Kaye and Geoff's Recipes - Cakes

Grandma's Fudge Ring

Fudge Ring
3 cups plain flour			3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teasp baking powder			2 teasp baking soda
1 1/2 teasp salt			2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil			2 eggs
1 cup hot water				1 cup buttermilk (I use yogurt & milk mixed)
1 teasp vanilla

Filling:
230gm cream cheese			1 teasp vanilla
1/4 cup granulated sugar		1/2 cup flaked or shredded coconut
1 egg					170gm chocolate buttons

Garnish:
1/4 cup icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter and flour a 12-cup bundt (ring) pan. [I actually make this as a 1/2 measure and use a standard 'ring' pan.]

Make the Batter

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In a large mixing bowl beat together the sugar, oil and eggs for about one minute.

In a small mixing bowl stir together the hot water, buttermilk and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk mixture to the beaten egg mixture and stir to combine. Beat for three minutes until well blended.

Make the Filling

In a small mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, egg and coconut. Beat until smooth (about three minutes). Stir in the chocolate morsels and mix until well distributed.

Bake the Cake

Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared pan. Spoon the filling over it and top with the remaining batter. Bake for one hour and ten minutes or until the surface of the cake bounces back when lightly touched.

Cool in the pan on a rack to room temperature. Unmold and dust with icing sugar before serving.

I've always made this with the filling, but I figure that it would be a great chocolate cake without the filling - it is rich, moist and chocolaty, and would be fine leaving the filling out.