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–+ servings

Chocolate kefir cake

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 8 servings
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Ingredients

Cake

  • 180 g all-purpose flour
  • 150 g granulated sugar
  • 40 g unsweetened cocoa powder Use unsweetened baking cocoa, not a sweetened drinking mix.
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • 60 ml neutral vegetable oil Choose an oil with a mild flavour.
  • 1 egg
  • 250 ml plain milk kefir Half a 500 g bottle.
  • 120 ml orange juice

Chocolate glaze

  • 60 g semisweet chocolate chips
  • 60 g icing sugar
  • 2 tbsp plain water

You will need

  • Oven
  • 20 cm round springform cake tin
  • Baking paper
  • Mixing bowls, whisk and spatula
  • Heatproof bowl and saucepan
  • Kitchen scale, measuring jug and measuring spoons
  • Bamboo skewer

Instructions

Bake the cake

  • Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
  • Line the base and sides of the cake tin with baking paper.
  • Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, salt and baking powder together in a mixing bowl.
  • Stir in the oil, egg, kefir and orange juice, stopping as soon as no dry flour remains.
  • Pour the batter into the lined tin.
  • Bake for about 50–55 minutes, checking the centre with a skewer at 30 minutes. If the skewer comes out clean, take the cake out; if it has wet batter on it, keep baking and check again before removing the cake.
  • Leave the cake in the tin to cool completely.
  • Unclip the tin, peel away the baking paper and transfer the cake to a serving plate.
    • Allow extra time for the cake to cool and the glaze to set; this is not included in the preparation or baking time.

Glaze the cake

  • Melt the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl over gently simmering water, without letting the bottom of the bowl touch the water.
  • Make the glaze in a separate bowl by stirring the icing sugar and water until smooth, then stirring in the melted chocolate. Leave for about 5 minutes, until slightly thickened.
  • Pour the thickened glaze over the completely cooled cake and leave it to set before slicing.

Storage and safety

Once the cake has cooled completely, seal it in an airtight container and refrigerate at 4°C (40°F) or below for up to one week. Bring only the portion you plan to eat to room temperature before serving for a softer texture.