Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

Just wondering how many of you are familiar with B. Dylan Hollis, the funny chap from YouTube?  I love his videos!  And he loves to try out weird, retro, vintage recipes.  Of course I had to buy his book Baking Yesteryear when it came out last year.  And I love that he includes the really terrible recipes at the end of the book, in the Worst of the Worst section.  

The recipe in his book that really makes me shudder is the SpaghettiOs Jello Ring, which has - yes, you guessed it - tinned spaghetti, tomato soup, gelatine and cocktail franks (sausages) - (OMG!!)!  But this cake recipe is way less horrendous; in fact, it's pretty darn delicious.  I added a few little tweaks like the Kahlua and coffee powder, and sprinkles.  Every cake deserves a sprinkle!

I was watching a video recently where the (U.S.) person said they had only just been introduced to the repast of warmed baked beans from a tin, spooned onto hot buttery toast and then put under the grill with cheese, so it melts over the beans.  Oh how sad but great, that they had only just discovered this delightful midnight - or anytime - snack.  I do this with tinned spaghetti too!  But a Jello Ring is a step too far, my friends:=)

gotta love a sprinkle! (see the flamingoes?)

Makes one x 25cm./10 inch Bundt cake:

ingredients:

Cake:

345g./12 hefty ounces of mayonnaise

300g./10.5 oz white or caster sugar

1-2 tsp vanilla extract or paste  (optional)

2 tsp Kahlua or liqueur of your fancy  (optional)

420g./15 scant oz plain flour

5 Tbs cocoa powder

2 tsp coffee powder  (optional)

3/4 tsp sea salt

2 tsp baking soda

355 mL/12 oz water

150g./5.3 oz dark or milk chocolate, chopped into small chunks

Icing:

115g./4 oz mayonnaise

5 Tbs cocoa powder

1 Tbs milk

240g./8.5 oz icing sugar (powdered sugar)

2 tsp vanilla extract or paste

2-3 Tbs yoghurt  (optional)

Sprinkles or chocolate hail or your fave bling to decorate

Method:

For the cake:

Butter your Bundt very very well (Mr P. does this for me as it's his forte - hehehe)

On goes your oven to 190C/370F to heat up

Combine the mayo and sugar together in a large bowl till you have a nice smooth mixture, then stir in the vanilla extract and Kahlua

Grab another bowl, and whisk the flour, cocoa powder, coffee, salt, and baking soda together well

Now add these dry ingredients to the mayo mixture, along with the water in alternate turns, till it's well-combined

Stir in the chocolate chunks

Spoon/pour into the very well-buttered Bundt pan (I tapped a little flour over the pan as well), and bake for 40-45 minutes

Poke the middle of the cake with a cake skewer; if it's clean, the cake is done

Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to get completely cool

For the icing:

Combine the mayo, cocoa powder and milk together in a metal bowl, and place it over a saucepan of simmering water - or use a double boiler if you have one

Gradually stir in the icing sugar, and whisk/beat very well till smooth and glossy

Take it off the heat, cool for a minute, then stir in the vanilla and yoghurt

Place the cake onto a serving platter, and let that gorgeous dark river of chocolate wend its way over the cake

And Go mad with sprinkles!

Notes:

Dylan says this makes a 10 inch tube cake.  I have no idea what that is!  So I just used a Bundt pan, and it worked out beautifully 

get your ingredients together

mix till smooth

ready for baking at 190C for 40-45 mins.

ready to smother lavishly in bling and icing

you can never have too much icing!

deep, dark and mysteriously delicious

sprinkles and flamingoes everywhere

and I took it to Book Club!

c. Sherry M.