Sorry, this entry is only available in Polish.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Polish.

The recipe for “Sour cream chocolate cake” from Nigella Lawson’s “How to be a domestic goddess” was the base for this recipe. My mum modified it a little. The cake is really extremely chocolate! Quite sweet, damb and stays fresh for a long time. To decorate it I made icing butterflies, they look really great with dark chocolate.

VERY CHOCOLATE CAKE

200 g flour

200 g sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp vanilla essence

150 ml sour cream

200 g butter

2 tbsp cocoa

2 eggs

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp vegetable oil

chocolate icing:

200 g chocolate (70% cocoa)

75 g butter

1 tsp vanilla essence

30 g icing sugar

125 ml sour creme

Sift into the bowl flour, baking soda and bicarb. Mix butter with sugar until they’re combined and add the rest of the ingredients. When the dough is well mixed put into two tins (20 x 20 cm) on graseproof paper and bake two pieces. Bake it for about 30 minutes in 180 degrees. The cake is ready when it starts to come off the tin sides – you can check it with cake tester to be sure.

Chocolate icing:

Steam the chocolate. Mix butter with sifted icing sugar and cream. Pour cooled but liquid chocolate and vanilla essence into the buttery dough. Mix until it’s homogeneous and smooth. Lay it between cooled pieces of your cake, on the sides and on the top.

Keep in cold place.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Polish.

I’ve got very old book in my collection. It has got 30 years and it is textbook for trade schools titled “Making cookies”. I’s written by Czesław Dojutrek and Andrzej Pietrzyk. Besides some theoretical informations for beginning confectioners there are many great and very easy recipes – just like that one for those adorable little piano-keys. The taste of those cookies I remember from high school – they always were in nearby confectionery.

PIANO KEYS

340 g flour

185 g margarine

45 g icing sugar

2 egg yolks

few drops of vanilla essence

1 egg-white

icing sugar

Mix margarine with sugar until it’s homogeneous. Then add yolks, vanilla essention and flour. After mixing it all together it comes to loose crumbs. Lay crumbs on the table and knead quickly. Roll out into about 1 cm thick rectangle and then put it into the fridge for an hour.
Mix egg white with icing sugar until it’s like very thick icing. Take the knife and spread the icing on cooled douch with it. Now leave it for 30 minutes and let the icing get dry.
Cut the dough into 1cm x 4cm rectangles (it’s best to use knife for cutting pizza). Bake the cookies in oven preheated to 180 degrees – temperature can’t be higher because cookies have to be light and the icing can’t be burned. Bake it for 10-15 minutes – take a look to the oven from time to time to not let them get burned.