Image Source: 1m How To

I love to surprise people, especially when it comes to food. I just love to see their expressions, when they are taken aback as they find something interesting and unexpected in a rather normal looking dish. This is why, today I am sharing three surprising chocolate cake recipes with you. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

1. Chocolate Cake In A Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

1 cup wheat flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/8 teaspoon salt

Recipe

In a mixing bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder.

Add in the butter, sugar, salt, water and vanilla, and beat the ingredients using a whisk.

Add the eggs and beat the batter until smooth.

Transfer into the baking tin.

Heat the pressure cooker, covered with the lid but without the pressure, for 3-4 minutes on high heat, then place the cake tin in the empty cooker (do not add water in the cooker).

Close the lid (without the pressure), lower the flame and let it cook until done (about 30 minutes).

Surprise Element: If you are wondering what is the surprise element in this cake, well it’s quite simple, it’s the fact that you could bake a cake in cooker, I mean how many times have you seen someone bake a cake in the cooker?

2. Chocolate Rum Cake

Ingredients

1 cup pureed firm silken tofu,

1 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup brewed coffee

2 Tablespoon dark rum

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup wheat flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder

Chocolate rum frosting

1 cup low fat chocolate spread

1 teaspoon rum

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/4 cup milk

Recipe

Blend tofu, coffee, maple syrup, rum, vanilla extract till a smooth paste is formed.

In a bowl, take flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon powder. Mix well till the mixture is of the same color.

Add tofu paste into the dry mix and mix well till the batter is smooth and lump free.

Pour in a greased and floured baking dish and bake at 150°C for 40 minutes.

Once the cake is done, check by inserting a fork through the cake. If the fork comes out clean, the cake is done.

For icing, take chocolate spread rum, vanilla essence in a bowl and melt in a double boiler so that no lumps are formed. Once the mix is smooth then add milk. Let it cool.

Pour over the cake and serve.

Surprise Element: When you serve this cake, people might think that it’s a normal chocolate cake, but once they have a bite or two, they would taste the pleasant flavor of rum and would really be taken aback.

3. Choco Lava Cake

Ingredients

135 gram dark chocolate

95 gram butter

100 gram powdered sugar

2 egg yolks + 2 whole eggs

35 gram wheat flour

Recipe

Pre heat the oven at 200°C.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler.

In another bowl whisk together sugar and eggs.

Mix together the chocolate-butter mixture with the sugar-eggs mixture.

Fold in the flour.

Strain the mixture to remove any lumps.

Keep this in the fridge for 5-7 minutes to chill.

Pour the batter in greased ramekins.

Bake for 9-10 minutes.

Serve with whipped cream / vanilla ice cream or fresh fruits.

Surprise Element: We all the what’t the surprise of choco lava cake, but we can’t differentiate a regular cake baked in a ramekin from a choco lava cake unless told or until we dig into it. The mere happiness of seeing the oozing melted chocolate in the plate coming from the cake is the surprise element.

Bake these surprise chocolate cake at parties or Valentine’s Day and see the surprise and happiness on people’s face when they dig into what they thought a normal chocolate cake.