Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

For 12 portions

• 🧈 375g butter
• 🍚 225g sugar
• 🍳 200g egg
• 🌾 200g self raising flour
• 🍫 75g cocoa powder, not reconstituted
• 🍚 5g baking powder
• 🥛 100ml milk
• 🥄 5ml vanilla extract
• 🧂 2g salt
• 🍚 300g white confectioner’s sugar
• 🍫 100g dark chocolate, 60-69% cacao solids

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Grease two 20 cm sandwich tins and line the bases with baking paper.
2. Beat 225 g of the soft butter with the sugar for 4 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.
3. Sift in the flour, 50 g of the cocoa, the baking powder and salt. Fold in with the milk until smooth.
4. Divide between the tins and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until risen and a skewer comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
5. For the buttercream, melt the chocolate and leave to cool a little. Beat the rest of the butter until very soft, then gradually beat in the icing sugar and the rest of the cocoa. Beat in the melted chocolate, with a splash of milk if it's too stiff.
6. Sandwich the cakes with a third of the buttercream and spread the rest over the top and sides.