An Easter showstopper that's as delicious as it is simple to make!
Ingredients:
225g Plain Flour
350g Caster Sugar
85g Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
2 Eggs
250ml Milk
125ml Vegetable Oil
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
250ml Boiling Water
200g Plain Chocolate
200ml Double Cream
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease and line two 20cm/8in sandwich tins.
Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl and stir together.
Beat in the vegetable oil, then the eggs, vanilla extract and finally the eggs until you’re left with a smooth mixture with everything combined.
Add the boiling water to the mixture, a little at a time, until smooth (the cake mixture will now look quite runny, don’t worry it’s meant to be like that, it will work).
Divide the cake mixture between the two tins and bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes, or until the top is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Keep the cake in the tins and leave to cool completely.
For the chocolate icing, gently heat the chocolate and cream in a heat proof bowl over a saucepan of water (make sure you just use a low heat). When the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the heat and whisk the mixture until smooth, glossy and thickened. Set aside to cool for 1-2 hours, or until thick enough to spread over the cake.
To assemble the cake, run a round-bladed knife around the inside of the cake tins to loosen the cakes. Carefully remove the cakes from the tins.
Spread a little chocolate icing over the top of one of the chocolate cakes, then carefully top with the other cake.
Transfer the cake to a serving plate and ice the cake all over with the chocolate icing, using a palette knife.
Decorate in an Easter theme with mini eggs, Malteaster bunnies, edible flowers, make some bunnies out of icing or like us add some extra chocolatey goodness by covering some Cornflakes in chocolate and covering over the cake to make it look like a nest!
