My decadent chocolate brownie cake is pictured with my late grandmother’s tablecloth and a beautiful, fragrant bouquet from The Village Florist  villageflorist.com.au


When planning the menu for a family gathering, whether it’s with friends or family, casual or formal, I always think about dessert first. It is a course with pretty much no nutritional value (unless it is a platter of fruit but I’m referring to the divinely sweet and decadent dishes here!), one which should really be eaten is moderation (restraint can be sooo difficult at times), and the course that always attracts the greatest praise and enjoyment from diners. Perhaps the reason lies in dessert not being a core part of our everyday eating plan and therefore being a treat, something not to be taken for granted. Then again, it could be because I have a sweet tooth and adore anything chocolatey, just like this smooth and satisfying Chocolate Brownie Cake. 

I baked this cake for our family Saint’s Day on Monday and it was so quick to assemble and bake that it will certainly become part of my go-to repertoire for future lunch and dinner gatherings. This can even be made up to 3 days ahead as the quantity of chocolate and butter keeps the cake moist and silky . 

Chocolate Brownie Cake – to serve 16 people
Ingredients
185g unsalted butter
150g good quality dark chocolate – *I combined 100g of chocolate with 70% cocoa butter content, and 50g of chocolate with 56% cocoa butter content)
250g caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
40g cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting the top of the cake
110g plain flour

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees fan forced. 

Prepare your cake tin. Lightly grease with butter, a fluted cake or pie tin measuring 23cm x 2.5 in depth. Sprinkle the sides and bottom with flour. Shake out the excess.

Place the butter and chocolate into deep heat-proof bowl, and melt either in a microwave or over a saucepan of simmering water. Once melted, add the vanilla and sugar and stir to combine. 

Add the eggs and beat the mixture with an electric hand mixer until combined slightly frothy. 

Add the salt, cocoa and plain flour and beat again on high for 2 minutes. This will aerate and smooth the rich mixture. 

Pour into your tin and bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes. The cake will rise just slightly and is ready when you touch it gently with your hand and it does not feel squishy. Do not over bake or your cake will be dry!

Once ready, stand in the tin for 10 minutes before carefully sliding away the fluted sides of the tin. You can do this by placing your hand covered by a tea-towel under the cake tin, or balancing the tin on a cup and pulling the sides down and away from the cake. 

Dust the top of the cake generously with extra cocoa powder and serve warm with whipped cream or set aside until needed. If you are not eating this on the day, once completely cool, wrap in plastic and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving. 

*Decorative tip – Chocolate and raspberries are perfect partners so I dipped fresh raspberries in melted chocolate and then placed them randomly across the cake. You could do this with strawberries, large blueberries or just leave the cake with cocoa dusting.