Chocolate Cake
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
50 mins
Ingredients
- 125 g dark chocolate
- 150 g butter at room temperature
- 200 g plain flour
- 3 tbsp milk
- 3 eggs
- 150 g caster sugar
- 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Cocoa powder or icing sugar for dusting (optional)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp good quality cocoa powder
- Chocolate buttercream icing:
- 1 tbsp good quality cocoa powder
- 75 g butter at room temperature
- 1 tbsp cream
- 175 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180/gas 4.
- Grease and flour the sides of two-20 cm sandwich tins.
- Line the bases of the tins with grease-proof paper.
- Put chocolate and milk in a bowl sitting above a saucepan of gently simmering water and melt the chocolate. (The bottom of the bowl shall not touch the surface of the water.)
- Set aside to cool a little.
- Beat butter until
- very soft then add the caster sugar.
- Continue to beat until mixture is pale and fluffy.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, continue beating then fold in melted chocolate.
- Sift in flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and the bicarbonate of soda, then fold in gently in the mixture.
- Divide the batter between the two tins and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the knife comes clean out of the center of the cake.
- Remove the cakes, and allow to sit for at least five minutes before removing them out of their tins, then place them on a wire rack to cool.
To prepare the chocolate butter icing:
- Beat butter, the vanilla extract and
- cream until very soft.
- Gradually sift in icing sugar and cocoa powder, don't stop beating until all has been added.
- Continue to beat until mixture is very soft, then whisk until it is light and fluffy.
Assembly:
- Once the cakes are cooled, add the chocolate butter icing on top one of the cakes and place the other cake on top.
- You can make double quantities of
- the chocolate butter icing and spread it over the cake or dust the cake with cocoa powder.