What’s Cooking with Caxton | Vronika Dye shares her never fail chocolate cake recipe
‘What’s cooking with Caxton’ is a way for our residents and readers to share their recipes with us! Our first installment features a moist chocolate cake that Durban grandmother, Vronika Dye usually bakes for her grandchildren’s birthdays.
YOU know that recipe that is always a hit with the family? The one that’s guaranteed to leave clean plates all round? The one that’s not too detailed, just simple and fast? Yes, that one…we want to share it in our newest feature, ‘What’s Cooking with Caxton’.
In our ‘What’s Cooking with Caxton’ feature, local residents will tell us about their favourite recipes, from the easy to the inspiring, all in an effort to help you make every day delicious. You’ll never run out of great recipe ideas again.
First up is Forest Hills resident Vronika Dye who shared one of her many recipes with us – the special chocolate cake she bakes for her grandchild’s birthday.
Dye said she has always loved cooking, hence she created a recipe book for herself years ago. “When my daughter was in primary school 38 years ago, I was in charge of the Forest View Bake where I raised money for my recipe book. That money also helped me venture into selling hotdogs, and that’s how I got my nickname ‘Mrs Hotdog’.
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“I remember as a child, almost every Friday, I would bake for my parents. I have fallen in love with this chocolate cake, and I always have it in my fridge, especially when my grandchildren come and visit,” she said.
The recipe is as follows:
Ingredients
4 eggs, separated
250ml cooking oil
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 ¼ cups of cake flour (560 ml)
1 ½ cups of sugar (175 ml)
¼ cup of cocoa (65 ml)
4 tsps of baking powder
Pinch of salt
250ml boiling water with 3 tsps of coffee.
Method
Beat egg whites until stiff.
Without cleaning beaters, beat egg yolks, oil and vanilla essence.
Sift dry ingredients together and add the egg yolk mixture, boiling water and coffee mixture and mix well.
Mix the egg whites with a metal spoon and add, as well.
Grease three 20cm cake tins with butter and pour the mixture. Bake at 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
When cold, decorate with icing, and enjoy.
Catch up session with Vronika
What is the most underrated ingredient: Soya sauce
What is your favourite cuisine: Asian
Something your palette doesn’t like: I like most things if cooked properly
First meal you cooked: Spaghetti bolognaise
