This recipe is a family heirloom. It is my all-time favourite dessert. It is a perfect dish for when you are entertaining as the cooking time corresponds perfectly with eating time – so you can pop it in the oven when you take out dinner, and it will be ready when you’re finished (leaving you a little while to digest your main before the dessert is served).
Serves 6
For the cake –
1 cup self raising flour
Pinch salt
¾ cup of sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 tablespoons melted butter
Sift all dry cake ingredients into serving bowl. Mix milk, vanilla and melted butter and add to dry ingredients, mix well. Clean around the edges of the bowl.
For the sauce –
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup cocoa
1 and ¾ cup hot water
Sift dry sauce ingredients into a separate bowl and mix gently to combine. Sprinkle dry sauce ingredients evenly over cake mix.
Just before placing in the oven, pour water carefully over the cake (don’t be alarmed if it looks a little water-logged – this will become the delicious, runny chocolate sauce.) Cook for 50 – 55 minutes at 180C.
There was a little arm twisting involved to convince my family that we should share this recipe. It was my great grandmother’s recipe, and it has been passed from family member to family member. It has been served at all our family's big occasions, from birthdays to graduations, and at all our not-so-big events, such as the Sunday roast. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we have.