Chocolate Heaven

A lovely cake to have for afternoon tea. It would also work really well as a celebration cake for any special occasion, just pipe icing onto it or cover it in fondant.
It is simple to bake and an easy recipe to remember because it uses the same quantities of sugar, flour and margarine or butter. This produces a stable yet light cake.
This recipe can easily be adapted if you fancy a vanilla cake you can just leave out the cocoa powder. Why not try adding other flavours like coffee or orange, and maybe even mint.
Chocolate sandwich cake
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon
- Or use a stand mixer
- 2 x 20 cm /8" spingform cake tins
- Baking paper
- Pencil or pen
- Pastry brush
- Scissors
- Weighing scales
- Sieve
- Metal spoon
- 4 Bowls for weighing
- Measuring spoons
- Whisk
- Microwave
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3 eggs
- 175 g caster sugar
- 175 g self raising flour
- 175 g soft margarine
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1½ tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp lemon zest or you could use orange zest
- extra margerine for greasing
For the filling:
- 2 tbsp banana jam
- 2 tbsp hazelnut spread
For decoration:
- 1 tbsp coloured sprinkles
- 1 tbsp icing sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°c.
- Place the cake tin onto the baking paper. Draw around the cake tin twice. Cut out the 2 circles.
- Add some melted margarine to the bottom of the cake tin and use the brush to spread it evenly around the bottom of the cake tin.Tip: No brush? just use a scrap of baking paper instead.Make sure you don't put margarine on the sides of the tin as it wiill stop the cake from rising well.
- Weigh out the sugar, flour and margarine and set aside. You can also use butter for this recipe just remember to take it out of the fridge first.
- Crack the eggs into a seperate bowl. add the vanilla flavour and whisk together. Set aside.
- Place the sugar and the soft margarine into the mixing bowl. cream the sugar and margerine together. This will take around 5 mins and the colour will be a pale yellow. you have now added lots of air into your cake batter.Tip: place the bowl on a non slip mat or damp teatowel to making it easier to use.
- Add half of the eggs into the creamed sugar and margeringe. Mix in quickly until it is combined. Then add the rest of the eggs and mix again until combined.Tip: if the cake batter splits add a spoon of the flour and mix it again.
- Use the sieve to sift the cocoa powder and half the flour into the cake batter. Stir slowly until it is combined. Add the rest of the flour and repeat.Tip: if using a stand mixer then start on the slowest speed and turn up gradually.
- Pour batter equally into the 2 cake tins and level with the back of a metal spoon.
- Place the cake tins into the centre of the oven. Bake for 20 mins. use a wooden skewer to test if the cake is done. it should come out clean when it is cooked.
- Leave the cake to cool before removing it from the tin.
- Warm the hazelnut spread for bursts of 10 secs in your microwave until it can be spread easily. Spread it onto (one side only) of the bottom of the cake. Next spread the jam over the other cake. Sprinkle over the lemon zest. Sandwich the cakes together. Chill in the fridge for 30 mins.
- Remove the cake from the refrigerator. Use the sieve to dust icing sugar liberally all over the top of the cake. ut into slices
- Before serving add the coloured spinkles onto the cake.
Notes
Nutrition
Please watch this video before your cooking class. Don’t worry if you are not in my class you can still watch it anyway.
Why not send us your pictures of the cakes you have made using this recipe.