Ok so I might be blowing my trumpet a little too hard here but, you know what this recipe has produced the best cake for me time and time again. It has the best chocolate icing topping, crisp and rich and a fluffy sponge with just the right texture not to soft and not too dense. I know you’re dying to know my secret recipe so here goes:
Chocolate Cake Ingredients:
2oz/50g cocoa powder
10oz/275g caster sugar (fine sugar)
6oz/175g unsalted butter
3 eggs beaten
9oz/250g plain flour
1 ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp baking powder
Icing Ingredients:
3oz/75g unsalted butter
12oz/350g icing sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
Filling Ingredients:
3oz/75g unsalted butter
6oz/175g icing sugar
CAKE METHOD:
Preheat your oven to 180oC/350oF/gas mark 5
Grease two round sponge tins (4cm/1 ½” Deep- 20cm/8” Round) pop a layer of grease proof paper on the bottom of the pan it will give you a nice clean result.
Blend together cocoa with 8floz/240ml of boiling water
Soften butter and place in a mixing bowl with the sugar and 4 tbsp of the cocoa mixture. Beat the ingredients together until they are light a fluffy.
Gradually beat in the eggs and the remaining cocoa mixture, it may look as though it is separating, don’t worry it will all be OK.
Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into the mixture, gently folding in all the ingredients together.
Divide the chocolaty mixture between two cake tins and bake for 25 minutes until the cake has risen and it is firm to touch.
Once the cake has cooked leave in the tin for five minutes, turn out onto a wire rack and make sure it is cooled completely before filling and icing.
ICING METHOD
In a saucepan place the milk and butter and heat gently until melted.
Sift in icing sugar and cocoa and mix thoroughly until it is smooth and glossy.
Keep aside 4 tablespoons of the mixture for the filling.
Pop the rest into the fridge until you are ready to decorate your cake.
FILLING METHOD
Beat the butter and sugar together, when it is a smooth consistency start to blend in the reserved icing.
ASSEMBLE
Spread the filling evenly across the top of your base cake. Pop on the second layer and evenly spread across the icing, voila a chocolate cake to die for.
