A dense moist chocolate cake, that’s prepared from cocoa and layered with creamy chocolate butter icing is sure to become a basic recipe favourite in your home.

Ingredients

• 175 grams unsalted butter
• 1½ cups caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp golden syrup
• 1½ cups self raising flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ cup cocoa
• 1½ cups milk
• Chocoalte butter icing
• 4 tablespoons cocoa
• 3 tablespoons warm milk
• 100 grams softened butter
• 1½ cups icing sugar, sifted
• a few drops vanilla essence

Method

1. Beat the butter and sugar together until the mixture is very light and creamy and the butter has become very pale.
2. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Beat in the golden syrup.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and cocoa and fold into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk.
4. Turn the mixture into a well-greased and lined 23cm or 25cm round cake tin.
5. Bake at 160ºC for 1¼ - 1½ hours or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
6. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cake rack to cool completely.
7. When cold, ice with Chocolate Butter icing or decorate with whipped cream.
8. Chocolate butter icing
9. Dissolve the cocoa in the warm milk and allow to cool.
10. Beat the butter until it is pale and fluffy.
11. Sift the icing sugar and beat into the creamed butter with the vanilla essence and the cooled cocoa mixture.

Cooks Tips

- the photo shows two cakes split and joined with a double quanitity of chocolate butter icing.