A soft spongy chocolate cake, poked and soaked into more chocolaty goodness…
Is it just me feeling that this year is flying? I guess with every passing year, time feels like it is no longer 24 hours. Once we wake up, it is like that time just doesn’t wait. There are days when I feel that I haven’t done anything but still the day gets over. The passing of time in speed is one of the signs of the end of the world. Thinking about it gives me goosebumps. Life is in itself is very unpredictable and with the way things are going whether it is work or otherwise, it makes it even more imperative to manage our time the best way we can and place our trust in Allah for goodness in it. I always get a feeling that I am doing much less that I used to when I was working and having too much of my plate. It makes me feel very uneasy, but I am slowly accepting that the change is mainly due to my current situation…
Moving away from that, I have a few exciting things coming up InShaAllah over the days and I am really hoping for an amazing end to this year. I don’t want to get extra excited about anything, but just keeping my mood in good shape to accept the good that comes by the way… 🙂
With the climate getting better, I was wondering if this was a recipe to post at this time, but having said that, the afternoons are still hot and I am sure nobody minds something cold. Hehe… I have been wanting to make a poke cake since a long time. A poke cake is a cake which is baked, poked and a liquid, usually condensed milk is poured all over it so that it could drink it up and become moist. Yes, it definitely feels like a tres leches, but the main difference is that a poke cake has only one milk going into it, while the tres leches, like its name has on an average a combination of three milks going into it. Moreover, when you serve the latter, you pour more milk over it so that it feels like the cake is floating on it, which is not the case with poke cakes. I hope I have decently explained the difference. Hehe…
The cake used for a poke cake needs to be soft and spongy so that it can optimally soak the whole can of condensed milk being poured into it. That is why it is best to make an oil based cake, instead of a butter based cake. After poking the cake and pouring the can all over, it is frosted as per liking and then allowed to rest till it settles. I have used a malt flavored, lightly sweet whipped cream to go on top with some grated chocolate on top to give it a good look. This is a heavy dessert, just like the banoffee pie, so make it if you have guests or you are going for a get together with a chocolate loving crowd. I kept the sugar levels in the cake minimal, so the pouring of the condensed milk didn’t make it awfully sweet. Do bookmark the recipe and make it in advance for your next party. The more it sits, the better it tastes… The other dessert I can think of that acts exactly like this is the trifle pudding. 🙂 Off to this recipe…
Chocolate Poke Cake | Cold Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup salt
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup oil
- 2 eggs large, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 tsp instant coffee
FOR SOAKING
- 1 can condensed milk 397 gm
FOR TOPPING
- 250 gm whipping cream
- 1/4 cup icing sugar
- 2 tbsp malted chocolate powder I used Ovaltine (optional)
- Grated chocolate as required
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 inch pan and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift in the dry ingredients from flour to salt. Add the sugar and give a good mix.
- In a pitcher, whisk the milk, oil, eggs and vanilla till homogenous.
- Add into the dry ingredients and fold till combined.
- Add the coffee into the boiling water and add into the batter. Beat to combine.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or till skewer comes out clean.
- As soon as the pan is out of the oven, poke holes all over the cake. Drizzle the condensed milk evenly all over the cake.
- Allow the cake to soak up the milk, let it cool and then keep in the fridge, for around an hour.
- Whip the cream and icing sugar till stiff. Fold in the malted chocolate powder, if using.
- Spread the cream over the cold cake. Grate the chocolate over as needed. Allow it to refrigerate till serving time.