Easy Moist Chocolate Cake (Kakaolu Islak Kek)

 

This is my interpretation, or I'd love to say improvement, of an '80s classic, moist cocoa cake which was, beyond dispute, the indispensable part of '80s in Turkey; every mom made it and every kid loved it. I cannot even remember how many times I had this as a birthday cake, for mine and others. In the original recipe, you put a cup of the cake batter aside before adding flour and baking powder and pour that batter over the cake once baked to keep it moist. That one cup of batter never sufficed for my taste so I started experimenting to create my ultimate no-fuss extremely moist cake. 

While this may not be the super chocolatey cake, it is definitely the easiest and one of the lightest ones to make. It is absolutely a kid and grown up favorite in our house.    

for the cake

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 cup oil, I use sunflower oil
1/3 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

for the sauce

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup chocolate chips

2 tbsp coffee liqueur or brandy or granulated coffee (all optional)

 

crushed pistachios, hazelnuts or shredded coconut for decoration on top

-Beat eggs and sugar together, then add milk and oil. Mix until smooth. 

-In a separate bowl sift flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. 

-Mix dry and wet ingredients together until well combined.

-Pour in a greased 9 inch round baking pan and bake at 380F preheated oven for ~40-45 minutes until a tester poked into the center of the cake comes out clean. 

-While the cake is baking, mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a small saucepan and bring to a boil until all melt down. Keep it warm. 

-Once the cake is done, give it five minutes on a rack and then place it on a serving plate and slowly pour the sauce on top. You can poke little holes on the surface for the sauce to make its way, kind of wetting a rum cake. 

-The kids like ours topped with crushed pistachios but I would prefer mine covered with shredded coconut.