my kitchen: EASY BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE

Easy Best Chocolate Cake

Makes 2x round 9 inch cake pans

I’m finishing the last of this cake and realized that I didn’t post the recipe here yet. (Amazingly, it’s still moist and delish even a few weeks later.) After posting on IG, I realized that the version I used from addapinch blog is a very close variation of Ina Garten and Hershey’s chocolate cake recipes. The hot coffee is definitely the secret ingredient that you cannot miss and I made a sour cream cream cheese frosting instead of chocolate. Will definitely make again. Enjoy! 

Easy Best Chocolate cake 

FOR THE CHOCOLATE CAKE:

Ingredients  
2 cups all-purpose flour 

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk or buttermilk, almond, or coconut milk

1/2 cup oil 

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water + 1 teaspoon instant coffee 

• Preheat oven to 176 C / 350º F 
• Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by lining bottom with oven paper or buttering and lightly flouring.
• Add 2 cup flour, 2 cup sugar, 3/4 cup cocoa, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1.5 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp salt  to a large bowl. Mix dry ingredients. 
• Add 1 cup milk (I added a little lemon for buttermilk substitute), 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 2 eggs, and 2 teaspoons vanilla to dry ingredients and mix together on medium speed until well combined.  
• Slowly add 1 cup boiling water+ coffee on low speed until well combined. It will be runny/on the thin side, and that’s ok. 
• Split cake batter evenly between the two lined round cake pans, or one large pan for sheet cake. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or chopstick inserted in the center of the chocolate cake comes out clean. If you make cupcakes, check cupcakes around 20-25 min and scoop with ice cream scooper. 

FOR THE SOUR CREAM FROSTING:

• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 1 cup cream cheese 
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar 
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir until creamy and combined. Will be less firm than cream cheese frosting at room temperature. 

american/fusion: I strongly recommend POKEWORKS

 

POKEWORKS TAIPEI

No. 45號, Lane 107, Section 1, Fuxing S Rd, Da’an District

(02) 2775-3576

MRT: Zhongxiao/Dunhua

website: Pokeworks Facebook

hours: 11AM- 8PM (closed Sundays)

$ (NT180-220 / person) 

Kid friendliness: only a few tables to sit in back, no high chair spotted, but lots of non-raw options like chicken, tofu and veggies available on the menu. 

Visit reviewed: march 2022

You guys know I can be picky about poke bowls in Taipei (because they seem to more like salad bars here). Since @pokeworks.tw is the first Asian branch of US @pokeworksco , it will feel happily familiar to those missing California style poke bowls.

You can pick a preset combo or build your own bowl, starting with rice/salad base (or noodles!), protein (2-3), mixins (5), dressing, toppings (4) and crunch (4). For this price point (NT$180-280+) you get a ton of selections and everything was very fresh, and it’s the combination of the components together that make it a legit poke bowl.

My usual Pokeworks order:  

-half and half brown rice and salad 

-protein: tuna, salmon and scallop 

-mixins: cucumber, kale, seaweed salad, edamame, sweet onion

-dressing flavor: sriracha aioli

-toppings: surimi salad, masago, kimchi, avocado (extra)

-crunch: shredded nori, garlic crisp, lotus crisp

I love that there’s choices like baby scallop, masago, surumi crab salad, avocado, shredded nori and fried lotus root. Was super satisfied by my bowl and will def be back! 

(Maybe even when I’m craving Asian chicken salad- add chicken, cucumber, onion, mandarin oranges, wonton crisps and use poke works classic or ponzu fresh flavor lol ). This was actually verryyyyy tasty. Thanks Ashley! lol

news: 2022 ASIA’s 50 BEST

Team Taiwan 🇹🇼 chefs celebrated the 2022 #Asias50Best yesterday in Taipei in an unofficial gathering, along with chefs in Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Macau. Two restaurants - Logy and JL Studio made it to the Asia’s 50 Best list- and an additional five restaurants in the top 100, with Mume and Ryugin, and new entries Adachi, Liberte and Le Côté. Mume also was honored with the 2022 Sustainable restaurant award.

 It’s been a continued unpredictable few years for restaurants, but great to see chefs coming out to support each other. Congrats to all of chefs in Asia’s 50 Best and their teams- hope to be able to (re)visit again someday soon. 

🇹🇼 2022 Asia’s 50 Best 

#38 LOGY @logy.tw @ryogotahara_logy 

#45 JL STUDIO @jlstudio_tw @jimmy_jlstudio 

#52 ADACHI (new entry)

#54 MUME @mume_taiwan @richie_lin (also 2022 Sustainable Restaurant award)

#57 SHOUN RYUGIN @shounryugintaiwan @ryohei_hieda 

#72 LIBERTE @liberte_taiwan @kenji.liberte 

#99 LE COTE @lecotelm @lanshuchen (new entry) 

1 Den Tokyo 

2 Sorn Bangkok 

3 Florilege Tokyo 

4 Le Du Bangkok 

5 Chairman Hong Kong 

6 La Cime Osaka

7 Suhring Bangkok 

8 Odette Singapore 

9 Neighborhood HK 

10 Nusara Bangkok 

11 Sazenka Tokyo 

12 Fu He Hui Shanghai 

13 Ode Tokyo (highest climber) 

14 Villa Aida (highest new entry) Wakayama

15 Narisawa Tokyo 

16 Mingles Seoul 

17 Sezanne Tokyo (new) 

18 Joo Ok Seoul (new)

19 Ensue Shenzhen (new)

20 Meta Singapore (new)

21 Masque Mumbai 

22 Indian Accent New Delhi 

23 Les Amis Singapore 

24 Caprice Hong Kong 

25 Blue by Alain Ducasse (new)

26 7th door Seoul 

27 Mosu Seoul (new) 

28 Da Vittorio Shanghai (new)

29 Sushi Masato Bangkok (new)

30 Onjium Seoul (new)

31 Samrub Samrub Thai Bangkok (new)

32 Mono Hong Kong 

33 Gaa Bangkok

34 Wing Hong Kong (new) 

35 Ministry of Crab Sri Lanka

36 La Maison de La nature Goh Fukuoka 

37 Zen Singapore 

38 Logy Taipei 

39 Ultraviolet Shanghai 

40 Labyrinth Singapore

41 Burnt Ends Singapore 

42 Ete Japan (new) 

43 Cenci Kyoto (new) 

44 Cloudstreet Singapore 

45 JL Studio Taichung 

46 Raan Jay Fai Bangkok (new) 

47 Wynn Lei Palace Macau 

48 Otto E Mezzo Shanghai 

49 Megu New Delhi (new) 

50 Dewakan Kuala Lumpur