One of the contestants on The Great British Bake Off once asked, “Who don’t like chocolate?” (Fortunately, his baking was better than his grammar.) It’s almost a rhetorical question as so many of us love the stuff. So here’s a very chocolaty cake for all fellow chocoholics.

Makes: A moderately sized cake giving 10 – 15 slices, depending how generous or parsimonious you are when cutting it.

Level: All fairly straight forward

Time: 15 minutes prep. then a further 20 minutes hands-on. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes. Another 15 – 20 minutes for the filling and assembly. Decoration: 5 – 20 minutes depending on what you choose to do.

Need: 2 x 20cm/8” round, loose bottomed cake tins

Cake Ingredients

185g/6¾oz unsalted butter
225g/8oz plain flour
50g/2oz cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
A pinch of fine salt
1 tsp coffee powder or granules (optional)
3 eggs
1 – 2 tsp vanilla extract
150g/6oz light brown sugar
150g/6oz golden caster sugar
200ml/7fl oz buttermilk
50g/6oz chocolate chips (any colour) or small pieces (optional)

Filling

75g/3oz softened butter
75g/3oz mascarpone (or full fat cream cheese)
250g/9oz icing sugar, sieved
1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping option B (hard surface)

50g/2oz dark chocolate
15g/¾oz butter
Some gold sprinkles or similar

Topping option C (softer finish)

125g/5oz icing sugar
15g/¾oz cocoa powder
25g/1oz soft butter

Preparation

Weigh and soften the butter
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt & coffee
Grease and line the base of the cake tins, dust very lightly with flour mixture
Lightly mix the eggs in a small bowl and add in the vanilla extract
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / fan 160°C / 350°F / Gas 4.

Method

1. Put the softened butter and both sugars into a large bowl and beat together vigorously until the mixture is light and fluffy.

2. In stages, add the eggs & vanilla mixture, beating well between each addition.

3. Add a third of the flour mixture and a third of the buttermilk, gently combining them. Repeat twice.

4. Spoon the mixture equally between the prepared tins. (Weigh for accuracy)

5. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes. Cool in the tins for 5 – 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool fully.

6. To make the filling, mix together the softened butter and mascarpone. Add the vanilla extract then sift in the icing sugar. Stir gently until the icing sugar has blended in then beat or whisk vigorously.

7. If necessary use a sharp knife to level the cakes and/or invert one to give a flat upper surface. With the filling mixture, combine the two cakes using a spatula or a piping bag with a large plain nozzle. If time allows, place the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes. (You may not need all the filling and could use some to top the cake, but there are other topping options below.)

8. If your cake is a little dry or crumbly, brush on a glaze using slightly diluted and warmed apricot jam.

9. Topping option A: Spread any remaining filling on top then add any chosen decorations.

10. For a sharp, quite firm topping use option B. Melt the chocolate and butter over a bain marie or in the microwave. Pour over the cake then smooth with a small crank-handled spatula. Add any chosen decorations such as gold sprinkles.

11. Use option C for a softer, thicker topping. Mix together the icing sugar and cocoa powder then stir in the soft butter with a little hot water to achieve a firm but spreadable paste. This can be piped on or spread with a spatula. Use a spoon or fork to create a pattern or flick up some “pointy bits” (sorry, there may be a technical term for this, but I don’t know it.)

I hope you enjoy this lovely cake. If you want more cake recipes click this link, or have a look at my site for lots of other great recipes, both sweet and savoury. Below are a few that I’d love you to try:

Ginger Millionaires Shortbread