BAKING BRILLIANCE

Edd Kimber shares his expert tips for creating showstopping cakes and bakes. This month a deep, dark chocolate cake with a choice of two glorious frostings

- EDD KIMBER

Edd Kimber was the first Great British Bake Off winner, is one of the UK’s best-loved bakers and the author of four baking books (his latest, One Tin Bakes, is out now). Find more of his recipes on Olive magazine.com and follow him on Instagram @theboywhobakes.

ULTIMATE DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE

It’s hard to quantify what exactly makes a devil’s food cake different to any other chocolate cake but to my mind the devilish variety is moist, deep and rich in colour, and is always made with some form of acidic ingredient (buttermilk, yogurt, soured cream) which helps with moistness and overall flavour, as acidity can help brighten and intensify chocolate notes. My version doesn’t stray too far from the classic but it does add rye flour, which contributes to the cake’s overall rich flavour. When it comes to the frosting, there are two options for different skill levels – a classic fudge frosting, and a slightly more complicated Swiss meringue buttercream.

Devil’s food cake

45 MINUTES + COOLING | SERVES 10-12 | EASY

unsalted butter 85g, diced

dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) 100g, roughly chopped

plain flour 185g

wholemeal rye flour 75g

baking powder 1 tsp

bicarbonate of soda 2 tsp

salt 1/2 tsp

light brown muscovado sugar 275g

cocoa powder 50g

black coffee 200ml, hot

buttermilk 225g

eggs 2 large

CLASSIC FUDGE FROSTING

unsalted butter 340g, softened

icing sugar 150g cocoa powder 60g

soured cream 5 tbsp

dark chocolate 200g, melted and cooled

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM (see troubleshooting tips, opposite)