I don’t really know when a chocolate cake becomes a devil’s food cake, but here is my chocolate cake that I think could pass as a devil’s food cake. It’s rich, moist and very chocolatey. This is my go to cake for chocolate celebration cakes too.

You will need:

• 85g Cocoa Powder
• 350ml Boiling Water
• 170g Butter
• 370g Soft Brown Sugar
• 3 Eggs (beaten)
• 270g Self Raising Flour (sifted)

Butter Icing Filling:

• 90g Butter
• 180g Icing Sugar
• 30g Cocoa Powder
• 1tbsp Milk

Ganache Covering:

• 200g Dark Chocolate
• 200ml Double Cream

Method:

• Combine the cocoa powder and boiling water, and stir well until there are no lumps. Allow to cool completely.
• Line and grease 2 x 18cm loose bottom tins. Preheat the oven to 170degrees
• Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs one at a time, beat well after each addition.
• Fold the flour and cocoa mixture into the eggs and butter, adding it alternately until both have been used up and there are no white lumps of flour.
• Divide evenly between the two tins and bake for 35mins or until cooked through.
• Turn out and leave to cool completely.
• Once cool, level the top of the cake to give a flat finish.

Butter icing:

• Cream together the butter, icing sugar, cocoa powder and milk until light and fluffy.
• Spread on one layer of the cake and sandwich the two layers together.

Ganache:

• Over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate.
• Once melted remove for the heat and add the double cream.
• Stir until it is thick and glossy, then pour over the cake spreading evenly down the sides.
• Allow to set and serve.

Top Tip:

If you have trimmed the tops off the cakes to level them, you can use up any butter cream and ganache and make what I call a ‘scrap cake’ – a smaller version to use up all the scraps! I hate waste.