The Famous Drinking Chocolate Cake Recipe (2024)

This simple old fashioned Drinking Chocolate Cake is made with drinking chocolate instead of cocoa powder or chocolate. It is a traditional chocolate cake enjoyed for generations, usually with just a little tweak to the recipe made by each person who makes it!

Do you remember when there was a walnut at the bottom of Walnut Whips (as well as the top), when cars had leather upholstery as standard, a holiday was a day trip to the beach, crisps had a little blue packet of salt in them, lemonade (and beer) came in refundable bottles with glass stoppers, a take away was only fish and chips, school trips were nature walks and chocolate cakes were simple and yet so light and moist?

If you do, then you are showing your age as much as I am.

But the point I am making is that food was simpler, pleasures were simpler and yet there was no compromising on taste, well not in the cakes and bakes department that is.

My mum’s Milk Chocolate Cakeis my most favourite of cakes – taken from an old Be-Ro cookbook, it was the first cake mum taught me to make – I used to make one every Sunday for afternoon tea to help her out, and, because even then, I loved baking.

It is a simple cake made with cocoa rather than the usual rich chocolate cake of today, which always seem to have a bar of expensive (high cocoa solids) chocolate in the cake, as well as the filling and topping.

However, there is a SECOND cake on my favourites list, and that is Anita’s Chocolate Cake, aka The Famous Drinking Chocolate Cake; a recipe that has been passed on from friend to friend, with small tweaks made by each new recipe owner, including me.

This is a “Chinese Whispers” of a cake recipe – you know the old saying, as well as the child’s game, where you whisper something to a friend who then whispers it to another friend, and so on and so on, until the person at the end of the “chain” has to say what they thoughttheyheard, which is usually NOTHINGremotelylike theoriginalword or sentence.

Well, this recipe is the same; it was Anita (the ex-girlfriendof a close friend’sson) who was the original recipe owner – none of us know where she got the recipe from, but we assume it was fairly old as the measurements are in Imperial, as in lbs and ounces.

However, by the time the recipe had been passed on to me, the chocolate element was Nesquick drinking chocolate, and the first time I made it I changed thechocolateelement to Galaxy drinking chocolate, as that is all I had at the time.

I alsoembellishedthe recipefurtherwith a Galaxy chocolate icing, thus making a Galaxy Chocolate Cake.

I hadn’t made the cake for ages, and so when Dom askedus all to turn to “cuttings, memories and clippings” for March’s Random Recipe Challenge, I was thrilled to see this handwrittenrecipeturn up in my random selection.

I was also pleased to see that the recipe fitted TWO other baking challenges, We Should Cocoa, which is being guest hosted by Lucy of The Kitchen Maid this month, where the challenge is “Fame” and the World Baking Day challenge I am participating in this year, as it uses Storkmargarine, who are one of the sponsors of the event.

I was asked to be one of World Baking Day’s Ambassadors, and to showcase one of my favourite recipes, of which this is one.

As part of theWorld Baking Day Ambassador challenge, I was also sent some lovely gifts – a Cath Kidston Cake Stand and lots of baking “accessories” such as cake cases etc.

As this cake is a “whole” cake, I couldn’t use the cake stand or cake cases this time, but my daughter and I DID bake some fairy cakes, so I will be sharing the recipe and photos forthoselater.

World Baking Day is on May the 19th this year (2013), so make sure you get involved – liberate those pinnies and wooden spoons and Bake Brave with friends or family, using the hashtag #WorldBakingDay or #BakeBrave for Twitter; there is also a Face Book page here: World Baking Day, where you can share your baking photos and recipes.

Back to my “famous” recipe briefly, if you are wanting a simple cake recipe where taste is important but time is of apremium, then this is the recipe for you. And, if you DO make it, please let me know if you tweaked it at all……..or if my Galaxy chocolate tweak was perfect for you.

I have made this cake in the past with fresh whipped cream and fresh fruit, as well as a base for that old retro classic Black Forest Gateau.

That’s all for today, have a WONDERFUL Sunday and Happy St Patrick’s day to ALL my Irish friends. See you tomorrow with some new 5:3 diet recipes and a meal plan for Monday. Karen

NB: When I came to make this cake this time, I had NO Galaxy drinking chocolate, so I used some French drinking chocolate, as you can see in the photos! Another tweak to the recipe. K

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More Showstopping Chocolate Cake Recipes:

Old Fashioned Milk Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cherry Cake

See Also

One Pot Lemon Chilli Chicken | Slimming Eats Recipe

“Kladdkaka” Swedish Chocolate Fudge Cake

Easter Chocolate Tiffin Bundt Cake

The Famous Drinking Chocolate Cake;

Yield: 12 slices

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

The Famous Drinking Chocolate Cake is the result of passing around a recipe between friends, with each friend adding their own mark on the recipe.

The original recipe was Anita's recipe and is supposed to be quite old, which is borne out by the fact that the original recipe is in Imperial measurements.

This "famous" cake is baked and served in its many guises at mutual friend's parties, and my own addition to the recipe is the Galaxy chocolate filling and icing, as well as using Galaxy drinking chocolate and adding walnuts.

This makes the loveliest, lightest and moistest chocolate sponge cake you have ever tasted.

Ingredients

• CAKE:
• 5 ounces (150g) SR flour (double sifted)
• 3 ounces (75g) Galaxy drinking chocolate (or any other drinking chocolate such as Nesquick, Cadbury's etc)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 6 ounces (180g) caster sugar
• 7 ounces (200g) soft margarine (I used Stork margarine)
• 3 large free-range eggs
• 3 tablespoons hot water (not boiling)
• CHOCOLATE ICING:
• 8 ounces (225g) Galaxy chocolate (broken into pieces, or chocolate of your choice)
• 4 1/2 fluid ounces (125ml) double cream
• 5 ounces (150g) softened butter (unsalted)
• 8 ounces (225g) icing sugar (double sifted)
• OPTIONAL:
• 3 ounces (75g) walnuts (some kept whole for decoration and the rest roughly chopped)

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 175C/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line two cake tins measuring 20cms/8”. (Or one cake tin of the same diameter, but deeper)

2. Whisk all of the cake ingredients together, except the hot water, until light and fluffy for at least 3 minutes. Then add the hot water and whisk again for 3 minutes until the cake mixture is extremely light and fluffy.

3. Divide the cake mixture between the two prepared cake tins (or one cake tin if using) and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the cakes are firm to touch and well risen. (You can also check by inserting a skewer into the middle of the cakes, and if the skewer is clean when taken out, the cakes are cooked)

4. Allow the cakes to cool in the tin for a few minutes, before carefully turning them out on to a wire cooking rack. Allow to cool completely before filling and icing.

5. Meanwhile, make the icing/frosting. Sit a bowl over a pan of simmering water and add the Galaxy chocolate and cream to the bowl and gently melt, stirring all the time until the chocolate and cream are blended and smooth.

6. Remove the chocolate and cream from the heat, then add the butter to the hot chocolate and cream mixture, stir it until smooth. Sift in half the icing sugar and mix well, add the remaining icing sugar and mix until very creamy and smooth. Set aside to cool until thickened.

7. When you are ready to ice and fill the cakes, spread half of the icing/frosting over one of the cakes, and then place the other cake on top. (If using the walnuts, sprinkle the chopped walnuts over the icing before placing the cake on top)

8. Gently swirl the rest of the icing/frosting over the top of the cake, pipe it on if you wish, and then decorate with walnuts if using. You can also add jam to the filing; cherry jams are lovely, or add some fresh fruit to the filling as well as decorating with fresh fruit on top.

9. Serve in thin slices with tea or coffee.

Notes

You can freeze the sponge cakes before icing.

I have made this cake in the past with fresh whipped cream and fresh fruit, as well as a base for that old retro classic Black Forest Gateau.

Nutrition Information

Yield 12 slicesServing Size 1
Amount Per ServingCalories 404Total Fat 19gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 2gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 73mgSodium 147mgCarbohydrates 49gFiber 2gSugar 9gProtein 8g