Mary Berry's chocolate cake

Try Mary Berry's simple and easy-to-follow chocolate cake recipe for a delicious and moist chocolate sponge cake with creamy chocolate icing. I have also grated the zest of one orange in the batter to give it extra zing!

• Serves: 6
• Prep time: 30 mins
• Cooking time: 20 mins
  (may need an extra 5 mins)
• Total time: 50 mins
• Skill level: Easy peasy
• Costs: Mid-price

Ingredients

Mary Berry's chocolate cake will keep for 3 days in the fridge, but the icing will lose its shine.

For the chocolate cake:

• 3 large eggs
• 175g (6 oz) self-raising flour
• 175g (6 oz)caster sugar
• 175g (6 oz) softened butter
• 1½ level tsp baking powder
• 40g (1½ oz) cocoa powder
• 4 tbsp boiling water
• A little icing sugar, to serve

For the chocolate spreading/ganache icing:

• 150ml (5fl oz) double cream
• 150g (5oz) plain chocolate, broken into pieces
• 4 tbsp apricot jam

You'll also need:

• 2 x 17cm (7 in) deep sandwich tins, greased and lined with non-stick baking paper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4.
2. Beat together the eggs, flour, caster sugar, butter and baking powder until smooth in a large mixing bowl.
3. Put the cocoa in separate mixing bowl, and add the water a little at a time to make a stiff paste. Add to the cake mixture.
4. Turn into the prepared tins, level the top and bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 mins, or until shrinking away from the sides of the tin and springy to the touch.
5. Leave to cool in the tin, then turn on to a wire rack to become completely cold before icing.
6. To make the icing: measure the cream and chocolate into a bowl and carefully melt over a pan of hot water over a low heat, or gently in the microwave for 1 min (600w microwave). Stir until melted, then set aside to cool a little and to thicken up.
7. To ice the cake: spread the apricot jam on the top of each cake. Spread half of the ganache icing on the top of the jam on one of the cakes, then lay the other cake on top, sandwiching them together.
8. Use the remaining ganache icing to ice the top of the cake in a swirl pattern. Dust with icing sugar to serve.