Mom's Chocolate Cake a.k.a Caca de Foca

My mom has a ridiculous sweet tooth.  It must be due to that bizarre cultural mix of her's: being both English and Peruvian.  Naturally, she excels at baking and making desserts. Her most popular recipe is chocolate cake: a combination brownie, fudge extravaganza. The cake was jokingly nicknamed Caca de Foca (Seal's Shit) by my sister's godfather, Chanchi.  It's a joke - of course - since the cake is phenomenal.  But, it does a fairly good job at describing it.

Mom and Dad

So, here's the recipe in her words:

1 cup granulated sugar, 2 eggs......beat until light yellow and frothy. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla...beat. In saucepan over low heat melt 200 grms butter, add 2 tablespoons cocoa and cool. When cool, add to first mixture of eggs....mix. Then add 1/2 cup sifted flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, pinch of salt and mix lightly. (This is half the recipe, by the way...double ingredients if wish to make full recipe). Then add 1/4 c chopped nuts....lightly. Add mixture into a buttered pan covered with parchment paper and buttered again.  Cover pan and mixture with buttered parchment paper on top.

Oven should be preheated  and temperature for baking set at about 350 degrees F for about 20 mins to half hour....but kinda depends on your oven.  So, do test first to find what is your ideal cooking time and temp.

Topping - for 1/2 recipe again - is:

In saucepan melt 2 tablespoons butter with 3 tablespoons of cocoa and pinch of salt...when as paste add 1 in leche condensada and over low fire stir and cook until creamy and thick consistency...again consistency is up to you time wise.  Then mix in 1/4 cup chopped nuts. Whilst cake and topping still warm/hot, pour it on top of cake.  On top and in between if you do full recipe.  Then decorate with nuts on top...et, voila....enjoy. But recommend you try it first....cause all of this is from memory...basically....hope it comes out as a turron de chocolate....if not, then u will have to experiment a little with the quantity or proportions of the ingredients.

So, this was an experiment. I followed the recipe, to the tee using a combination of nuts (hazelnuts,  brazil nuts, walnuts, almonds and pecans).  I also decided to mix 1 t of cayenne into the chocolate fudge sauce. I cooked it down for about 30 minutes, at which point it reached a consistency I was happy with. And considering that my oven is whack and only has two settings (on and off), I'm pretty impressed I pulled it off.

The cake did fall in the middle, which I was a bit upset about - you'd think after 3 years experience working in a French bakery I'd have that down.  Either way, it tasted great and the final product lived up to its expectations. I'm betting you can see how the cake got its nickname.