Chocolate Cake

My daughter made this chocolate cake (a Mary Berry recipe) for Valentine's Day.

Chocolate Cake

2 loose-based 20cm/8in sandwich tins, 4cm (1½in) deep

275g/10oz plain flour
3 tbsps cocoa powder
1½ level tsp bicarbonate of soda
1½ level tsp baking powder
215g/7½oz caster sugar
3 tbsps golden syrup
3 large eggs, beaten
225ml/8fl oz sunflower oil
225ml/8fl oz milk

For the icing

450g/1lb plain chocolate, broken into pieces
200g/7oz unsalted butter

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan 140°C/Gas Mark 3. Grease both the tins and line the bases with non-stick baking parchment. 

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the sugar and mix well. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the golden syrup, eggs, oil and milk. Beat well, using a wooden spoon, until smooth and then pour into the tins. 

Bake for about 35 minutes, until the cakes are well risen and spring back when pressed lightly with the fingertips. 

Turn out on to a wire rack, remove the lining paper and leave to cool completely. 

You can then cut each cake in half horizontally to make four layers or leave it just as two (as we did).

We cheated and used a tub of Betty Crocker chocolate buttercream icing but if you want to make Mary's recipe icing here's how...

To make the icing: Put the chocolate into a bowl placed over a pan of hot water. The water in the pan must not touch the bowl, or the chocolate may overheat.

Place the pan over a low heat until the chocolate has melted, stirring occasionally, then add the butter and stir until all the butter has melted. Put the bottom half of one cake on a wire rack and place a baking sheet underneath to catch the drips. Spoon a little of the icing on to the cake and spread it evenly to the sides. Repeat with the remaining cake layers, then pour the remaining icing over the top of the cake and smooth it evenly over the top and sides of the cake.

Leave to set.