Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake: Recipe

About 10 years ago, whilst I was at sixth form college a girl in my class brought in a gorgeously moist looking chocolate cake (think Bruce Bogtrotter) boasting that it was made with mayonnaise.

Ever since then I've been meaning to make one of my own and so, in the quest for dairy free treats for my lactose intolerant lovely, I made one this weekend.

I searched for a recipe and found a promising looking one on the eco friendly website www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

Whilst making it I had some reservations, mainly about the hideously off-putting tuna mayo-esque stench of what is usually an irresisstable chocolatey goo (Are you trying to tell me you don't eat half the chocolate cake mix before it even makes it in to the tin?) But the final cake turned out so lush that it's well worth holding your nose and thinking of tea time.... and you've well and truly earned a slice after beating the mayo into the mix so hard you develop new arm muscles....

I accidentally added an extra teaspoon of the coffee granules to the icing which wasn't a disaster, it just added a nice dark mocha element to the cake.

I hope you enjoy it....

Chocolate Cake recipe from by Caroline Marson at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

Makes a 18cm cake

• 275g self raising flour
• 225g caster sugar
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 200g jar of mayonnaise
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 225ml boiling water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

For the icing:

• 2 level teaspoons instant coffee
• 2 level tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons warm water
• 75g butter
• 225g icing sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) mark 4. Line an 18 cm cake tin with greaseproof paper.
2. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and stir in the caster sugar and baking powder. Beat the mayonnaise well into the flour – it is very important to beat thoroughly into the dry ingredients.
3. Dissolve the cocoa in the boiling water and stir this gently until it’s smooth. Add to the flour mixture with the vanilla essence and give it a quick stir. Stir everything thoroughly until all the ingredients are blended but this time don’t beat the mixture because that will spoil it. Just keep stirring it gently until all the lumps are gone.
4. Pour the cake mixture into the tin. Bake for about an hour or until the center feels springy and a skewer comes out clean. Leave the cake in the tin to cool before turning out onto a wire rack.
5. For the topping, dissolve 2 teaspoons of coffee and 2 tablespoons of cocoa in 2 tablespoons of hot water. Add the soft butter and the icing sugar.
6. Beat the mixture thoroughly ensuring there are no lumps and spread it over the cake.