This recipe is easy and fast to make. It is my favorite because of the one bowl factor. The first time I read about this recipe, I was perplexed by the request for boiling water. I was not sure if the writer got it right as wouldn’t this cook the eggs? So when I first tried making this recipe I reduce the boiling requirement to just hot water and the cakes turned out fine except that the batter raises more than I expected it to be. Some end up spilling out of the cups.
The next day it was back to researching for me and this is what I found out about the reason for the boiling water in some cake recipe.
The main reason is to create more intense chocolate flavor from the cocoa powder if small amount of boiling liquid is poured over it. This melts the cocoa butter and aids in dispersing cocoa particles.
The acid in the buttermilk reacts with the rising agent, baking soda to produce carbon dioxide which acts as the leavening agent. However too much of this leavening may cause some cakes to sink in the center. Luckily mine didn’t sink because I was using small cups instead of cake tin for this recipe but it answers the question why the battered spilled over some of the cups.
Buttermilk substitute can be created by mixing 1 cup full cream milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for ten minutes until it curdles.
Other recipes will asked for coffee in replacement with the water but I feel coffee gives the cake an after taste. In my recipe I remove the buttermilk because stores in my country do not sell buttermilk. Instead I used chocolate milk which also helps to enhance the chocolate flavor in the cake.
Ingredient
1 ¾ cup sugar
1 ¾ cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp of vinegar
2 large eggs
125ml of chocolate milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup of hot water
¾ cup cocoa powder
Method
Mix the hot water with cocoa powder then pour in the chocolate milk. Beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil. Shift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Pour batter into muffin cups.
Bake at 160C over 20 mins.