Bake this showstopping chocolate layer cake, or try other decadent chocolate cake recipes such as our ultimate chocolate fudge cake.
Ingredients
- self-raising flour 175g, sifted
- 70% cocoa powder 3 tbsp
- instant espresso coffee powder
- butter 175g, plus extra for lining tin
- golden caster sugar 175g
- baking powder 1 tsp
- eggs 3
- milk 1-2 tbsp
- 70% dark chocolate 100g, melted and cooled
ICING
- double cream 500ml
- milk chocolate 500g, chopped
Method
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Step 1
Make the icing first (it takes a while to cool and thicken). Put the chocolate into a bowl. Pour the cream into a pan and heat until simmering. Take off the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Cool, then chill, until really thick but spreadable.
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Step 2
Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and base-line 2 x 18cm sandwich tins with baking parchment. Take 3 tbsp flour from the full flour amount and put them back in the flour bag – the cocoa powder will make up the difference.
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Step 3
Put all the cake ingredients except the chocolate in a large bowl. Beat them together with an electric whisk (or whizz in a food processor) until you have a creamy mixture, then fold in the melted chocolate. Add a little more milk if the mix is too stiff – it should fall easily from a spoon.
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Step 4
Divide the mixture between the 2 tins and level. Bake on the same shelf in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the sponge springs back when pressed. Cool for 5 minutes, turn out onto a wire rack, peel off the paper and cool completely. Cut each in half horizontally so that you have 4 layers altogether.
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Step 5
Sandwich the layers together with a little icing, then spread the rest on top thickly.
Nutritional Information
- Kcals 865
- Fat 63.9g
- Carbs 67.2g
- Fibre 1.8g
- Protein 9.5g
- Salt 0.82g
