There are times in one's life when a good chocolate cake recipe is indispensable. When you're in the mood for chocolate cake, you don't want a lot of fiddling about. You want to know that in an hour or so, you will be sitting down with a nice cup of tea and a hefty slice of dark, rich, crumbly cake with a smooth, glistening chocolate glaze that will soothe any troubled soul.

I found this recipe in one of my absolute FAVORITE cookbooks, the Tea and Sympathy Cookbook. I've changed it around rather a lot, taking out the boiling water and putting in sour cream and adding a dash of coffee among other things. It's become almost like a brownie cake, absolutely delicious. Tea and Sympathy is a WONDERFUL British restaurant in Greenwich Village which my family and I LOVE. If you find yourself in NYC and you need a good cup of tea and a proper British meal, look no further. http://teaandsympathynewyork.com/

Heat oven to 350 F

Butter and flour 2 8inch cake pans

1 cup of semi sweet baking chocolate, melted
8 oz unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups of sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup of sour cream
1/4 cup of brewed coffee

FOR THE FILLING AND GLAZE

1 cup of chocolate
1 cup of cream
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

• Heat the chocolate in the microwave until melted. Set aside to cool.


• Cream the butter and the sugar until beautifully light and fluffy.


• Add the eggs one at a time and scrape down after each addition.


• Add the tablespoon of vanilla extract and beat in.


• Mix the sour cream and coffee together in a bowl.


• Combine the flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a bowl.


• Mix in half the flour mixture, then the sour cream mixture and finish off with the rest of the flour until just combined.


• Pour into the two pans and bake in the oven for approximately 30-40 minutes until cooked through.

To make the glaze, which I also use for the filling:

• Combine the chocolate and cream in a small pan and heat until the chocolate has melted.


• Stir gently until you have a lovely thick chocolate mixture that coats the spoon.


• Try not to eat it before you fill and frost the cake.

Serve with a cup of tea, or vanilla ice cream or whipped cream OR just perfectly by itself!