Easy to make, this scrummy chocolate cake will have everyone coming back for seconds. Enjoy with chocolate icing or present it with delicious layers of whipped cream and strawberries.

Easy scrummy chocolate cake Ingredients

• 200g plain flour
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 40g best-quality cocoa (we love Green & Blacks cocoa)
• 175g soft unsalted butter
• 2 large free range eggs (beaten)
• 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
• 150ml milk

Chocolate Icing Ingredients

• 75g unsalted butter
• 175g best quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into small pieces
• 300g icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon golden syrup
• 125ml cream or full fat milk
• 1 teaspoon real vanilla sugar

To make the Chocolate cake

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C and line and butter one or two 20cm sandwich tins with removable bases.

Now all you have to do is to add all the cake ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate, cocoa, butter, eggs, vanilla and milk – into a food processor or a bowl and mix with a hand mixer and mix until you have a smooth, thick batter. Or if you wish to create a more airy mixture, start with mixing the sugar with the butter, gradually add the eggs and the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients, sieve into the batter and fold using a metal spatula/spoon.

Divide this batter, using a rubber spatula to help you scrape and spread, into the prepared tin(s) and bake until a cake tester, or a thin skewer, comes out clean, which should be about 25-35 minutes,
Leave the cakes to cool, in their tins, on a wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out of their tins. If baked in one tin, leave to cool before carefully slicing in two.

To make the Chocolate icing

NB Only make ½ the quantity is using it for icing the chocolate layer cake.

To make the icing, melt the butter and chocolate in a good-sized bowl either in the microwave or suspended over a pan of simmering water. Go slowly either way: you don’t want any burning or seizing. While the chocolate and butter are cooling a little, sieve the icing sugar into another bowl.

Add the golden syrup to the cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the cream and vanilla extract, whisk in the sieved icing sugar - you may need to add a little boiling water or indeed some more icing sugar: it depends on whether you need the icing to be runnier or thicker.

Choose your cake stand or plate, sit one of the cakes, uppermost (i.e. slightly domed) side down. Spoon about a third of the icing on to the centre of the cake half and spread with a knife or spatula until you cover the top of it evenly. Sit the other cake on top, normal way up, pressing gently to sandwich the two together.