I’ve been looking for a very special chocolate cake recipe for a while – one that actually tastes chocolatey. The recipes I have suggest putting a tablespoon of cocoa powder in a normal victoria sponge but this never ever tastes good to me! This recipe doesn’t use any raising agent surprisingly and comes from The Telegraph from many years ago (I only have a photocopy of the page so can’t tell you exactly when or who to credit). It is deliciously moist and the fudge frosting tops it off.

40mins – Prep time: 20mins – Cooking time: 20mins

Ingredients

For the cake

• 175g plain chocolate, broken into pieces (minimum 64% cocoa solids)
• 175g softened unsalted butter
• 75g unrefined caster sugar
• 4 eggs, yolks and whites separated
• 90g ground almonds
• 90g plain flour, sifted

For the chocolate fudge icing

• 125ml milk
• 90g sugar
• 125g plain chocolate, broken into pieces
• 45g unsalted butter

Ingredients

1. Grease and line two 17cm/7inch sandwich tins.
2. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water until it melts. Do not let the bowl touch the water and never melt the chocolate directly in a pan as it goes grainy. Stir well.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until frothy and light. Beat in the egg yolks bit by bit. Add the melted chocolate and the ground almonds.
4. Whisk the egg whites in a seperate bowl until soft peaks form. Do not go on beating or they will collapse.
5. Using a large metal spoon, gently fold the egg white and the flour into the mixture bit by bit until it has all been used.
6. Spread the mixture evenly into the sandwich tines and baker for 20 minutes. It’s a good idea to check them after 18 minutes, the sponge should be springy, not firm.
7. Remove the tins from the oven and leave to cool for a couple of minutes before turning them onto a wire rack.
8. To make the icing, bring the milk and sugar to the boil and then stir over a low heat for 5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the chocolate and butter until they have both melted. Pour the icing into a bowl.
9. When cool, put in the fridge to thicken for a couple of hours (this makes it easier to spread).
10. Spread half the icing on top of one cake then sandwich the other cake on top. Then cover the cake top and sides with the rest of the icing. I top mine with some “choco crunchies” cake toppings from Asda.

A classic recipe that’s sure to impress anyone! It’s so easy to make it look stunning, fresh fruit really sets it off. I use buttercream to fill it with fresh cream on top with a little lemon juice and rind to cut through the sweetness of the filling. You can use any kind of topping, I love using brightly coloured strawberries but you could use cherries and fill with cherry jam or whatever’s in season.

30mins – Prep time: 10mins – Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients

Sponge mixture

• 6oz golden caster sugar
• 6oz margarine (I use Stork)
• 6oz self raising flour
• 3 medium/large eggs (get them out of the fridge beforehand to warm up to room temp)
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp vanilla bean paste/5 drops vanilla essence

Buttercream

• 100g butter
• 100g icing sugar

Filling

• 8 tbsp strawberry jam

Lemon cream

• 100ml thick double cream
• 2 tbsp lemon
• Rind 1/2 lemon
• 3 tbsp icing sugar

Decoration

• 8 strawberries
• 6 blackberries

Instructions

1. Grease and line 2 round tins (I used 17cm wide x 2cm deep).
2. Make the sponge: Whisk the eggs and sugar for at least 4 minutes with an electric hand whisk and beat air into the mix so it fluffs up.
3. Bit by bit, sieve in the flour and baking powder and add bits of butter, whisking the mixture each time to ensure a smooth texture, until fully mixed, then mix in the vanilla paste or essence.
4. Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins and smooth over.
5. Place in the oven for 25mins until the sponge is springy to the touch
6. Remove from tins, peel off greaseproof paper and leave to cool on wire racks
7. Make the lemon cream: Sieve the icing sugar into the cream and add 1/2 the lemon rind. Mix together with an electric whisk until it’s stiff enough to hold without moving.
8. Make the butter cream: Blend icing sugar and butter together with an electric whisk until the butter pales and goes soft.
9. Put the cake together: Spread buttercream with a palette knife on one sponge base and a thick layer of strawberry jam on the other. Sandwich together.
10. Using the pallette knife spread the fresh cream onto the top of the cake, leaving sponge visible around the edge
11. Dust with a little icing sugar if desired and finish by sprinkling the remaining lemon rind on the top

Had to upload this wonderful and inspired take on cake design! Made by Chris Kemm (and kindly printed with his permission) this was a sponge cake baked in a normal tray using my basic cupake recipe (with extra flour to ensure it held properly), Chris cut out printed letters, laid them on top of the sponge and then cut around around them. Looks like he’s decorated the top with some jam and almonds too.

I have to say I’m very impressed (and just a tiny bit jealous). I’m definitely going to use this idea in future!