanks for your lovely comment - I always love hearing about people enjoying my bakes!

Happy baking

Anonymous said...

Did you know that the recipe you used as icing is what we serve at children's parties in Brazil rolled into a small ball and covered with chocolate sprinkles? There are many variations of this "fudge": condensed milk and butter alone, replacing the chocolate with 1/2 package of strawberry gelatin, or with peanuts, or with coconut... Even with grated cheese! Anyways, loved your cake, and your blog!