Rich Chocolate and Walnut Cake (黑朱古力合桃蛋糕)

I have a collection of miniature food that I adore them so much.  When I'm on a diet or feeling blue, it can satisfy my craving for food or make me happy after a good look at them.  It would be nice if they are all real so I can take a sample of each.  Maybe I should imitate them and cook a collection of real food, and that would be a challenge to improve my cooking skill.  Let's start with the chocolate cake as a practice as it is the easiest one to make and it will not last in my household as everyone loves chocolate.

Rich Chocolate and Walnut Cake

Ingredients:

185g butter

2 teaspoons vanilla essence

1 1/2 cups caster sugar

3 eggs

2 cups self-raising flour

80g milk chocolate buttons, melted

2/3 cup cocoa

3/4 cup water

Chocolate Icing:

90g dark chocolate, chopped

30g butter

1/4 cup icing sugar

1 teaspoons hot water

1/3 cup chopped walnuts for garnish

Method:

1. Combine butter and sugar and beat until fluffy in a large bowl.  Add in eggs on at a time then add in sifted flour, cocoa, melted chocolate and water.  Beat on low speed with an electric mixer until the ingredients are combined.  Increased speed to medium and beat until mixture is smooth and changed colour.
2. Spread the batter into a lined 23cm round cake pan.  Bake in moderate oven for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the skewer comes clean when test in the cake.
3. Melt chocolate and butter at medium heat in a microwave.  Only press to cook for few seconds each time in the microwave for several times until the chocolate and butter melted so you won't burn the chocolate.  Sift in icing sugar and enough water to mix to a spreadable consistency.  Icing the cake with chocolate when it is completely cool and garnish it with walnuts around the edge.   

The recipe is adopted and modified from Cakes & Slices Cookbook published by the Australian Women's Weekly.

黑朱古力合桃蛋糕

材料：
牛油 150g
雲尼那香精 2 茶匙
幼砂糖 1 1/2 杯
雞蛋 3 隻
自發粉 2 杯
牛奶朱古力粒 80g, 溶化
可可粉 2/3 杯
清水 3/4 杯

朱古力糖霜：
黑朱古力 90g, 切碎
牛油 30g
糖花 1/4 杯
熱水 1 茶匙
合桃粒 1/3 杯，裝飾用

做法：

1.  用電攪拌机打發牛油和糖直至淡色和鬆起，逐次加入 1 隻蛋混和。然後加入篩過的自發粉，可可粉, 清水和朱古力粒。再用攪拌机低速攬拌至混和，最後加快速度到中速攪拌至蛋糕糊淡色為止。
2. 把蛋糊倒入一個 23cm 的預先鋪好蛋糕紙的圓盤，放進預熱 180c 的焗爐烘 45 分鐘。
3. 用微波爐的中溫溶化朱古力和牛油，每次只用 20-30 秒直至完全溶解。然後加入篩過的糖花和熱水直至攬拌好便用刀鋪上涼了的蛋糕上，最後灑上合桃粒便成。