Chocolate Cola Cake

After my slightly experimental Lucozade loaf I thought it would be good to try out the original recipe. Also my colleagues were clamouring for a chocolate cake.

Recipe

I used this same recipe as last time but for this I also made up the icing as well.

Method

For this cake I used a round springform tin. It was still really scary when the mixture was so runny.

For the icing I melted the butter, cola and cocoa powder together in a pan and brought it to the boil. I then whisked that together with the icing sugar and poured it over the cake while it was still in the tin.

Results

Like the Lucozade loaf this recipe produced a very dense and moist cake. The texture is ok but it was a bit uneven. I think in the cooling of the cake more moisture “sinks” down to the bottom half. It was nicer warm. The icing was really yummy; sweet and a little bit crunchy. Because the cake shrunk a bit in the tin the icing got a bit messy on the edges.

You couldn’t really taste the cola in the cake but I don’t think that was a bad thing, it gave the cake some sort of an “edge” to it. I think the cola was more about changing the texture of the cake rather than the flavour.

In all I like the cake; I’d maybe cook it a bit longer or use butter rather than margarine if I made it in the future. I will definitely be using the icing in the future.

Score: 7/10

Pass it On – National Transplant Week 2013

Did you know that this week is National Transplant Week?

For another part of my Queen’s Guide Award (community service) I am working on a project to raise awareness of organ donation. As it’s National Transplant Week I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to share what I’m doing on this blog.

So here are a few facts that I have been sharing at various meetings, in a hope to get people to understand the desperate need for more donors and jog people’s memory to sign up:

• Right now there are over 7,500 people waiting for a life changing donation.

• Every year 1000 will die what waiting for an organ. That’s 3 people every day.
•  One organ donor could have a life saving or changing impact on 9 different lives. 
•  You are more likely to need an organ than donate one.
•  While 96% of people think that organ donation is a good idea, only 30% have joined the register.
• Around 90% of families are supportive if the potential donor is on the register. That falls to 40% if they are not.

The big push this year is to get people talking about their organ donation wishes; particularly with their family. Your next of kin is the one that makes the final decision when it comes to organ donation. So if they know what you want, it makes that decision a lot easier and you can be more sure that your wishes will be followed.

If you believe in organ donation, prove it and then Pass it On!

To find out more, and more importantly sign up visit: http://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/

Thanks for reading!