Mrs Shipley's Chocolate Cake
Source & History
This is our (Aileen's) family's favourite chocolate cake and the one which I used to make when someone wanted a chocolate cake for their birthday cake. I got the recipe from my mother who got it from her mother-in-law (my Grandma Howe). No one is left who knows who got the recipe from Mrs Shipley and/or who Mrs Shipley was.
Notes
- the mixture will be quite runny - that's as it should be, don't panic.
- the mixture expands quite a bit when baking, so don't fill the pan(s) too full
- this will make two 20cm layers of dark, moist chocolate cake or a batch of cupcakes instead
- my brother Doug has a slightly different version of this recipe. His recipe uses half the quantities listed here, uses brown sugar instead of white sugar and adds 1/4 tsp of salt.
- Author
- Aileen Sorohan
- Cook Time
- 40-50min
- Yield
- 2 layers
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- 2 cups white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups plain flour
- 4 tbsp cocoa
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
Instructions
- Cream butter & sugar.
- Beat eggs & add to the butter mixture.
- Sift dry ingredients - flour, cocoa, & baking powder.
- Combine baking soda and lukewarm water, stirring until soda dissolves.
- Combine all ingredients, avoiding overbeating.
- Divide the batter equally between two 20com cake tins, greased and lined with baking paper.
- Bake in a moderate oven (180 degrees Celsius) for 40-50min.