Our family’s birthday cake recipe. It’s quick, incredibly easy and makes a cake that is moist, chocolatey and satisfying without being heavy or overly rich. It also doesn’t involve creaming butter and sugar which is a huge point in its favour for me! I’ve given this recipe out probably more than any other.
- 60g dark chocolate
- 110g unsalted butter
- 200g caster sugar
- 125ml milk
- 120g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- Pre-heat oven to 170C fan (190C)
- Grease and line 2 identical baking tins (or 1 big one if you don’t want to make a sandwich cake)
- Melt together the chocolate and butter. I used to use a bain marie, now I just melt in the microwave – 40 seconds at a time, stir and check
- Pour the melted chocolate and butter into a mixing bowl
- Beat in the sugar, milk, eggs and vanilla
- Tip in the flour and baking powder, and a pinch of salt
- Mix until just combined – don’t over-beat it
- Pour (yes, it’s that liquid, don’t worry) into the lined tins and bake for 25-30 mins until well risen and cooked through. If cooking in 1 tin, bake for about 10 mins longer)
You can also use the same recipe to fill cupcake cases and cook for just 15 mins. Or 4 times the recipes fills a deep roasting tin, which will need about 40 mins but makes an excellent option for large numbers.
Ice once cool with the chocolate glaze below. It’s the best chocolate icing ever. And no clouds of icing sugar to contend with. This quantity will ice the cake above, with enough to sandwich between the 2 cakes as well as coating the top and sides.
- 3 tbsp milk
- 3 tbsp caster sugar
- 30g unsalted butter
- 85g dark chocolate
- A drop of veg oil
- Break the chocolate into a bowl and add the other ingredients. You won’t believe it will turn into a beautiful, glossy, smooth icing, but trust me, it will.
- Melt together in a bowl over some hot water or in short bursts in the microwave. It will look terrible until it suddenly doesn’t
- Once the icing has cooled slightly, use a spoon to spread over the top and sides of the cake. Top with chocolate sprinkles/maltesers/candles. The cooled icing will set so it’s not crunchy but will hold its shape.
Sophie cooks 