Years ago I worked as a waitress in a restaurant in Yorkshire and I would recite the pudding list to the customers. Whenever I cam to the Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake there would be a lot of oohing and “how weirds”! Admittedly it sounds a little strange but the principle of eggs and fat or oil are bang on as ingredients for a cake. They are just already combined for you in mayonnaise. Foolishly I never got that original recipe but after some experimenting I came up with this. Unusually for a cake I think it is better the day after you make it as it seems to become more fudgy and although I thought it might be a bit rich for children, I offered it for tea recently and seconds and thirds were required…
I mention it now in particular because it is a great recipe to have up your sleeve in an emergency. Whilst you may run short of butter or eggs over the holidays, there is almost always a jar of mayonnaise in the fridge standing by for those cold turkey sandwiches. So if you don’t like Christmas cake or just want to rustle up a cake for tea, why not try this. Happy Christmas!
Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
I usually dust this with cocoa as I like that bitter edge but I couldn’t resist a snowy fall of icing sugar today.
250g self raising flour
55g cocoa powder plus a little extra for dusting
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
200g golden caster sugar
220g mayonnaise
200ml water
Icing sugar or extra cocoa to serve
Preheat the oven to 180. Butter and flour (or cocoa) a loose bottom 23cm tin. Sift the flour and cocoa together, then add the remaining ingredients and mix until thoroughly incorporated and smooth, either with a hand held beater or in a mixer. Pour into the prepared tin and cook for 30-40 minutes until if feels firm to the touch on top. Cool for 10 minutes and then remove from the tin and allow to cool completely. Dust with cocoa or icing sugar before serving. Serves 8.
If you want a slightly denser (in a good way!) cake to serve for a pudding, look no further than my Chocolate Pudding Cake which I posted, funnily enough, last December.