We Should Cocoa – the May 2014 Challenge
We had some truly mouthwatering Easter treats in April’s nice and easy We Should Cocoa challenge, expertly guest hosted by Rachel Cotterill. Do have a look at the round-up, if you haven’t done so already – not everything there is only relevant to Easter. Thank you Rachel. But now it’s back with me this month and I’m going to give you a toughie.
A few months ago Froogs of Frugal Queen challenged me to make a cake for £1. A chocolate cake for a £1 – really? I thought not, so let it sit on the back burner – until now. As many of you will know many people are taking part in the Live Below the Line challenge this week. This is a campaign to raise both awareness and money for the 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty around the world, people who live on £1 or less a day. We are so lucky living in one of the richest countries of the world. Even though we moan about the cost of food and some families have been struggling in the current recession, it is as nothing compared to those who genuinely have little, or even no, food, fuel or home and certainly no welfare state to look after them. If you’d like to donate directly you can do so here.
So, I am challenging you all for this month’s We Should Cocoa to try making a chocolate cake for £1 (or equivalent currency). I don’t know if it’s even possible, but it will be interesting to find out. So please make your best effort and if it can’t be managed, then let us know how much over £1 it cost. I know you are an inventive lot, so I’m pretty sure some of you will work wonder. I leave you to interpret the £1 as you will, but I am thinking cost of ingredients rather than oven time.
Good luck and I look forward to seeing what you all come up with.
If you’d like to host We Should Cocoa, there are currently vacancies for June and July. Do get in touch.
Laura Denman
1st May 2014 at 11:20 amI can’t wait to have a go at this one =) I’ve got an idea already but I’ll have to check costings first!
Choclette
1st May 2014 at 12:03 pmHooray, I was hoping for a bit of excitement 🙂
hungryhinny
1st May 2014 at 12:01 pmThis is such a fabulous idea and a real challenge, I love it!
Can you work out the cost of the ingredients for the amount you use, rather than the total cost? So if you used 200g of flour from a 1kg bag would you account for a fifth of the cost of the whole bag?
Choclette
1st May 2014 at 12:03 pmGlad you’re up for it Nat. Cost of ingredients used only – really would be unrealistic otherwise.
lapin d'or
1st May 2014 at 12:15 pmAs a child my favourite chocolate cake recipe was ‘Mrs Beetons Economical Cocoa Cake’ I will price it up and see if I can get anywhere near the £1 spend. May have to halve the ingredients, but it was a large cake.
Choclette
1st May 2014 at 12:21 pmHooray for Mrs Beeton Jill 🙂
Chloe King
1st May 2014 at 2:03 pmGreat idea, tricky though! I reckon I might have it with my grandma’s ration book chocolate baskets recipe, it’s on my blog – will check the maths!
Choclette
1st May 2014 at 2:17 pmDefinitely tricky Chloe – you might come a cropper with the cream! Will be interesting to see how you get on.
belleau kitchen
1st May 2014 at 1:19 pmsuch a brilliant idea C!… plus it means that those of us who couldn’t do the £1 challenge can take part in some form… I LOVE it and am looking forward to trying!
Choclette
1st May 2014 at 2:13 pmYay Dom, I’m looking forward to the challenge too – good to make us think once in a while.
Sarah Trivuncic
1st May 2014 at 2:30 pmNice challenge… I used to be quite partial to Sainsbury’s Basics chocolate for 29p a bar, if I get my act together this month I’ll have a bash 🙂
Choclette
1st May 2014 at 6:59 pmHmm Sarah, I certainly won’t be able to use my normal chocolate, or probably any of my normal ingredients.
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy
1st May 2014 at 3:50 pmWhat a great challenge! I am looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with 🙂
Choclette
1st May 2014 at 7:00 pmThanks Dannii, me too – including me 😉
Suelle
1st May 2014 at 3:53 pmTricky! I’ve just priced up what I thought would be the cheapest cake I know, and it was just under £1 if I used eggs which weren’t free range. No money left for a filling though! I’ll have to rethink; I’m determined to produce something!
Choclette
1st May 2014 at 7:01 pmYay Suelle, you’re back 🙂 Tricky this most certainly is, because there’s not much point making something that isn’t tasty too.
Ceri @ Natural Kitchen Adventures
1st May 2014 at 5:39 pmWhat a great idea for a challenger. I just think I might light to take this on! Thanks so much for mentioning my blog above. Taking part in the live below the line challenge was one of the most thought provoking things I’ve done.
Choclette
1st May 2014 at 7:02 pmWould be lovely if you could join us Ceri and you should be in good practice by now 😉
Jibber JabberUK
2nd May 2014 at 5:54 amI’ve got ideas! *gets out abacus*
Choclette
4th May 2014 at 7:26 amGoody 🙂
Elizabeth
2nd May 2014 at 7:09 amA great idea! I opted out of the the live below the line challenge. It costs me £5 in fuel just to get to the nearest supermarket where the cheap food is. It would be impossible to do if I shopped at my local village shop! I will get my thinking cap on for a £1 chocolate cake 🙂
Choclette
4th May 2014 at 7:28 amYes, there are so many factors to take into account, but it’s really interesting to here the whys and wherefores from different people. But it is best attempt
Elizabeth
9th May 2014 at 11:23 amI’ve linked up my recipe 🙂 I’d be delighted to host WSC this June if you are still looking for guest hosts?
Lucy Corry
2nd May 2014 at 7:58 amThat’s brilliant, truly brilliant. What on earth am I going to make?
Choclette
4th May 2014 at 7:27 amHaha, that’s what I’m wondering Lucy.
Kelly Palmer
2nd May 2014 at 1:08 pmI haven’t done a blog challenge before, but since my blog is vegan and I love chocolate this could be interesting. Count me in 🙂
Choclette
4th May 2014 at 7:29 amHi Kelly, would be great to have you join in. Eggs and butter are expensive, so you might find this easier than some.
Corina
2nd May 2014 at 5:59 pmIt’s a great idea and I’ll do my best. Looking forward to it.
Choclette
4th May 2014 at 7:26 amGood to have you on board Corina
Rachel Cotterill
2nd May 2014 at 8:35 pmI just priced up my standard vegan loaf cake and it works out at 58p if you buy the cheapest ingredients from Tesco. So now I have 42p to spend on making it chocolatey 😉
Choclette
4th May 2014 at 7:26 amWell done Rachel, you seem to be running well ahead here – looking forward to seeing the entry.
Jean
3rd May 2014 at 6:04 pmI have priced up my standard all-in-one chocolate cake and it comes out at £1.39 using cheapest own brand ingredients.
The only way to do it would be to make a smaller cake, say 6″ instead of 8″.
But as it’s not possible to buy just 100gm of flour, 2 eggs and so on, it would require a total investment of £6.80 to buy the full packs of ingredients. Then there’s the cost of the baking in the oven.
I think If I only had £1, I would be tempted to buy a cheap cake from Aldi or Lidl. I will be fascinated to see how people make a good quality home-made chocolate cake for £1, and will be full of admiration for those that do.
Choclette
4th May 2014 at 7:25 amWell I hope you take part Jean and do a post with your findings, because it’s really interesting and useful information to know.
ManjiriK
4th May 2014 at 8:04 amThis is a brilliant Idea, I must say it would be an achievement of sorts if anyone can manage in £1 The cheapest chocolate treats are the bars in discount stores but a cake! It’s a great opportunity for those not participating in the Live Below the Line challenge , Kudos to Vanesther for doing that!Eagerly waiting to see all the entries that link up!
Choclette
4th May 2014 at 9:18 amThanks Manjirilk. It’s a difficult thing for sure. Are you planning to take part?
Jacqueline Meldrum
4th May 2014 at 1:37 pmI’ve added it to the diary Choclette.
Choclette
6th May 2014 at 6:25 pmThanks Jac 🙂
Alison
6th May 2014 at 1:13 pmInteresting idea. I hope I get time to give it a go
Choclette
6th May 2014 at 6:26 pmI hope you do too Alison.
Rebecca
9th May 2014 at 5:34 pmI’d be happy to host again if you still need someone for June or July.
Choclette
21st May 2014 at 12:19 pmHi Rebecca, apologies for not replying before now. It would be great if you were able to host in August. Let me know if this is possible?