There are days around Tea time, all I want to think about is a slice of cake. Hope I am not the only one who gets this thought all the time and thinks it is normal. If you are like me, you came to the right place and I have an easy recipe for you.

I have made few varieties of chocolate cakes before. But the Simple Sri Lankan Chocolate cake, as the name calls itself is pretty low effort. No fancy techniques or tips required. You want a cake with your hot tea or coffee; and you will have it in under 2 hours, with icing on.

I still remember while growing up in Sri Lanka, there were not many fancy options for ingredients when it came to baking a cake. When the recipe called for chocolate cake; Cocoa Powder, I remember the same box of cocoa powder everyone bought and used. Even the Chocolate frosting was whipped using the same Cocoa Powder. That might have led all of us from that beautiful island to fall in love with a single flavorful taste of chocolate cake and that taste is still imprinted in my memory.

I am going to try and do somewhat the same today. I am not going to use any chocolate or chocolate chips in this recipe. All I am using here are some good old, Pure Cocoa Powder. ..Oh and Organic dutch processed is my personal favorite. A key to any recipe is getting good, clean ingredients. Clean labeled ingredients with an affordable fair trade supply is something I personally look forward to consuming.

When prepping for this cake, there is only one simple step that I do not want you to miss out. Sifting the dry ingredients. I know it sounds quite simple, easy and you might be already following this easy step. Sifting the flour will break up any clumps and let the flour aerate for baking. When the dry ingredients are light and fluffy, it is easy to incorporate them into the wet ingredients; reducing over-mixing the batter. Over-mixing the batter often leads to a firm and chewy cake.

When it comes to this cake, the frosting is what is going to take the cake to the next level. You can definitely try the cake without the frosting, but my friend, you wanted a cake; why not have it with some “icing on top”.

I didn’t want to add any extra ingredients to make this frosting except the cocoa powder. This will be your easiest and low-effort Chocolate Frosting. Trust me, this is going to taste so heavenly and you are going to have this as your go-to recipe for chocolate frosting.

I hope you give this easy cake a try. Boil a pot of tea, sit back, enjoy a lovely teatime while making sweet memories with your dear ones.

Simple Sri Lankan Chocolate Cake

Serves 6 – 8 | Cake Prep-time 15 mins | Cook-time 35-45 mins

Ingredients :

• 1 cup of Vegan Butter
• 1 cup of Light Brown Sugar.
• 1 3/4 cups of Unbleached All Purpose Flour.
• 4 Tablespoons of Cocoa Powder.
• 4 Eggs.
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder.
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda.
• 1 teaspoon of Pure Vanilla Extract.
• 1/2 cup of Milk.

Directions :

• Preheat the oven to 350 F° or 170 C°.
• Grease a 9 inch square baking pan with butter or non-stick baking spray, and line parchment sheet to the bottom.
• In a small bowl: sift all the dry ingredients – Flour, Cocoa powder, Baking soda, Baking powder and keep aside.
• Take a large bowl and beat the Butter well until it’s soft, fluffy and turned into a pale color.
• Add Sugar in 2-3 portions and beat it well.
• Add the Eggs, one at a time to the mixture and beat well until the batter is creamy.
• Mix in the Vanilla extract into the batter and combine well.
• Now add the dry ingredients into the batter while scrapping down the sides to combine.
• Add the milk into the batter and mix well.
• Pour the batter into the baking pan. Tap the pan on the counter few times to get the bubbles out.
• Finally, bake until a test-skewer inserted in the middle, comes out dry, and clean.

Notes:

• I have used Plant based Butter in this recipe. But Regular Butter can be substituted.
• I am really enjoying plant based milk these days. So, I have used Pea milk in this recipe. But regular milk will work fine.

Vegan Chocolate Frosting

Serves 6 – 8 | Prep-time 5-10 mins | 

Ingredients :

• 1 cup of Vegan Butter.
• 2 cups of Icing Sugar.
• 4 tablespoons of Cocoa powder.
• 1 teaspoon of Pure Vanilla extract.

Directions :

• In a medium bowl, beat Vegan Butter well until it is fluffy and turns pale in color.
• Add icing sugar few tablespoons at a time and beat well, while scrapping down the sides of the bowl to mix everything well.
• Combine the Cocoa powder one tablespoon at a time and beat well.
• Finally add the Vanilla Extract and mix well.

Notes:

• If you like more chocolaty taste in your frosting, you can add another 1-2 tablespoons of cocoa powder.
• If your frosting seems too thick, add 1-2 tablespoon if milk to get the smooth and spreadable consistency. But when you beat the butter well until light and fluffy no additional liquid is required in this frosting recipe.