OK, I’ve had a couple of requests for the chocolate cake recipe from my last post. I’ll type it up in a minute. First, a moment of inspiration…..
I love colour. It’s fascinating. I particularly love colour in the natural world, because as I’ve repeated ad nauseum, Mother Nature is surely the very best designer.
But sometimes, the juxtaposition of ordinary objects can be inspiring.
The other day, I was emptying the dishwasher. (I know, I know: could my life possibly be any more glamorous?) I’d nearly finished. There were just a few dishes on the upper tray, and they looked like this:-
And I thought, wow. Imagine a jumper. Or maybe a throw. Mostly rich dark grey. Quite fine yarn, pure wool, maybe four-ply. But with stripes at the bottom, maybe 1.5 inches wide, just one of each in those colours. It could work. Maybe?
But you need some cake, yes? OK, here, from memory, is my chocolate cake recipe. It is a heavily modified version of one I found online a couple of years ago. North American readers can – I think – buy buttermilk rather than faffing around with adding vinegar to ordinary milk.
The Twisted Yarn Chocolate Overdose
Ingredients (of which there are many, but don’t worry, this cake is easy)
200g dark chocolate, at least 70% cocoa solids. Yum. Try not to eat it before it hits the mixing bowl.
200g unsalted butter
125ml water (the only healthy thing in this cake)
75ml milk
a few drips of white vinegar
85g plain flour
85g self-raising flour
25g cocoa powder
half teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
200g light muscovado sugar
175g caster sugar (yes this cake is seriously sweet)
3 large eggs
half teaspoon of almond essence
Line a 20-cm cake tin. Set oven to 140*c (fan oven) or 160*c (conventional oven).
Put the chocolate, butter, and water in a small pan and set over a very low heat. Stir occasionally until you have a molten, chocolatey mush.
Meanwhile, add the vinegar to the milk and set aside.
Mix the flours, sugars, cocoa powder, and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl. Add almond essence.
Beat the three eggs.
Combine all the ingredients. Beat them briefly. Sling them in the cake tin and pop the cake in the oven. Bake for approximately 90 minutes. It’s done when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Fend off any passing children or husbands.
Yum.
Mind Margins says
Knitting and chocolate cake. What could be better? Yum!
The Twisted Yarn says
🙂
eclectichomelife.blogspot.com says
Fantastic, will make the cake this weekend and let you know, thanks for posting x Think the three colours from the dishwasher will make a beautiful jumper, the colours are muted and blend well I feel. Look forward to seeing this new creation x
The Twisted Yarn says
Thank you. There are tooooooo many projects buzzing round in my head at the moment.
eclectichomelife.blogspot.com says
I know the feeling of too many projects buzzing around in the head, mine are generally quick ones though, alothough just about to start a blanket (ahh) and all yours seem to be so impressive and large! Will not badger you for the dishwasher project!!
Tina says
Oh yum ! Thank you for sharing 🙂
The Twisted Yarn says
Yum indeed. You’re very welcome.
cerrine says
I LOVE that emptying the dishwasher brought to mind thoughts about yarn and colors. It looks quite pretty in my imagination. I know I’m going to enjoy this blog just from that sentence (:
The Twisted Yarn says
Thank you. Now the challenge is to find some yarn in exactly those colours……..
SueL says
Lovely – thanks for this. You can get buttermilk here now – supermarkets sell it.
The Twisted Yarn says
Thank you. I’ll have a hunt for it next time I’m shopping. 🙂
somewhatbaffled2014 says
That cake looks so good I’m having a hard time not licking my computer screen!
Fyberspates Scrumptious 4ply comes in almost exactly your dish colours (gold, magenta and teal) and is an absolute delight to knit with. It’d make a gorgeous striped cardigan…
The Twisted Yarn says
Ha ha, I can post you a slice…
Will Google Fyberspates Scrumptious. Thanks for the recommendation. 🙂
The Twisted Yarn says
You’re right! And they sell it at Deramores…
somewhatbaffled2014 says
I made a jumper out of it scrumptious a couple of years ago. It certainly lives up to its name 😀
butlersabroad says
Ahh, what a shame I don’t like chocolate cake!! Bet you never knew there might ever be such a person!! But I do love the colours of your little dishes, reminds me of the colour of the landscape in Scotland in October. Beautiful.
The Twisted Yarn says
Yes, the colours are a tiny bit like a heathery landscape, only bolder.
But let me get this straight…. You Don’t Like Chocolate Cake?????
butlersabroad says
Nope, really don’t like it. I hate brownies too, not keen on chocolate ice cream at all and let’s just say that chocolate chip cookies aren’t my favourite! Let me put it to you another way… I got a chocolate orange in my Christmas stocking, 20 pieces, it’s now 29th Jan and I still have six pieces left!! But I do like chocolate, really I do!!
The Twisted Yarn says
Wow. Well if you’re ever looking for a home for the rest of that chocolate orange… 😉
nicolaknits says
Hi, thanks for “liking” some of my blog posts at NicolaKnits.wordpress.com. I came over here to take a look and love what you’re writing about (knitting, crochet, parenting, chocolate cake!!!) so have clicked on “follow.” Best wishes, Nicola
annie says
Love those dishes— the colours are gorgeous. I also love the way your inspiration makes it’s journey through your creative mind. That brought a huge smile to my face. And thanks so much for the recipe. Can’t wait to try it.
roma1912 says
Thank you soooo much for sharing the recipe 😀
The Twisted Yarn says
You’re very welcome.
knitsnips says
Love the color combo! Can’t wait to see what you do with it.
The Twisted Yarn says
Thank you. Still trying to choose between a jumper and something housey.