Chocolate and double cream cake recipe

This chocolate cake is rich and fudgy and oh so easy to make. It’s one that can be made time again for weddings, birthdays and anniversaries etc and it always goes down as storm. It’s such a simple cake to make, literally everything goes in the bowl together, and it doesn’t how matter how messy the icing is, it still looks great. Top it with different decorations to suit the occasion such as fresh red roses and sprinkling of silver ball cake decorations for a romantic event, a heap of jumbled chocolate curls and a dusting of icing sugar for birthdays, or a pile of fresh summer fruits turns it into a delicious dessert with a jug of cream.

Ingredients

• 175g unsalted butter, softened
• 175g light muscovado sugar
• 100g self-raising flour
• 50g cocoa powder
• 1tsp baking powder
• 4 medium eggs

For the icing:

• 100g plain chocolate
• 150ml double cream
• 25g unsalted butter

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Fan 150°C/Gas Mark 3. Grease a 20cm diameter round cake tin and line the base with greased baking paper.
2. Place the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and add the eggs. Using an electric mixer, whisk the ingredients together until soft and smooth.
3. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface with the back of a spoon. Bake for 40-45 mins until just firm to the touch. Cool in the tin for 10 mins then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool.
4. To make the icing, break the chocolate into pieces and place in a heatproof bowl with the cream. Place over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water, stirring occasionally until the chocolate has melted. Stir in the butter until melted.
5. Allow the icing to cool until slightly thickened. Stand the cooling rack over a baking sheet (to catch the drips) then spread the icing over the cake allowing it drip down the sides. Allow to set then transfer to a plate or cake board.