When I was growing up my brother's favourite cake was Chocolate Cake, so pretty much every year, on his birthday my mum would make Chocolate Cake using this recipe. It's really delicious and moist, not a bit dry like chocolate cake can be.

She never decorated it like I have here, that was for our daughter's birthday last year, but the icing is the one she always used to. (This decorating was inspired by this beauty that I found online and pinned. Actually this is a bit embarrassing because if you check out the inspiration you can see how woefully short I have fallen from it. I had a few technical difficulties cutting the Minstrels in half. Still if you don't peek at that one mine looks ok - it's all relative!)

My Mum's Chocolate Cake Recipe

Makes 1 x 8" cake (with 2 layers)

You can get a simple version of the recipe (cake & icing) to print here

• 7oz Self Raising Flour (200g or 1¾ cup)

• 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder

• 7oz Caster Sugar (200g or 1 cup)

• 4 oz Margarine or Butter (115g or ½ cup)

• 1 teasp Vanilla Essence

• 2 Eggs

• 5 tbsps Evaporated Milk

• 5 tbsps Water

You also need: A mixing bowl, a jug, a wooden spoon, 2x 8” round cake tins

oven: 160 c/320 f/gas 3

First you need to get your oven on to heat up, wash your hands and then grease and flour/line your tins.

I am super lucky as I have inherited these awesome cake tins from my mum. You don't have to line them with baking paper as they have that clever little swively bit that stops the cake from getting stuck in the tin. I cannot describe how much I love these tins and how much pleasure I get from using them. My mum always greased and floured them so that's what I do. If you are not so lucky and just have plain tins then I'd recommend lining the bottom of the tin with baking paper so it doesn't all stick. I did manage to find some similar tins on Amazon here, if you want to treat yourself.

Next pop the flour, cocoa powder and sugar in a bowl. 

Chop the marg/butter into chunks and add to the flour mix.

Now this is where the method is so different from the regular sponge recipe. You rub the fat into the flour mix, like you would if you were making pastry.

If you've not done this before, you just sort of lift the fat up and rub it with your finger tips, letting it drop back into the flour. You just keep going till it looks like this.

When you think it's done, give the bowl a good shake and all the lumps will rise to the top.

How does that work then? I think it's magic, my son says it's science! Just rub the lumps in too.

Next mix the eggs with the evaporated milk and water in a jug, just combine them with a fork,

then pour in to your flour/fat mix.

Give it a mix with the fork till it's combined.

Then pour it into your prepared tins.

Bake for  30 - 40 minutes until it looks like this.

To tell it's done you just open the oven door and carefully reach in an press lightly in the middle of the cake. If it leaves a dent then carefully close the oven door and give the cake another 5 minutes, then test again.

Cool on a wire rack then get ready to decorate. My mum always used this fudge icing recipe.

Fudge Icing Recipe

Makes enough to cover the inside and top of your 8" round cake

Easy Printable version here

• 2½ oz Margarine or Butter (70g or 1/3 cup)

• 4 tbsps Cocoa Powder

• 8oz Icing Sugar (225g or 1¾ cup) That’s powdered sugar for my friends in the US

• 3 tbsps Milk

• 1 teasp Vanilla Essence

You will also need: a mixing bowl, a mug, a wooden spoon and a sieve

• Melt the marg and add the cocoa powder

• Heat the milk in a mug in the microwave till hot but not boiling

• Add the milk and vanilla essence to the marg

• Sieve in the icing sugar and beat till thick and smooth

No photos of the Icing making process sorry, don't know what happened there. I'll photograph and add them next time I'm making this one. It's pretty straightforward anyway, I'm sure you'll be fine!

Use half the icing to sandwich the layers together and the other half on the top. Swirl it round a bit, and add what ever else you like. 

Here I used White and Milk Chocolate Buttons, Minstrels, Maltesers and piped a bit of melted white and milk chocolate.

Alternative Chocolate Buttercream Icing Recipe

This is another icing/frosting recipe that I’ve used with this cake. It’s slightly lighter and fluffier than the other icing recipe if that’s the sort of thing you are looking for. I use this one generally if I cook the cake in 3 smaller tins for a taller cake as this make more icing.

• 4½ oz (125g or ½ cup) baking block margarine or butter

• 9oz (250g or 2 ½ cups) icing or powdered sugae

• 1oz (25g or 3 tbsps) cocoa powder

• 75ml or 5 tbsps evaporated milk

You want the margarine or butter to be room temperature ideally. Beat the margarine then add the sugar, cocoa powder and evaporated a little at a time beating well as you go.

A tea towel over the bowl as you beat can help reduce the amount of icing sugar that flies around.

We always serve our cakes on this marble lazy susan that I’ve had for years. I found a similar one on Amazon here.

This is the same cake from a few years back, funnily enough decorated with exactly the same sweets!

This is the version my 2 teenage sons made for my Birthday. Shoot, now you can all guess how old I was (and see how we like to reuse candles in our house!)

Of course you don't have to add anything extra, it's perfectly nice with just a swooch of icing!

Julie

I'll be linking up at these great link parties
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