British Baking, Part 2: Chocolate Fudge Cake

I'm back in the states! Lots of mixed emotions: I'm so excited to see my friends and family, but I miss London, and my friends from the program, or my "mates" as I've decided to call them- much easier than saying "the people I went to London with who also go to my college and now we're bff's."
I still have a couple posts left from when I was in England, including this one: Chocolate Fudge Cake.

Two of my mates had birthdays on July 13th. While they were all at the Harry Potter tour, I went to work, then went back to the house to make this cake, another from "Classic British Puddings."
The problem with these recipes is, they use grams instead of cups, teaspoons, etc. Doubling recipes is usually relatively easy, but I think I bit off more than I could chew with this one.

The further problem: I didn't have my digital scale with me.
***Digital scales are VERY IMPORTANT for baking! My awesome Uncle John gave me one for my birthday, and it makes a huge difference.***

It's not as crooked as it looks! The house actually slanted, ask anybody! :)

I also didn't have any of my cake decorating tools; no cake knife, no turntable, no cake circles, and only a small palette knife.

HOWEVER, despite all those setbacks, the birthday boy and girl thoroughly enjoyed the cake :) And that's all that matters!

One note about this recipe: it calls for golden syrup. This is very popular in the UK, and can be found on numerous sites online, and most likely in any specialty stores. I'll let you know what I find when I start searching :)

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Yield: One 2-layer cake, 8 or 9"

Cake

Ingredients:
Unsalted butter- 175 g (6 oz), softened
Golden caster sugar- 175 g
Eggs- 3, beaten
Golden syrup- 3 tbsp
Ground almonds- 40 g (1.5 oz)
Self-raising flour- 175 g
Cocoa powder- 40 g
Pinch of salt
Directions:
1. Cream butter and caster sugar together in a medium bowl until light and fluffy.
2. Gradually add the eggs and beat to combine.
3. Stir in the golden syrup and ground almonds.
4. Sift flour, cocoa powder and salt into a separate bowl, then gradually fold into the mixture. Add a little water, if necessary, to make a dropping consistency.
5. Pour mixture into greased and floured cake pans and bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes, or until springy to the touch and the tester comes out clean.
6. Leave cakes in pans for 5 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Fudge Icing
Ingredients:
Plain chocolate- 225 g (8 oz), broken into pieces
Dark muscovado sugar- 55 g (2 oz)
Unsalted butter- 225 g, diced
Evaporated milk- 5 tbsp
Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp
Directions:
1. Place all ingredients in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat gently, stirring constantly, until melted.
2. Pour into a heatproof bowl and leave to cool. Once cooled, cover and chill in the fridge for 1 hour, or until spreadable.

ASSEMBLY: Frost and stack cake layers. Serve room temperature or slightly chilled, depending on your preference.

Enjoy!