Chocolate gâteau recipe

This simple but elegant chocolate gâteau is a single layer cake topped with rich, chocolatey icing. 

With chocolate in both the sponge and the icing, it's a chocoholics dream and makes a great teatime treat. Add candles and it's also a brilliant birthday cake option. This cake serves 8 people with a generous thick slice. It's easy to make in less than two hours. We've enriched the sponge a little more by adding a little tipple of brandy - not enough to do any damage, but if you are baking for people who prefer not to partake, you can simply leave it out, or add a dash of milk instead to keep it moist. 

Ingredients

• 250g plain chocolate,
• 175g butter, softened
• 175g caster sugar
• 5 eggs, beaten
• 125g self raising flour
• 2 tbsp brandy or milk

For the icing:

• 175g dark chocolate
• 75g butter
• 75ml double cream
• To decorate; chocolate shavings, curls or grated chocolate

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line the base of an 8-inch round spring form cake tin with baking parchment.
2. Break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of gently simmering water and stir until it melts (or melt in the microwave for 2-3 mins stirring occasionally).
3. Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream together with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little flour if the mixture begins to curdle. Fold in the remaining flour with the cooled, melted chocolate and brandy or milk. Mix until smooth.
4. Spread the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 50-55 mins or until firm in the centre and a skewer comes out cleanly. Cool for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely.
5. Make the icing: break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of gently simmering water and stir until it melts (or melt in the microwave for 2-3 mins stirring occasionally). Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and cream until smooth. Pour over the top and sides of the cake, smoothing it evenly down over the sides of the cake. Decorate with chocolate shavings or curls.

Top tip for making chocolate gâteau

This cake can be made in advance and frozen without the icing. Just defrost completely then ice as before. Why not drizzle with contrasting milk and white melted chocolates

How can I make this chocolate gâteau into a black forest gateau?

Once the cake is cooled, and before icing, slice the sponge in half to create two discs. Set one disc on a plate and top with whipped cream and cherries soaked in kirsch. Top with the other disc and ice as before.

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• Black forest gateau
• Black forest cake
• Black forest brownies