Chocolate Fudge Cake

It's been a long time since I have baked a cake. A recipe for Chocolate Fudge Cake as found in a cake recipe book.

Ingredients:

• 325 gms plain chocolate cake covering
• 275 gms white butter
• 175 gms caster sugar
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 175 gms self raising flour
• 50 gms ground rice
• 10 ml / 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 50 gms flaked almonds
• 100 gms icing sugar
• 10-15 ml coffee essence
• toasted almonds, half dipped in melted chocolate, to decorate

Procedure:

1. Line a 9 inch round cake tin with buttered greaseproof paper.
2. Warm half the cake covering in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
3. Whisk 225 gms butter and caster sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in eggs, keeping the mixture stiff.
4. Slowly beat in the flour with ground rice, vanilla essence and flaked almonds and the cool, (but still liquid) chocolate cake covering.
5. Turn the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake in oven at 180°C / 350°F, mark 4 for 11/2 hours. Cool in the tin for 30 mins before turning out.
6. Melt the remaining chocolate cake covering and coat the top and sides of the cake.
7. Whisk the remaining butter in a bowl, beat in sifted icing sugar and coffee essence.
8. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe around the cake top (You can pipe design as per your choice). Decorate with toasted almonds.