Double chocolate cake: for birthdays, or not birthdays

I used to make this cake very regularly growing up and can practically make it with my eyes closed, although I expect that would be even messier than my usual baking exploits.  We had a magimix-style mixer that I used for the sponge and a Kenwood Chef (like the ones on GBBO but older than me) for the buttercream, shrouded with a tea towel to try and contain the clouds of icing sugar. 

I could tell you that I made two cakes so I could test the effect of adding baking powder - this wasn't in my original recipe but I had read many "perfect" sponge articles lauding the fluffiness of sponges with a teaspoon of extra help so I wanted to give it a try. But the real reason I made two is that I was having a birthday party, so I made one to share and one to eat all by myself 🐷

As luck would have it, a genius of witchcraft and wizardry made a rainbow cake for the party, so now I have BOTH cakes all to myself. Well, I did until I ate one.

I still enjoy licking the bowl (at each stage) as much as the finished product, which is why I use the step-by-step approach rather than the popular all-in-one method for the sponge. It's very easy - literally child's play...

Ingredients 

For the sponges:

170g unsalted butter

170g caster sugar

3 medium eggs (should weigh around 170g in their shells)

170g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 tabsp cocoa powder

For the buttercream icing:

500g icing sugar

4 tabsp Cocoa powder

250g unsalted butter

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C, and grease and line two sandwich cake tins with baking paper.

2. Cream together the sugar and butter until pale and fluffy, using a stand mixer or electric beaters if you have them

3. Beat in the eggs

4. Sift in the flour, baking powder and cocoa and fold in gently using a metal spoon

5. Distribute the mixture evenly between the two cake tins and level the top with a palette knife

6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the sponge is springy to the touch and a skewer comes out clean. Carefully remove the cakes from the tins and leave to cool on a wire rack

7. Make the buttercream by sifting the icing sugar and cocoa powder over the butter and mixing well. It will make a cloud of icing sugar, and take a while to come together. If the cream is too stiff, try adding a little bit of warm milk until the mixture is spreadable but not sloppy

8. Scoop half the buttercream onto one cooled cake and spread out evenly. Repeat with the other half of the icing and the second cake. Put one cake on top of the other. Decorate at will.

I like my double chocolate cake in the style of 80s restaurant favourite, hot chocolate fudge cake. Microwave a slice for 30 seconds and serve with a big dollop of Greek yoghurt. Cake heaven!